Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference to data that the user can follow or be guided by clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text wit ...
s are, at present, a novel feature in
virtual world platforms, aside from hyperlinks in the in-built chat clients between users' avatars. In the latter 2000s, however, a number of architectures were created for various
decentralized virtual world platforms in order to facilitate easier travel of avatars between two or more separately-hosted grids or servers.
Space-linking in OpenCobalt
Open Cobalt
Open Cobalt is a free and open-source software platform for constructing, accessing, and sharing virtual worlds both on local area networks or across the Internet, with no need for centralized servers.
The technology makes it easy to create deepl ...
uses a method of
hyperlinking, known as "space-linking", which resembles a window frame or portal and, when revolved, shows a 360-degree real-time view of one region to a user in another region; such portals can also be walked through by users. Space-linking is an alternative to teleportation, a more common means of traversing between regions or spaces, and is also a primary means of travelling between whole grids.
Like
MediaWiki's
redlinks, such portals are also used to link to uncreated spaces or regions (colored in black) in order to indicate the need to create newer spaces.
Hypergrid in OpenSim
OpenSimulator
OpenSimulator is an open-source server platform originally launched in 2007 for hosting virtual worlds and metaverse environments. It is largely compatible with the virtual world ''Second Life'' but full compatibility is not a design goal.
Fe ...
also uses an architecture known as
Hypergrid, which allows users to teleport between multiple OpenSim-based virtual worlds by providing a
hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference to data that the user can follow or be guided by clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text wit ...
ed map which indexes public grids.
Hypergrid
/ref> This allows for public grids to retain teleportation links to each other without having to be on the same grid.
References
External links
Roy Ruddle: Navigating Discontinuous Virtual Worlds
Portals: increasing visibility in virtual worlds
{{Hypermedia
Hypermedia
Virtual reality