plug: virtual worlds for millions of people p2p-nve 2008 dec. 10, melbourne, australia p2p-nve 2008...
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Plug: Virtual Worlds for Millions of People
P2P-NVE 2008Dec. 10, Melbourne, Australia
Shun-Yun Hu and Jehn-Ruey Jiang
National Central University, Taiwan
2008/12/10
National Central University
Virtual world scalability
Virtual worlds are getting larger WoW: 11 M accounts, 1 million concurrent Second Life: 10 M accounts, 45,000 concurrent
Tech aside, content is the biggest problem Not everyone is a gamer (TV / movies / web) Expensive to develop (80% production cost)
Scale is achieved by replication
National Central University
Million-scale Virtual Worlds
IncentivesGeneral, interesting content
AccessibilityQuick to install, easy to use
StandardContent (HTML) & delivery (HTTP)
National Central University
Some observations
Largest network: Instant messenger (IM)300 M~780 M active accounts (MSN, AIM, QQ)Peak online: 40.3 M (QQ), 12 M (Skype)
User-generated content is viableSecond Life (34 TB), IMVU (1 M items)User interactions is the best content
National Central University
Design of Plug
IM-like, user-centered virtual worlds
plug: personalized, autonomous avatars Customizable avatars Script-based behaviors
plugspace: inter-connected, streamable rooms Final storage for content & states Stream-based delivery
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Usage scenario
Natural, spontaneous social interactionsplugs may navigate & find things of interestUsers may then initiate contacts
National Central University
Source: IMVU
Plugtalk
(portal transfer)
Text / Voice Chats
Plugspace 1Plugspace 2
Plug A
Plug B
Interaction scripts / 3D streaming
3D streaming
/ Interaction scripts
3D streaming / Interaction scripts
Implementation Plans
Adopt existing open-source virtual worldsrealXtend (client)Open Simulator (server)
Adoption goalsLight-weightP2P stream-based
National Central University
Sub-system plans Avatar system
Avatar profiles + people search (Connet, CCNC’08)
State management Voronoi partitioning (VSM, NIME’08)
Content streaming P2P streaming (FLoD, INFOCOM’08) Progressive encoding
Interaction scripts Linden script language (LSL)
Networking protocols plugtalk
National Central University
Conclusion
Plug addresses key issues for virtual worlds Incentive: find & socialize with interesting people Accessibility: IM-like, faster content loading via P2P Standard: scalable, affordable hosting
Facilitate conversation & interaction in virtual worlds
Make virtual worlds As easy to host as websites As accessible to use as browsers & IMs
National Central University