Using 3D-MUD Games for International Friendship: A Practice in Japan and South Korea

Abstract

Trials are just beginning in the use of 3D-MUD (Multi User Dungeon) for cross-cultural understanding in classrooms, so consideration should be made to derive ways of effectively using it. This paper reported practices of forming international friendship with 3D-MUD games, and proposed one of the effective ways to enhance international friendship using 3D-MUD. Four games were designed in this paper, and all games did not require knowledge of languages and they had interdependent goals which require the cooperation of all participants in order to attain the goal. In this game, students who have never studied foreign languages could also enjoy international exchange. Four games were played seventeen times in Japan and Korea, whereby 25 Japanese and 25 Korean undergraduates participated and gave their impressions on the usefulness of these games. Based on their comments, the effectiveness of those games for the formation of international friendships was discussed. The result of our trials suggested that current 3D-MUD technology could produce useful games for international friendship.