Virbela is a 3D virtual world that is focused on assessment and team building, but has also been utilized for distance learning. The software launched as a platform for a global business competition among MBA students from top Universities around the world. Teams of students ran virtual companies as an exercise in business acumen as well as their abilities to succeed as part of a multi-national team.

We utilize Serious Games within the environment as activity to assess users. Some data analysis of user behavior can be viewed in real-time, but also the whole experience can be captured and replayed within the environment

The Virbela team consists of Organizational Phsycologists, Software Engineers, 3D Artists, and UCSD Faculty in Visual Arts and Business.

I am the lead software engineer and architect for this project. I've had a hand in most all of the subsystems including: Networking, VoiceOver IP, User Interface, User Management, User Experience, 3D Browser Integration, Data Tracking & Visualization, State Recording & Replay, Avatar Customization, Scripting Interface, and Integration of web based Business Simulations. The central programming language is C# on top of the Unity Game Engine.

An interesting aspect of the UI architecture is that a web page is overlayed on top of the 3D environment that serves as the UI layer. This HTML/CSS/JS layer has an interface into the 3D environment and we can not only change the look and feel without shipping new software, but we have a full programming language (JS) that can modify the environment from the UI Layer and can be updated remotely.