Assembled 2016 (Part 1)

Abstract

This 2016 Assembled issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research relates to an eclectic group of six articles covering a variety of aspects of the use of virtual worlds. Firstly presented is a short history of the virtual world economy that provides the reader with an overview of where the virtual economy began in three virtual worlds and where it is today. The second article discusses the use of non-player characters in courses and how students reacted to these. The third article relates to the use of a virtual world to provide training for office-based medical emergencies. The fourth article explores the relationship between the real and the virtual supermarkets. The fifth article looks at lighting controls used in virtual environments, and the final article is an overview of the use of cloud in connecting video games.