“Field Notes from the Metaverse” will be a book that documents the history, perspectives, and narratives of the metaverse and virtual worlds.
-
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…
-
Field Log #2: The Field Notes Chapters
This week I have been thinking a lot about the fieldnotes chapters. These are the chapters that contain my personal notes and perspectives on metaverse topics and milestones. Up until now these have been monolithic blocks at the end of a section.
-
Field Log #1: Crypto Is Messy
Writing about Cryptocurrencies and Web3 is messy. Before we start: Yes, I am on the record stating that Blockchains – and by extension cryptocurrencies and Web3 – have nothing to do with the Metaverse. But I’m very aware that many people would disagree with this statement. And since this book is not about my personal…
-
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…
-
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…
-
I am not going to write about AI very much
AI has always been associated with the metaverse. The earliest cyberpunk novels included autonomous programs that roamed virtual worlds. These ranged from service bots that automated simple tasks, concierges that acted as a speaker for users, to all-out intelligent companions. In terms of actual implementation, virtual worlds have been utilizing different forms of AI for…
-
Structuring my Field Notes
The upcoming book is my attempt to retell the history of the metaverse from my point of view. To do that I went over my many (!) physical notebooks and notepads, as well as my digital ones, that have accumulated over the years. Luckily, I am bad at throwing these things away. I also have…
-
Let’s get started (again)!
When I began writing the original Field Notes from the Metaverse, I thought it would just be a few articles, maybe five or so, that went into some of the history of the metaverse and virtual worlds. Document a couple of milestones, explain a few concepts, wrap it all up with a model, done. And…
“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