IME 6230 Virtual Environments and the Metaverse
This class will examine the emerging field of virtual environments, with a focus on the recent history of virtual worlds and the latest developments in virtual reality software and hardware. Students will read scholarly papers about virtual environments, have hands-on experience with multiple virtual worlds, and develop 3D content for virtual reality head-mounted displays. Additionally, the potential for and problems with virtual worlds and virtual reality will be discussed as these emerge as new communication formats.
Goal
Understand past, present and future of virtual reality, and analyze virtual reality concepts. Learn principles of crafting specialized experiences in virtual worlds; creating a virtual presence; modeling objects and environments, and scripting simple animations in Second Life.