Exploring the potential of massively multiplayer online games for informing construction design decisions

Traditional 2-D contour models, Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) and the latest virtual reality models have greatly enhanced the design process by enabling designers to visualise buildings and the space within them prior to their construction. A recent development in immersive virtual environments is Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) such as Second Life (SL). These offer users the opportunity to interact with other players in real time on a global basis, and so offer an excellent opportunity to experience virtual buildings and structures within them. However, the effectiveness of such applications to some extent depends upon how realistic the interactions of those using virtual space are in relation to interaction within the real world. This paper presents a literature review of the potential of SL as a visualisation and interaction tool. It examines the potential of this technology for enhancing the building design process and describes a study which is exploring how SL might be used to inform building design in the future. A methodology is described in which virtual copies of buildings are being created in SL in order to examine the extent to which users reflect the real behaviours of users of the actual building. It is hoped that this will reveal the strengths and limitations of such applications and hence, this should inform how they might be applied in the future.