Mark A Gregory BEng. (Elec)(Hons) MEng., Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication and Electronic Engineering, RMIT University, m.gregory@rmit.edu.au
Steven Michener BSc. MSc., Interactive Entertainment Technology Pty Ltd ceo@ietec.com
Professor Paula Swatman BEc. PGDipBus. Ph.D., Director, Interactive Information Institute, RMIT University, paula.swatman@rmit.edu.au
Internet Entertainment, Social Issues, Ethical Issues, Training Developers, Industry Involvement, Case Studies
Growth in the development of Internet Entertainment applications and systems is likely to rival Internet Commerce as the largest growth area of the Internet in the next decade. Internet Entertainment is the application of programs and systems on the Internet to provide a means for Internet users to participate in an activity that is entertaining and more than cursory. Examples of Internet Entertainment are single and multi-player games played through Internet host systems, interactive video and multimedia systems and Internet "Infotainment" web sites.
This paper will show that the potential market for Internet Entertainment is considerable and to achieve even a small market penetration should provide a reasonable income. The Internet provides avenues for advertising and income derived from the provision of different forms of Entertainment.
There is significant demand for graduates who have considerable knowledge in the tools and techniques used to develop Internet Entertainment applications and systems. Research into Internet Entertainment systems is being used as a vehicle to provide undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with the requisite knowledge.
The Interactive Information Institute at RMIT University supports the research project. Each of the research project activities relies on key technologies, such as web sites, user downloadable programs, client server components and databases.
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