An independent game developer exploring the potential of immersive multi-player worlds for entertainment and education.
All our current projects are built in Second Life®:
Splintered Rock: a player-centered sci fi roleplaying game
Set on a desert world where a precious spice is mined, Splintered Rock is a 'boutique' sandbox RPG which offers unequalled opportunity for players to customise the game world. Players create their own buildings, costumes, vehicles and weapons and the stories that 'emerge' through socialising and roleplay are collected and published in a monthly journal: 'The Spice Report'
The SLAM system: a social game for language learning
Using the SLAM system students learn Spanish through their avatar! As they play the game to control how their avatar interacts with others thay hear their avatar speak Spanish. The project explores the potential for presentation and practice of language material through games and also investigates the motivational aspects of students identifying themselves with a competent Spanish speaker (in this case, their avatar). The project was partly funded by a project grant from the Department of Languages at the UK's Open University.
Why are you developing games in Second Life? Second Life provides a graphically rich multi-user virtual environment. It has relatively easy to use content creation tools and most importantly it's free at the point of use. It's an effective platform for game development and prototyping.
Why is a rich graphical representation so important? A detailed 3D graphical view provides immersivness: the view displayed on the screen is analogous to what we see when we look at the real world so it's much easier to project ourselves into the game world. This in turn means the games played can have a varied and deeper emotional attachment.
If you would like to discuss how immersive games can provide novel educational and entertainment experiences, or even experience them for yourself with a short demonstration, please send an email info@vivacitygames.co.uk