Browser based thin client Sims – Thinking Worlds through Java

Delivering rich interactive 3D sims easily on to Corporate, Military and Educator networks has been a focus for Thinking Worlds since I can remember – its like the Holy Grail of Sims and Serious Games. Two years ago now, we shifted to thin client delivery using the Adobe Shockwave framework. This opened a whole new world of opportunity for us and users of Thinking Worlds. Suddenly, I could author a rich interactive learning experience quickly using Thinking Worlds, and with a click of a button, publish this as a SCORM object that could be delivered to learners wherever they maybe.

Now, we aim to take this another big step forward by enabling the option of publishing Thinking Worlds Sims through the Java framework. We have completed the first stage of work on this and it is looking good. We are now testing this functionality with clients that offer some of the toughest network conditions for suppliers – military, government and banking.

We demonstrated the functionality to military clients last week at the ITEC exhibition in London, as part of our joint venture with Bohemia Interactive and the VBS2 engine. Take a look at the work done so far – click on the image below. NOTE – please ignore the content, this was put together live at the show and my SME skills for military content are limited to say the least. When you run the sim, approach the soldier, then run along the side of the convoy to speak to civilians. When you receive a list of 4 options, choose the bottom one – that is triggered to blow, literally.

Next few weeks will see the results of the testing, plus the addition of SCORM functionality and also the option to publish as Java webstart aswell. Enjoy.