PNQ: Portable Non-player Characters with Quests

There is a growing interest in using game-like virtual environments for education. Massively multi-user online games such as World of War craft employ computer controlled non-player characters (NPCs) and quest activities in training or tutoring capacities. This approach is very effective, incorporating active learning, incremental progress, and creative repetition. This paper explores ways to utilize this model in educational virtual environments, using NPCs as anthropocentric keys to organize and deliver educational content. Our educational NPC design includes a knowledge model and a user performance model, in addition to the physical traits, behavior, and dialog model necessary to make them interesting members of the environment. Web-based educational content, exercises, and quizzes are imported into the virtual worlds, reducing the effort needed to create new NPCs with associated educational content. The NPC architecture supports multi-platform NPCs in two virtual environments, our own CVE (Collaborative Virtual Environment) and Second Life.