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The Emergence and Characteristics of Virtual Worlds

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Abstract

The programmer looks down at his hands and scans his arms and torso … they’ve been rendered. In a split second he realizes that his entire body is morphed into a seamless integration with the computer animated screen. He’s not just playing the game, he’s a part of the game. And what’s more he can control the outcome of it, shaping his own world, his own experience and own destiny.

“In a few years, I think everybody will walk around cyberspace as an avatar.”Franz Buchenberger, former President, Black Sun Interactive, as quoted in 1996

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© 2009 Alycia de Mesa

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de Mesa, A. (2009). The Emergence and Characteristics of Virtual Worlds. In: Brand Avatar. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230233713_2

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