Category Archives: Virtual Worlds

When does a Virtual World Become a Game?

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Bart Pursel

It’s been a while since posting about Playstation’s Home Network. I only had a few short visits to Sony’s Virtual World over the years, and it’s less than impressive.  Sony appears to feel the same way, and is now releasing … Continue reading →

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Gold Farming for Good?

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Bart Pursel

I typically view gold farming (the process of accruing virtual gold in video games and then selling that gold for real money) as a bad thing overall for gaming.  It breaks the magic circle, allowing very real forces (namely, real … Continue reading →

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Lego Universe

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Bart Pursel

I remember hearing years ago that a Lego MMO was in the works, dubbed Lego Universe.  Being a huge Lego fan as a kid, and still playing with Legos with my nieces, I felt this was a fantastic idea.  But … Continue reading →

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A step in the right, or wrong, direction?

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Bart Pursel

Something that has been active internally with Blizzard for a long time now has just gone into Beta: Remote Auction House access via the web or an iPhone, iTouch or iPad. For those few soles that never experienced World of … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Uncategorized, Virtual Worlds | 4 Comments

Innovations in MMOs

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Bart Pursel

Some interesting times to be in the MMO space these days. Like usual, many companies are embarking on MMO projects (and if history is any indication, many will likely fail). BUT…some of the projects have the potential to really push … Continue reading →

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Game inputs, business models and profits

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Bart Pursel

A few things have been bouncing around in my brain lately on the game front. I’ve been a customer of Gamefly for about 3 months now, so I’ve been able to try a lot of games on the cheap. One … Continue reading →

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Virtual Learning Worlds listed in Top 50 Edu-blogs

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Bart Pursel

I was recently alerted that Virtual Learning Worlds was ranked in the top 50 educational blogs for 2010 by Sir Learnalot’s Knowledge Blog, which appears to be part of a site dealing with online college rankings. I can’t say I’ve … Continue reading →

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Learning in 3D by Kapp and O’Driscoll

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Bart Pursel

As part of the Learning in 3D Blog Book Tour, I wanted to focus on a few themes that I’ve encountered during my time working with, and researching, different types of virtual worlds. Instead of focusing on a specific chapter … Continue reading →

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Jeff Kaplan moving on

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Bart Pursel

For people that do not play World of Warcraft, the first part of this post is not relevant. Jeff Kaplan, the lead world designer for World of Warcraft, is moving on. No, he’s not leaving Blizzard, but he’s no longer … Continue reading →

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PS3 HOME Finally Launches

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Bart Pursel

Last week PS3 Home finally went live. I say finally because it was originally schedule to be released over a year ago. So what exactly is PS3 Home? PlayStation Home , also called just Home, is a community-based service for … Continue reading →

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