Program Overview

Want to know more? Sign up to receive e-mail updates about this program, including notification when complete program details are available on our website. >> Next program starts: Autumn 2008 Program location: New hybrid format! Students begin the program on the UW Campus, Seattle, and complete it in a virtual world

Virtual worlds have become reality. These interactive, simulated environments allow you to create a digital character representing yourself, and to interact with other computer-generated individuals, landscapes, virtually operated global businesses and other in-world institutions in real time.

Though virtual environments have been created for many different purposes, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) represents the largest and most common type of virtual world. However, these simulated environments have been built for purposes other than gaming, including socializing and building online communities, education, retailing, political expression and military training. And this is just the beginning. As these technologies develop further over the next several years, virtual worlds will be used for all types of purposes as more people begin spending more time in them.

This new program's overriding goals are to develop your basic competencies for using virtual worlds and to explore the potential of virtual worlds beyond conventional games and online entertainment. In addition, you will develop the multiple skills necessary for building virtual worlds:

• Design: What do virtual worlds need to look like? How do you design these environments in order to innovate, including the integration of multimedia in the virtual environments?
• Building skills for human interaction; for example, how do avatars interact with each other?
• Programming and integration with databases
• Evaluation and developing metrics to assess the effectiveness of virtual worlds, for example, as learning and training environments
• Program management

Is This Program Right for You?

This program is intended for professionals in retailing, information management and technology, training and education, advertising, libraries, museums and health care, who require a comprehensive introduction to widely used virtual world technologies. The program will also serve:

• General practitioners with knowledge of the Web, 3D environments and architecture, who want to enhance their knowledge with practical Web programming skills
• Professionals intending to develop a technical background in design, narration, visualization, advertising, simulation and experiential marketing.

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Contact a Program Representative

For more information about this program, please call 206-685-8936 in the greater Seattle area, or 888-469-6499, or e-mail us.

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