Agent Models of 3D Virtual Worlds

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