http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en Research blog about Virtual Worlds & Avatars Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:27:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en At the Maastricht conference "ePortfolio and Digital Identity 2008" I will present my ideas about a possible avatar ePortfolio. Although the paper will be available short after the conference at the end of October, I want to outline some general ideas here in this post. More about my research can ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/09/avatar-eportfolio/ Robotgalaxy is known in the US as a roboter-focused toy retailer: kids can assemble robots from many different parts and even program their creation with movements. The main idea behind the move is to give kids the possibility to bring their individual creations into a digtial environment and to play ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/09/robotgalaxy-plans-to-expand-into-the-virtual-dimension/ I was always curious about the effects a holodeck would have on gaming, learning and how we perceive what we call "world". But that's a dream, I don't think I will taste in my life. On the other side, there are signs that the industry is approaching the field of ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/09/oh-yeah-holodecks-for-the-future/ A few weeks ago, I found some time to read through a very comprehensive book about online research methods. Here some of the main ideas / important quotes I took out of the context: "Online relationships can be highly potent ways of conducting research. Contrary to previous doubts, effective qualitative research ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/09/christine-hine-virtual-methods-issues-in-social-research-on-the-internet/ 9mine is a game portal for flash-based games. It consists of the typical sortiment of adventure, fun, sports and trivia games, a lot of on-site ads and video clips. Just right for the short take-your-time-off 5 mins during conferences or homework. There are some shooter and jump 'n run games that ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/08/9mine-the-quick-game-collection/ Another company (see Casual Cafe, Moondo, Flowplay) tries to be successful with browser-based flash games: Fusionfall. Fusionfall is aimed at 9-14 year old kids and features characters from the 3D cartoon network. To be exact, FusionFall doesn't use flash for displaying the game, but Unity. For the user it works the ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/08/fusionfall-browser-based-games/ Moondo, is not only a new set of Flash games for your browser, but more a mix of persistant 3D MMOs and simpler Flash games. Within its world, Moondo stores the player's achievements, its virtual goods and playing levels. In Moondo, there are many different games to play, and ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/08/persistant-flash-games-world-with-moondo/ CasualCafe is an online social arcade for Flash games that you can share with anybody. You have to buy tokens (aka Cafe Credit) to enjoy the offerings: Games: Spyde Solitaire and Burdaloo. Spyde is a new twist on a classic card game, while Burdaloo sends you on a tropical burd matching ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/07/casual-cafe-online-arcade/ Urban takeover is a game part that is played partly in the web, partly in the real world. The idea is: Conquer your city by tagging spots with your stickers. Claim new spots or cross other players to beat the highscore You can register for free ant Urban takeover and get the necessary ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/07/urban-takeover/ Travian is a browser game featuring a world with thousands of other real players. One begins the game acting as a chief of a tiny village. You don't need to install anything on your PC, just register and join about 125.000 active players. The main activities are: You play with thousands of ... http://www.buzinkay.net/blog-en/2008/07/browser-game-travian/