Agent Models of 3D Virtual Worlds

Abstract

Architectural design has relevance to the design of virtual worlds that create a sense of place throughthe metaphor of buildings, rooms, and inhabitable spaces. The design and implementation of virtualworlds has focused on the design of 3D form for fast rendering to allow real time exploration of theworld. Using platforms that were originally designed for computer games, some virtual worlds nowcontain preprogrammed interactive behaviors. We present an agent model of virtual worlds in which theobjects in the world have agency, that is, the objects can sense their environment, reason about theirgoals, and make changes to the environment. This agent model is presented and illustrated using a wallagent. Following from the wall agent, we generalize how agency can be attached to any 3D model in avirtual world.