Edward Castronova, an expert in virtual world economies, recently received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation to build an MMOG based on Shakespeare’s King Richard III. The game, Arden, will be the first non-commercial, academic game of its kind. Castronova plans to use Arden to set up social experiments and teach people about Shakespeare’s works.
The concept sounds intriguing and I will be interested in seeing what the final outcome looks like. In order for the experiment to work, Castronova’s Arden will have to compete with some very popular commercial MMOGs. The game is still in development stage, so a final product is a long way off.
The article on Gamespot News is interesting because it cites some other innovative uses of virtual worlds. One professor, Aaron Delwiche, is mentioned because he has held his class in the virtual world Second Life. That sounds like the kind of class I would love to attend.
–Jane, back to packing