

The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat (1990) - joslin01
http://web.stanford.edu/class/history34q/readings/Virtual_Worlds/LucasfilmHabitat.html

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joslin01
If you liked this paper, you might also find Ultima Online's resource system
interesting:

* Part 1: [http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/03/uos-resource-system/](http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/03/uos-resource-system/)

* Part 2: [http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/04/uos-resource-system-par...](http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/04/uos-resource-system-part-2/)

* Part 3: [http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/05/uos-resource-system-par...](http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/05/uos-resource-system-part-3/)

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axilmar
Has this sort of mega-simulation envisioned at the end of part 3 materialized
yet? I don't think so. Why? is there no interest in it or the technology isn't
there yet?

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lnanek2
Seems disingenuous to not mention MUDs at all, the first of which had been
running for a decade at that point. Yes, they added graphics, apparently, but
I was playing Neverwinter on AOL a year later in 1991 with graphics as well,
and quests that worked fine for any number of players, and GM led events and
contests that did as well.

The MUD I was on had GM led quests and stories and adventures for every single
new region that opened as well. So the huge problem they ran into of an event
only working for one user just sounds like some thing they blew out of
proportion to write what they wanted to write, or they were just ignorant of
what everyone else was doing at the time.

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K2h
This paper was fascinating and made me wonder if it was one of the
inspirations or reference materials in writing the fictional work 'The
Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect' by Roger Williams. A crazy virtual reality
turned real... for lack of a better paraphrase. The great debate, the sheriff,
DEATH and THE SHADOW, user created content - all things that reminded me of
strong themes in Prime Intellect.

Prime Intellect: very NSFW sci-fi you can read online at
[http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/](http://localroger.com/prime-
intellect/)

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guiambros
I _love_ this paper, and keep re-reading it every 4-5 years. It's incredible
how actual it still is. From Habitat, to Worlds Chat, to Second Life, or
upcoming metaverses using Oculus Rift.

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joslin01
Me too! I posted this a long time ago on here and was disappointed nobody
checked it out. Makes me happy so many people are enjoying it.

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tsunamifury
If you love this paper, I'd strongly suggest reading "Death and Life of Great
American Cities". It plays out the same issues in the central planning of NYC
in the 1960s.

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protonfish
I was struck by how the lessons learned were not specific to virtual world
games, but applied as much to developing any online community application
(like eBay, Facebook, Twitter) including the rejection of big, upfront design,
letting your community guide development, and facilitating user created
content.

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mikeleeorg
Randy and Chip also have a great series of essays and articles here, including
a bunch on the topic of online communities:

[http://habitatchronicles.com/](http://habitatchronicles.com/)

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samman
What a gem. The reference list seems to tell a story all by itself.

