Category: Research and academia

Richard Bartle’s Classic Book Designing Virtual Worlds Now Hosted in the Virtual Worlds Museum Resource Site

April 17, 2024

Now available in the Virtual Worlds Museum Books & Case Studies section: A downloadable copy of Richard Bartle's Designing Virtual Worlds, a milestone book in the history of the technology; first published in 2003, its influence can be seen in countless MMOs and open-ended virtual worlds, especially around player motivation types, likely beginning with World of…
Study Suggests Emotion & Player Agency More Important Than High-End Graphics in Virtual Experience

February 21, 2024

This is a pretty important study from the University of Bath adding some academic weight to what we see in the marketplace: When it comes to virtual experiences, player emotion and agency (i.e. the ability to meaningfully interact in the world) is more important than graphical realism or immersion (field of view): Field of view…
Surprising Gamer Study: Avatar Gender Preference Remains Unchanged for Over 20 Years — And Very Few Female Gamers Choose Male Avatars

August 18, 2021

Here’s a fascinating new report on avatars and gender from longtime game culture researcher Nick Yee, based on a survey of nearly 3,000 gamers. Nick’s topline takeaway is that 1 in 3 men prefer to play as female avatars, which is more than many might assume. Two other learnings stand out to me even more:…
Richard Bartle Releases His Classic Book Designing Virtual Worlds for Free Online — Here’s His Guide to The Sections Still Most Relevant Today

August 17, 2021

Update, August 20: Click here to download Designing Virtual Worlds as a .PDF file. Designing Virtual Worlds is a milestone book in the history of the genre, relevant to basically anyone working in or thinking about online games/metaverses/MMOs/etc.; written by UK professor Richard Bartle in 2003, much or most of it is still relevant to…

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Richard Bartle’s Classic Book Designing Virtual Worlds Now Hosted in the Virtual Worlds Museum Resource Site

Study Suggests Emotion & Player Agency More Important Than High-End Graphics in Virtual Experience

Surprising Gamer Study: Avatar Gender Preference Remains Unchanged for Over 20 Years — And Very Few Female Gamers Choose Male Avatars

Richard Bartle Releases His Classic Book Designing Virtual Worlds for Free Online — Here’s His Guide to The Sections Still Most Relevant Today