Designing Digitally, Inc. wins contract to create a fully browser-based virtual campus for the Air Force Academy

We are very excited to announce that we are well into development of a web-based virtual campus tour for the United States Air Force Academy and we've decided that it would be fun to give you a sneak peak!

At the end of 2009, we were awarded a long-term contract with the United States Air Force Academy to completely develop, host, and maintain this fully browser based MMO using non proprietary virtual world software. In February, our team visited the Academy in order to gather all of the information necessary to digitize and bring the campus to life online.
 
The purpose of the virtual tour will be to give high school students who wish to pursue enrollment in the Air Force Academy the ability to see the campus and what it has to offer, regardless of their geographic location. Students will be able to walk freely through the virtual campus or sign up for a scheduled event where they will join other candidates and admissions reps for a guided tour throughout the virtual campus. Admissions reps, along with bots, will also be available in the virtual world to answer any questions and help users maximize their experience in the virtual space. Walking around campus the user will find clues scattered around each area which will teach them facts about the Air Force Academy, including it's history and what it has to offer.

And don't let the Air Force fool you...outside of the dress code and restricted zones, there is still room for fun and games...8 to be exact! In this first phase we will be developing basketball, football, ice hockey, tennis, track and field, weight lifting, parachute jump and flight simulator games. Each game will award points, that can then be used in the virtual store to purchases outfits and accessories for the users' avatars. And those clues we placed around the campus... those clues are used to answer trivia questions which can be answered to earn even more points!

Our infrastructure will of course include many of the features you expect out of a virtual world, including: full 3D interactivity, chat, avatar customization and animations, profiles, maps, voice, and movement and camera controls...plus more (stay tuned)!

After the infrastructure is in place there will be plenty of room for expanding in years to come, which could include (but is not limited to): more areas to visit, more games, more outfits and items to win, additional customization options for the avatar, integration of social networking, and much much more.

We're excited to show you our progress so far and hope you'll check back for updates over the next few months to see what else we have in store!