Virtual Space, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2002
Spatiality in Virtual Inhabited 3D Worlds

Containing the edited research papers resulting from an ambitious, cross-disciplinary research project, this volume examines the spatiality of virtual inhabited 3D worlds - virtual reality and cyberspace. (Three other volumes look at Interaction, Staging and Methodology.) It is about the communication spaces emerging at the Internet and supported by special 3D interfaces. It is also about the virtual spaces created by virtual reality hardware (CAVEs, panoramic screens, head mounted display systems etc.) and software.
Virtual Space: Spatiality in Virtual Inhabited 3D Worlds is interdisciplinary. It deals with philosophical, psychological, communicational, technological and aesthetic aspects of space. While philosophy raises the question concerning the ontology of space - what is space - psychology deals with our perception of space. Communication theory looks at the way in which space supports communication (i.e. that space is a medium for communication), and finally aesthetic analyses exemplify the use of virtual space in virtual cities, in museums and in art.

1 Philosophical Aspects of Virtual Space.- 1 Cyberspace as Representation of Space Experience: In Defence of a Phenomenological Approach.- 2 Cyberspace as a Space Parallel to Geographical Space.- 3 On Space, Its Time, and Spatiotemporal Expressions.- 2 Constructional Aspects of Virtual Space.- 4 Mapping Virtual Worlds.- 5 Making 3D Models of Real World Objects.- 6 Constructing Virtual Environments for Visual Explorers.- 3 Communicative Aspects of Virtual Space.- 7 The Design of Public Virtual Spaces in 3D Virtual Worlds on the Internet.- 8 Collaborative Spaces: Inhabited Virtual 3D Worlds.- 9 Tangible Objects: Connecting Informational and Physical Space.- 4 Aesthetic Aspects of Virtual Space.- 10 Explorative Space: Spatial Expression and Experience in Gardens and in VR Works.- 11 Ecological Optics and Virtual Space.- 12 Virtual Reality as Simulation: The CAVE as ‘Space of Illusion’ in Museum Displays.- 13 The Ontology of Virtual Space: In Search of Matrixes and Cube-machines.- Author Index.