1. <application> Computer simulations that use 3D graphics and
devices such as the data glove to allow the user to interact
with the simulation.
2. <games> A form of network interaction incorporating aspects
of role-playing games, interactive theater, improvisational
comedy, and "true confessions" magazines. In a virtual
reality forum (such as Usenet's alt.callahans
newsgroup or the MUD experiments on Internet and
elsewhere), interaction between the participants is written
like a shared novel complete with scenery, "foreground
characters" that may be personae utterly unlike the people who
write them, and common "background characters" manipulable by
all parties. The one iron law is that you may not write
irreversible changes to a character without the consent of the
person who "owns" it, otherwise, anything goes.
See bamf, cyberspace.
[Jargon File]
(1995-01-30)
Nearby terms:
virtual point of presence « virtual PoP « Virtual Private Network « virtual reality » Virtual Reality Modeling Language » Virtual Sequential Access Method » virtual server
