Using models in virtual world design

One possibility that the Internet gives us is to create graphical virtual worlds that give the participants an experience of being present at a virtual location and interact with other people there. We argue that new methods for design and development are needed for creating virtual worlds. The paper reports on a design project where the goal was to create a virtual world for academic interaction. In the project we explored an alternative design approach where physical models in Lego were utilized. Our conclusions are that virtual world design can benefit from concepts and methods from other design principles but also needs to adhere to the unique characteristics of the medium, and that the use of physical models has both advantages and drawbacks but can be beneficial to the design process. We also make an observation regarding the possibilities for virtual worlds as platforms for learning activities.