Metaverses as a Platform for Game Based Learning

This paper evaluates metaverses as a platform for game based learning. Metaverses such as Second Life are a relatively new type of Internet application. Their functionality is similar to that offered by 3D multi-player online games, but differs in that users are able to construct the environment that avatars inhabit and are not constrained by predefined goals of the type found within a game environment. From a quality of service (QoS) perspective metaverses are similar to games in that the timeliness of network communication is important, but differ in that their demands upon host server systems and network traffic are more bandwidth intensive. This paper contributes to our understanding of metaverses by presenting a case study of the application of Game Based Learning (GBL) within a metaverse environment, by situating the case study within a survey of the state of the art in GBL in metaverses and by analysing the QoS delivered by the widely used Second Life metaverse under a range of evaluator-induced network conditions.