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Interview with Catalin Alexandru: Web3 and the Challenges of Creating Open Virtual Economies
Catalin Alexandru is a behavioural game economist with over 16 years of experience designing economies and ecosystems. He has worked as a game designer, analyst and advisor across every business model for the biggest global game companies and brands. His focus is building sustainable economies based around user generated content (UGC), which he thinks will…
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Interview with Jon “NEVERDIE” Jacobs: The Economic Opportunities in Virtual Worlds
Jon “NEVERDIE” Jacobs has been at the frontline of pioneering virtual worlds for over two decades. In 2005, he was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest price ever paid for a virtual item, acquiring the “Asteroid Space Resort” in Project Entropia. Jacobs developed the property into a stadium, shopping center,…
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Interview with Edward Castronova: The Economical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Virtual Worlds
Edward Castronova invented the field of virtual economics in 2001 with his highly influential paper “Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier.” His early books “Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games” (2005) and “Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is Changing Reality” (2007) continue…
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Interview with Julian Dibbell: The Laws & Governance of Virtual Spaces
Julian Dibbell is an attorney in the Technology & IP Transactions practice of Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago. Before joining Mayer Brown in 2014, Dibbell worked as a journalist and author, writing about digital communities, how they function, and the limits of free speech online. Publishers included Wired, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and…
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Interview with Dr. Richard Bartle: The Bartle Types, Games Studies, and Virtual Worlds as Identity Laboratories
Dr. Richard A. Bartle is Honorary Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Essex, UK. He is best known for having co-written the first virtual world MUD (“Multi-User Dungeon”) in 1978, and for his many contributions to all aspects of virtual world design and development. His 1996 paper “Players Who Suit MUDs” established…
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Interview with Raph Koster: The Declaration of Rights of Avatars
Raph Koster is a professional game designer, frequent writer on issues of interactive design, and the CEO of Playable Worlds, Inc. He was the original creative lead on the seminal online world Ultima Online, which first brought online worlds to the mass market. He was Chief Creative Officer for Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), where he…
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Interview with Dan Hunter: The 20th Anniversary of “The Laws of the Virtual Worlds”
Dan Hunter is the Executive Dean of the Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London. He was previously the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology and the Founding Dean of Swinburne Law School in Australia. He is an international expert in Internet and intellectual property law, AI…
“Field Notes from the Metaverse” will be a book that documents the history, perspectives, and narratives of the metaverse. This blog documents the writing of the book, provides additional context & materials, and allows you to add your own voice.
