Reality is Relative

Once again Sam Harrelson talks me into a late night look at Next-Gen Marketing with a few practical examples over at Revenews. Long one- so good time to change the oil on the car (time shift) and listen…some might find it very relevant- no matter what reality you exist in, or think you do.

Sam says: “The podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss Wayne’s conception of Next Gen marketing and possible futures of online and affiliate marketing.”

Wayne says: “As usual, this podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss science fiction books, Next-Gen, games, my experience with ARGs, multi-verses, engagement from twitter to Second Life, Sam finds value in an OPML file, engagement metrics, incubation of fan bases, engaging smart people, Twitter, personalities, a bunch of books like: The Book of Zines, The Adventures of the The Stainless Steel Rat, Media Virus, etc. Not that many would care, but for the observant we also plod into Assyriology, cuneiform, ancient civilizations and why that crap is important to us. As usual I interrupt too often (why does he always catch me tired?), but we move along and didn’t even touch Mobile Marketing or iPhone stuff or blending it with RSS. At any rate this is sort of what “industry insiders” talk about…sort of.”

Stainless Steel Rats MP3 File

Another good cast, and Pinnacle Best Blog Award Winner- Sam Harrelson, speaks (what are you cloned or what?) at AffiliateFortuneCookies.com giving more clarity as Next-Gen, Virtual, Affiliate, and A Whole Bunch of Stuff Most Can’t Even See are heading for a whacked out, giant ajax-style real-world mashup collision thing. Maybe.

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“Reality is fundamentally broken, and we have a responsibility as game designers to fix it. We have a responsibility as the smartest people in the world, the people who understand how to make systems that make people feel engaged, successful, happy, and completely alive, and we have the knowledge and the power to invent systems that make reality work better.”

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Reality is Broken: GDC08 Rant by Jane McGonigal.

1. Satisfying work to do
2. The experience of being good at something
3. Time spent with people we like
4. The chance to be a part of something bigger

My favorite takeaway was- Why care about games? Because life is crap. Life is crap, and the ONLY thing that makes it worth living is art – and play.

and

“Games are the ultimate happiness engine”

and

and this lively slide : “Reality is broken. • Can we fix it? YES. • Should we fix it? HELL YES. • Will we fix it? I HAVE NO F’ING IDEA”.

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The quick recap of one of my usual winding posts that go on and on….but really worth thinking about. The short version Chev summed up in an insult , yes it is true but the mnemonic is far more succinct. (For those late to the game- we are one and the same, only the avatar version does not always behave as predicted and generally denies I exist.)

- Chev, our rogue knight, wonders out loud in twitter after viewing a Caledonian island covenant.

- Helpful Pfanderson steps up to guide the knight with some information.

- I follow-up via e-mail and ask three questions of Mr. Drinkwater, esteemed and humble resident of Caledon. Carried to him via the helpful Lady Anderson.

- Later this pm, after many e-mails, Tweets, Skypes, etc from folks, and judging by unique visitors on my steampunk’o'meter I find it thrilling to say Caledonians enjoy reading long windy posts. That does not excuse my poor writing, only that I believe that Caledonians will read anything with a vigor that is not quite human.

I received a letter from Mr. JJ Drinkwater. I have not replied back to Mr. Drinkwater, although I shall, and it is not for being at a loss for words, but because after reading it…I felt intruding would be like- well- interrupting a very nice play.

Upon Mr. Porter’s Questions on Caledon, its history, and boons.

These were brokered to Mr. Drinkwater through the quill of Ms. Anderson and I report below. Enjoy and savor fair reader, to use a word from Mr. Drinkwater, the “zest” in this reply. I have made small edits to links for purpose of aesthetics and other slight changes, otherwise this is the text as sent from the good fellow. I shall attempt commentary later, for now my hope is that more Caledonians send me letters so that I may digest them first, then share them. It is rather selfish, but I am a rogue and it is a stingy pleasure.

My Dear Sir.

You raise some extraordinarily interesting questions, indeed….some of which I cannot even presented to answer, but can query in their turn. Before I begin, however, I should like to say that, devoted as the Caledon Library is to our fair nation, we cannot pretend to stand in for Caledon’s sundry Founders, Historians, and Pundits, many of whom, I am entirely convinced, will make themselves heard on ths matter, either at this estimable table, or from their own Podia.

1) Does the Caledonian citizen’s interests in literature influence how well curated the history of the build seems to be?

That is a dangerous question to ask a Librarian, sir, as we are apt to place literature at the centre of all things, and to see all things by its light. However, since you have asked…

Caledon was created to be a 19th-century environment—but Caledon is very far from being a historical re-creation. I like to say that when one comes to Caledon, rather than entering the 19th century, one enters the 19th century imagination. The world of Caledon has as much in it of Ivanhoe and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as it does of *The Mayor of Casterbridge*, *Hard Times*, or even *The Pickwick Papers*. This means that Caledon draws on a very large body of literature and history, instead of (like many other RP regions) a single created world, or body of mythology. Moreover, although it is nowhere stated, the implicit story is (arguably) that Caledon is British, or is Britain, as seen through some appropriate looking-glass.This means that the flourishing of the English-language novel in the 19th century gives Caledon—and its library—a rich source of material to draw on.

During a most edifying conversation, on Orange, this week, the following was said (with much edited out inbetween)

[12:40] Sin Trenton: When “pure” Victorians meet “pure” Steampunkers. In other groups in the past, there is alienation.. In Caledon forums, people promptly decided they wanted to learn more about the other side
(snip)
[12:40] Ordinal Malaprop: Yes, actually, I did want to mention stylistic divisions - not in terms of drama necessarily
(snip)
[12:42] JJ Drinkwater has it categorized into the imaginary 19th century of….. Dickens/Hardy/Thackeray, Verne/Wells, and Scott/Rackham

I suppose I should have said the Imaginary 19th *centuries*, for each of those groups of authors deals in a particular genre of imagination. In Caledon, indeed, the Masters of Technology are not on Mars, they are flying overhead in something brass-riveted and steam-powered, and Fairies are not at the bottom of the garden, they are next door throwing a rout and waltzing for dear life. But what *is* a literature, if it is not how a group of persons…a community, a nation, or what have you…conceives of itself and its surrounds, and pases that conception between themselves, and so on to the larger world, and perhaps to the world that is removed from what they limn, in time as well as space?

I must confess my brain (known for its inelasticity, it is true) will not stretch to encompass the idea of Caledon as a build, unless you are using “build” as a shorthand for “the constructed evidence of a community”? In which case, there is indeed a great consonance between the sundry literacies of Caledon-the-c0mmunity (and how Caledonians read such literatures as inspire them) and manner in which they have depicted, and commemorated, what has struck them about Caledon-the-place

2) Are there any specialized tools or processes that a community can use to “keep its identity”. Regain its identity?

Here I am beyond my depth, as I am but poorly acquainted with the thinking of Archivists, who ( if I am not mistaken, which I may well be) ask us to conceive that what a culture creates, and preserves, is the stuff it will use to understand its own nature, or identity, or, if you like, its geist or spirit or soul.

However, from my own little experience, I can say that what Caledon seems to use are tools that are scarcely specializied, but to use them in a manner which is informed by the will and desire to be a community, indeed, perhapse even to be a People.

The Caledon Forums, and the Caledon Aethero-blogo-sphere, to which Sir Edward has graciously pointed us, uses blogs and wikis and discussion threads and suchlike, it seems to me, to instantiate the vast fluctuating wonder that is the identity of Caledon. They do this by sustaining, and making available, over time, a conversation posessing a thousand topics, but through which runs a submerged thread of “Is this Caledon?” “How is this Caledon” “How is this important to Caledon?” “How is this useful to Caledon?” &c. We speak of many matters, but they are all, somehow, matters of Caledon, and it is through this long and multfaceted conversation that the identity of Caledon comes forward to meet the eye.

I consulted long-time Caledon Steward Serra Anansi on this point, and she put in neatly into the following nutshell: “Every joy, trial, cause or flame war links us all for better or worse…”
I would add that it is not only Caledon’s numerous accomplished builders, but also its cultural institutions….its galleries and theatre and musical venues, perhaps even its library…that feed the delight we all take in this. Every time Radio Riel gives us another day of music from Miss Austen’s era or dances us gaily through a Burns Night Supper (http://radioriel.blogspot.com/2008/01/robbie-burns-and-music-of-scotland.html), every time we see our own images reflected in an exhibit of portraits we enrich our sense of community, and its pleasures.

3) How has having a “history” helped the overall community at Caledon?

This, I believe, is a question for the Historians of Caledon, among which honoured company I dare not place myself.

However, I will speculate that it is as something in the nature of a shared narrative, a set of stories we may tell and retell one another, and by our actions extend indefinitely, that Caledon’s “history” has helped us bond into a community.

We are, of course, making it up as we go along, when we perform the daily duties and pleasures that make up the life of Caledon….only, we are not making it up out of whole cloth. Rather, we are elaborating, each of us in our own way, the stories we already know. We have, as it were, a body of images and devices and motifs, and therefore both our stock of Caledon Characters and our skeleton bits of business ready to hand, and, like the players in the Commedia dell’arte, with their Lazzi and Scenarios, we are ready to charge onto the stage and improvise for all we are worth, and to the enjoyment of all concerned.

That we needn’t guess, or rely on our own fallible memories, for what has made up Caledon, but may rather contemplate the evidence of Caledon’s Caledonian-ness in a variety of places, I would think, only serves to facilitate the zest with which we go about the thing.

I am, sir, your most humble etc etc

JJ Drinkwater

It is I who must thank you Mr. Drinkwater and other Caledonians that I am sure debated the issue in some chamber far away. It is rare to get a response that is not only entertaining and humble and yet so courteous I am want to give up being a wandering knight, a long story really how that occured, and sit still in my classroom chair and read proper. Then again, who would Caledonians make merry over? I can serve, if anything, as a bad example of knighthood and will continue to poorly question any Caledonian who would waste time with this Chevalier.

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On to the Association of Virtual Worlds.comredux

The Association of Virtual Worlds believes that virtual worlds represent a major information and technological revolution in how we work, play and live per the site. I think any long-time user agrees, despite setbacks, these pocket universes are major market disrupters. “The Association mission is to serve those companies and individuals who are dedicated to the advancement of this multi-billion dollar global industry and reach out to those who have not yet found virtual worlds.”

I might add I’d like to see more of the “multi” going out to the content creators, where the rubber meets the road. Like it or not scripting will in many ways become commoditized for common applications, and builds will be prefabricated or modular. However, the story tellers, the community facilitators, the people who know WHAT tools and HOW to use them effectively and creatively…are getting left out in the cold and their work, coupled with builders and scripters makes a world. Otherwise we have static code and primitive objects. We need bards, and we must value their work and time. Because the work is virtual does not make it less valuable.

This revolution started with people decades ago and it needs to get back to people. That is the essence of the “virtual world” or “web 2.0″, or any name you want to place on this compressed, immersive and fast paced media consumption and interaction. Think about it- no matter how immersive I am willing to be the majority of time users spend- chatting and talking. The visual element provides “presence”

The Goals of The Association of Virtual Worlds are:

1. To create a forum for the discussion of issues affecting the industry
2. To assist in the development of industry procedures and standards
3. To promote the virtual worlds industry, its interest and developments
4. To educate on the benefits of virtual worlds to enhance work and play
5. To offer business and social networking opportunities
6. To connect the public and consumers with members of the virtual worlds industry
7. To participate in the determination of the collective interests of the industry
8. To further the common interests of the industry
9. To provide leadership for the betterment of the industry
10. To recognize accomplishment within the virtual worlds industry

I had a long discussion about the history of various virtual worlds with Timeless Prototype. He joined and I hope will be committed as any group needs DNA from elder thought shapers. We had some discussion about direction and what compelled me to get involved on a deeper level was the agnostic focus and the need, as Time called it, for a “bridge component”- in short a second wave person of varied skillsets who had NOT been indoctrinated into the old system. I can see wisdom in this. I am second wave, and I do see things differently and I certainly have different ideas.

I am passionate about the future of these spaces, their preserveration and what they can do for humanity. I also realize they are very immature in their development. That is ok- this means we are ahead of the curve and a good thing too- they are not as easy as they look. Get started now.

To address the goals, or my personal thoughts on them.

1. There are many forums. Each has its distinct flavor and place. However, I rarely find people who want to interact using their surname. I would like to see that in a professional forum- accountability.

2. To assist in the development of industry procedures and standards. This is sorely needed. In every aspect from media standards to privacy disclosures and well- to about everything. This is a big deal, and I don’t think it is an easy task. People must be sure they don’t give up their rights and rants and raves are not going to protect them.

3. To promote the virtual worlds industry, its interest and developments. Evangelism. Pure and simple, an emerging industry needs wins and good examples to point out. In business this means measureable ROI or a sound promise of ROI down the road. ROI doesn’t always mean immediate dollars. These worlds are here to stay, I believe that and it requires unlearning some things and learning new ones- the time to get started in earnest is now. Nor does this all fall on Second Life’s shoulders. There are many promising candidates that are up and coming.

4. To educate on the benefits of virtual worlds to enhance work and play. In my opinion this is where lines have really gotten crossed. We have went horribly wrong when our work is no longer enjoyable, when people must work extreme hours in miserable environments to survive or for commendation. We have went astray as humans if we have kicked play out of our work.

Play is that creative spark that causes breakthroughs in our work. I recall doing research on unicode and domain name redirection and wondering if unicode could be injected into twitter. To be honest I was looking for an offensive sign to express disgust in a compressed fashion. I ended up with a pack of playing cards and concept of betting via twitter which Ev, the CEO, seemed to like. I did too. Look at the hand I drew. This was work, but it evolved into play that, if I can get Bleys motivated to finish it up, could provide a means to completely subvert the micro-blogging channel for a completely different purpose- relaxation and entertainment. Healthy work can be play, and play is healthy work.

5. To offer business and social networking opportunities. Oddly enough I find myself often socializing with my closest friends via skype paired with the Second Life client. The same bonding took place for affiliatesummit.com or RSA where I have worked virtually in e-commerce, and security for ten years. Networking opportunities, especially face to face, are important steps in a relationship. Virtual worlds do seem to accelerate these relationships, but they are often cemented face to face. This is how I knew Dave was in earnest from the day he told me liked the concept of “flying” to when I met him in Chicago. Virtual world users know it is a powerful tool, but not a complete replacement.

6. To connect the public and consumers with members of the virtual worlds industry. This is a good thing, because the media likes to beat the drum of the fringe and the negative. The fringe was always there. It was in USENET, it was and still is in IRC and it will be in virtual worlds. That does not devalue the medium.

7. To participate in the determination of the collective interests of the industry. Right now that is a priority, alot is needed and hopefully this won’t get mired down in muck. However, again let’s use Linden Labs (I stress Labs and not Second Life- they are a lab.)- they simply cannot solve all the problems. A concerted effort, and probably compromise will be needed, on behalf of users. The status quo has not pushed it ahead quickly enough. It is our world and our imagination- people must dispense of the idea that Lindens are gods, and that they are people like us and systematically work towards change. It will take time, in the last two industry births I witnessed and took part this meant years. I see the same pattern. People are people. Mistakes are made. We move on, we only fail if we do not learn from them.

8. To further the common interests of the industry. At this point I think recognizing and proving it is really viable, and it needs some turns and twists to get back to that direction. Campers to gather traffic is a poor tactical push. Land you “buy” is a rather shaky concept. Viability means people staying. People staying means there is community. Communities are viable. Big brands who want lift need only sponsor wholesome things and learn by interacting through the builds. That is step one. This is not a fast fused turn around. Go buy CPC and hope a botnet doesn’t tear you apart.

9. To provide leadership for the betterment of the industry. Here one has to be careful that leadership does not become agenda laden. Personally I like the idea of leaders with stewardship. It should should have a diverse mix of age and discipline expertise.

10. To recognize accomplishment within the virtual worlds industry. This is needed too. For example, Second Life is really a “closed community” and if you are not in the circle- it is dizzying. Everyone is eager to point out faults, but let’s look at the strides. Everyday I look back at the evolution of the PC and think “wow- I can’t believe I can do this now”. It annoys me that I am trying to run viability tests in a medium that breaks down frequently, but I know that risk going in. Those who accomplish something realize this and either move on to safer ground or stay at high risk.

I’ll leave you with what Dave posted:

Yes, Wayne, I do love to fly. No question about it. Since our first meeting, though, I’ve dug a bit deeper.

Seems that virtual worlds do a very good job at simulating real life experiences. So, flying inside of a virtual world feels like flying. Meeting up with some avatars in a virtual world feels like a real life, in-person interaction. Recently, I was spending time with an avatar while we watched a third putting up a structure in front of us. Despite the fact that my friend was in Edmonton, I was in Colorado, and the builder was physically at her desk in China, it felt only slightly different than standing with a friend peeking into a construction site. Amazing.

I understand that this feeling of being together is called “presence” or “co-presence” and to my knowledge, other more traditional communications media don’t capture this effect nearly as well as virtual worlds do. As someone who’s worked in long distance situations for years, I believe strongly that the workplace could benefit significantly from this effect – which, by the way, is inexpensively achieved and “green.”

How long before we forego air travel and corporate real estate to work together in virtual worlds? Well, it’s happening to a minor extent today, but it’s bound to increase dramatically and soon. Consider Forrester Research’s recent report “Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds,” which recommends experimentation with virtual worlds now, because they may be as important for work as the web is, in five years time. In any event, the Association is here, in part to get this message out to the public. Exciting stuff. Thanks.

I do find it exciting. I am ready to participate and see where ALL these virtual worlds might lead. Conflict I imagine, but that is the normal course of things. Change always brings conflicts, it is how they are resolved they test our mettle as people- or avatars.

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I’m looking for bugs. Insects, spiders, creepy crawlys, little flying things. I figured instead of shopping, though, that I’d open up a little competition for friends and then figured why shouldn’t everyone have a chance to earn some Lindens. The insects will be used on a sim that isn’t yet open. Creators will keep full rights to their work, all I ask is the right to use them on my sim, and promise not to resell.

Pick up a copy of the rules here:

Dusan- why not pay each bug or creature creator a US Dollar bounty, let them retain full rights, a credit on the work, and make the bugs actively purchasable on the SIM (or in a shop on sim)? This is one blend of commerce I am doing at the “Primula Rasa” experiment…let people purchase parts they like, to help sustain the sim, gauge interest, and also gather information on engagement and sustainability.

Several ways to vend really…

a) Multi-Prim Vendors

b) Single Prim Vendors

c) Standalone Product

d) Standalone with Sign

Standalone works great, especially if you have auto-return turned off. We have vendors for all the situations, even SLX integration, (and you can easily change from web or add sub affiliates), but we need to write scripting for stand alone products. I don’t know if it that “bugs your plans” but rather than contests where only one benefits- many get a stipend and the real contest is on performance- well their bug does in the micro-transaction races. Data is very useful…and this is definitely “interest” data.

BTW- just what size is an insect? I know we have a whole range of horrible things, insects, and what not… Very curious.

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Developer Autodesk states with the next revolution of 3ds Max, it will be splitting the release into two products, 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment, for game and movie producers, and 3ds Max Design 2009, for architects, designers and visualization specialists.

The gaming/entertainment version will feature aa new Reveal rendering toolset to streamline iterative workflows, a ProMaterials material library for simulating real-world surfaces, and new UV editing tools. It will also include Recognize, a new scene-loading technology which it says will significantly improve the inter-application workflow with Revit Architecture 2009.

The “design branded version” will include all features of the entertainment branded version, with the exception of an included SDK (software development toolkit), used primarily in game and video markets to to integrate software into a production pipeline and develop in-house tools to be used in conjunction with the 3ds Max. The design version will also include “Exposure technology,” to simulate and analyze sun, sky, and artificial lighting.

Bottom line- Autodesk recognizes that entertainment and game makers have very different, and obviously strategic needs as to those who are say- making a building. When you start putting out dual flavors that usually means a market is set to bloom and become lucrative. One has to wonder what impact Second Life is or will have on the high end industry?

Where is Maya? I’ll have to dig around.

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Audio tool developer Vivox has announced that Metaversum, Simutronics and Stratics have all selected Vivox’s voice integration services for their respective technology, and the company has also added enhanced features.

German based Metaversum has integrated Vivox voice services into its Twinity virtual world, enabling users to speak to one another in 3D spatial audio in groups or on private channels. They bill Twinity as:

Twinity mashes up the real with the virtual world. In Twinity you can create your virtual self, meet real people and make new friends. Create your own apartment or build your dream home anywhere in the world. Drop in on your friends and go out and have fun!

Metaversum also has yumondo in private beta testing.

Yumondo is an online platform where you can discover your city’s best-kept secrets, organize your free time, and exchange ideas with other urban trendsetters all over the world. We call it urban stylesharing.

Catchy- urban stylesharing.

Simutronics will now offer the Vivox Precision Studio SDK (Software Development Kit0 as an embedded technology option within its HeroEngine MMO development platform now Vivox’s voice solutions are open to developers in in MMO development. A small player promising deep immersion and live game masters they offer DragonRealms, Gemstone IV, Hero’s Journey, Modus Operandi, Allianceof heroes and Cyberstrike 2. I like the live game mastering element, who wouldn’t want to be a paid DM…hell I did it for free for over twenty-five years, but they dangle the carror that writers may get paid as the game goes live and progresses.

Stratics, an MMO portal, will provide Vivox services to its reported 500,000 subscribers, including voice, buddy lists, and presence indicators.

MMO, MMO,…get ready to hear it a lot over the next year.

Vivox is no boot strapper either nabbing almost 8 million in Series B funding.

From the November release…Benchmark Capital Leads Round, Joins Vivox Board of Directors

Vivox, the leading provider of integrated voice services for online games and virtual worlds, today announced that it has secured $7.8 million in a second round of equity financing. Benchmark Capital led the round. Strong support was also received from the Company’s existing investors, Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital.

“The proliferation of virtual worlds and online games has created a tremendous opportunity for the Vivox communications platform,” said Mitch Lasky, general partner of Benchmark Capital and newly appointed Vivox board member. “Voice is a transformative feature in games, creating an entirely new level of engagement and social connection among players. Vivox is uniquely positioned to deliver scalable, carrier-grade voice services through its industry-leading technologies and expertise.”

“We are incredibly excited to have Benchmark Capital and Mitch Lasky involved with Vivox,” said Rob Seaver, founder and CEO of Vivox. “Benchmark’s clear visions and track record in the sector, and Mitch’s successful background in senior roles with Disney, Activision, JAMDAT and Electronic Arts are tremendous assets to Vivox.”

“Vivox’s technology and operational expertise have established them as a unique service in the market,” said Ryan Moore, general partner and member of the Vivox Board from GrandBanks Capital. “We see first-hand the positive impact Vivox has on online games and virtual worlds with operational excellence and innovative functionality and have no doubt they will continue to play a major role in shaping online communities.”

Proceeds from the round will fund product development, sales support and marketing as the Company extends its technology and market lead. Vivox offers the only integrated platform and managed service available today to enable online games and virtual worlds to connect their communities with cutting edge features and functionality on a massive scale.

“We continue to invest in digital media companies that are changing the way people work and live,” said Warren Lee, Vivox board member and principal at Canaan Partners. “We’re thrilled to invest again in Vivox and believe the company is poised for tremendous growth in the rapidly expanding gaming and virtual world market.”

Vivox customers and partners include online game and virtual world leaders 1GPN, Inc., Alpha Innovation, BigWorld Technology, CCP Games, The Electric Sheep Company, FWD International, IBM, Icarus Studios, Illusion Factory, K2 Network, LanguageLab.com, Linden Lab, Monumental Games, Pixel Mine and Wizards of the Coast.

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Solipsis P2P 3D

Solipsis is a free and open source system for a massively multi-participant shared virtual world. It was designed by Joaquin Keller and Gwendal Simon at France Telecom Research and Development Labs. Its goal is to provide the infrastructure for a “Metaverse-like” public virtual territory. Once again taking scalability into account it relies on a (P2P) peer-to-peer architecture sothat the virtual space has the potential to be populated by an “unlimited” number of participants.

Solipsis is Funded By:

ANR - French National Agency for Research
The French National Agency for Research (ANR) is a public administrative institution. It was created on January 1st 2007 as a funding agency for research projects. It aims at increasing the number of research projects coming from the whole scientific community. The projects are assessed by peers and go through a selection process based on their competitiveness; the selected ones are then funded. ANR addresses both public research institutions and companies with two main goals: generating new knowledge and promoting interactions between public and corporate labs by developping partnerships.

I&R - Media and Networks
A “cluster of clusters”, “Media and Networks” brings together actors from higher education and academic research institutions, SMI/SMEs and large companies mainly from Bretagne and Pays de la Loire regions, who are leaders in the media and networks fields. Encompassing the three markets of audiovisual, telecommunications, and information technologies, the Media and Networks cluster helps its members develop tomorrow’s world-competitive innovative technologies.

Open Source Make-up

The Solipsis project includes the use of a number of open source projects that it supports, or that makes up its DNA. Currently the list of supporting tech include:

OGRE (Object-Oriented Graphics Rendering Engine) -OGRE is a scene-oriented, flexible 3D engine written in C++.

Navi - Navi is a new library for Ogre3D developers. In this implementation think of making a GUI with HTML. Pretty simple.

Lua - Lua is a powerful, fast, light-weight, embeddable scripting language. It combines simple procedural syntax with powerful data description constructs based on associative arrays and extensible semantics.

Breplibrary - An implementation of a topological data structure similar to the WINGED EDGE data structure, representing the boundary of a polyhedral solid.

ODE (Open Dynamics Engine) - ODE is an open source, high performance library for simulating rigid body dynamics e.g. vehicles. It is a mature and platform independent that utilizes a C/C++ API.

TPG Tokamak Physics Engine - The TPG SDK is a high performance real-time physics library designed especially for gaming interaction.

XmlRpc++ - A C++ implementation of the XML-RPC protocol based on py-xmlrpc. The XmlRpc protocol was designed to make remote procedure calls simple: it encodes data in a simple XML format and uses ubiquitious HTTP for communication.

TinyXml - Very simple, and light weight C++ XML parser designed for easy integration. It reads XML and creates C++ objects representing the XML document. The objects can be manipulated, changed, and saved again as XML.

Note: So I don’t get too acronym happy–

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a standard for creating markup languages which describe the structure of data.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) isthe protocol used to transfer web pages written in HTML. The protocol is used to follow links from one web page to another.

SDK (Software Development Kit) A set of programming instructions, points of access and guidelines for plugin developers.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) A markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web page. Not an actual programming language.

GUI (Graphical User Interface) The use of pictures rather than just words to represent the input and output of a program. Hails from the days of mice, windows, and icons invented at Xerox PARC (not by Apple or Microsoft- they looted it.) in the 1970’s. DOS, if you are old enough to recall it, used a CLI (command line interface)

From Wikipedia on Solipsis

Strolling through a magnificent virtual world can now be casually experienced in massively multi-player games. It somehow corroborates the concept of a massively shared public virtual world depicted by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash. In these worlds, users’ interactions are not only allowed but empowered, so, in some ways, they outperform the current Web and appear as a possible evolution of our networking experience. However, some issues still need to be addressed.

In a virtual world, every object — avatar of a player or a virtual object — should be aware of all objects within its virtual surroundings. Yet, objects are dynamic: their virtual position can change. Therefore the system should ensure that an entity is aware of all events occurring nearby. The simplest way to implement such a system is to centralize the management of the virtual world. If a “god” knows, at any time, the positions of all entities, it can easily alert entities about important events happening nearby.

However, this architecture relies on costly server(s), mostly owned by some private companies. These virtual worlds are not public at all! They just are some private worlds having some rules that are unilaterally decided by a company. The behaviours of inhabitants are strictly monitored and some non-expected tendencies could result in banishments.

Moreover, a centralized virtual world adopts a common graphical appearance that is initially designed by owners. Even the most customizable systems where users can build their home will impose limits on the creativity of users. There is no clear consensus on the graphical shape of a virtual world and there will probably never be.

Furthermore, these systems fail in creating a complete ecosystem for the virtual world. The presence of an unsustainable owner prevents the raise of business opportunities.

Some recent initiatives attempt to implement a peer-to-peer virtual world. Algorithms based on collaboration between participants ensure the consistency of the virtual world that is a public place because nobody owns it, except its inhabitants.

The Open Source Metaverse Project builds a world seen as the union of several separate worlds, each one being managed by one user which could be potentially anybody. This edonkey-like architecture supports some 3d graphical routines. Solipsis is a one-layer peer-to-peer system in which there is definitely no manager, nor a precise implementation yet. Briefly speaking, Solipsis seems to have a greater potential because of its pretty open design, but it is far less enjoyable by now. Both approaches suffer from a bootstrapping issue. A world becomes attractive when it is crowded although they currently are quite empty.

No Escaping Snowcrash

Seems one cannot escape the Snowcrash metaphor these days. At any rate while researching Solipsis I came across some interesting documents- one in particular that readers might find worthy of study- The P2P Manifesto and I quote again because it ties directly into some recent and somewhat abstract exhibits to highlight our notions of economy, genetics, memetics, scarcity, abundance and perhaps even authenticity.

From the P2P Manifesto this opening piece.

Our current political economy is based on a fundamental mistake. It is based on the assumption that natural resources are unlimited, and that it is an endless sink. This false assumption creates artificial scarcity for potentially abundant cultural resources. This combination of quasi-abundance and quasi-scarcity destroys the biosphere and hampers the expansion of social innovation and a free culture.

In a P2P-based society, this situation is reversed: the limits of natural resources are recognized, and the abundance of immaterial resources becomes the core operating principle. The vision of P2P theory is the following:

1 ) the core intellectual, cultural and spiritual value will be produced through non-reciprocal peer production;

2) it is surrounded by a reformed, peer-inspired, sphere of material exchange;

3) it is globally managed by a peer-inspired and reformed state and governance system.

Because of these characteristics, peer to peer can be said to be the core logic of the successor civilization, and is a answer and solution to the structural crisis of contemporary capitalism.

Plenty more interesting points in the P2P Manifesto…

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For Anthony, my son. Hopefully he won’t see it for awhile and I know he is more into immersive 3D-Worlds (e.g. Club Penguin scooped by Disney) than blogs. Perhaps when he sees the shortcuts you can find by paying attention to others…or perhaps he will discover them on his own as all hard core gamers (and their community) always find a way to accomplish.

Variouns Guitar Hero III Cheats for the Wii as I found them- search ease use and attention getting winner was alpha status Mahalo. Guitar Hero III is the third installment in the popular Guitar Hero series developed by Neversoft…

Known Cheats (Key Series)

1. Large Gems: G, R, G, Y, G, B, G, O, G, B, G, Y, G, R, G, GR, RY, GR, YB, GR, BO, GR, YB, GR, RY, GR, GY

2. Hyperspeed: O, B, O, Y, O, B, O, Y

3. Performance Mode: RY, RB, RO, RB, RY, GB, RY RB

4. Precision Mode: GR, GR, GR, RY, RY, RB, RB, YB, YO, YO, GR, GR, GR, RY, RY, RB, RB, YB, YO, YO

5. Unlock All Code: YO, RB, RO, GB, RY, YO, RY, RB, GY, GY, YB, YB, YO, YO, YB, Y, R, RY, R, Y, O

6. Air Guitar: BY, GY, GY, RB, RB, RY, RY, BY, GY, GY, RB, RB, RY, RY, GY, GY, RY, RY

7. Bret Michae:ls Singer: GR, GR, GR, GB, GB, GB, RB, R, R, R, RB, R, R, R, RB, R, R, R

8. Easy Expert GR, GY, YB, RB, BO, YO, RY, RB

9. No Fail: GR, B, GR, GY, B, GY, RY, O, RY, GY, Y, GY, GR

10. Unlock Every Item GRBO, GRYB, GRYO, GBYO, GRYB, RYBO, GRYB, GYBO, GRYB, GRYO, GRYO, GRYB, GRYO

Guitar Hero 3 Wii aka Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Cheats

More Notes: There are many guitars not in the store but are available for purchase after completing tasks. How to unlock the guitar is in bold

Bat Guita- Five Star every song in Career Mode on Easy
Beach Life Bass- Beat Co-Op on Hard
El Jefe Guitar- 5-star all songs in Expert mode.
Jolly Roger Guitar- Five Star every song in Career Mode on Medium
Moon Shot Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Easy

Nemesis 13 Guitar- Beat Co-Op Career Mode on any difficulty
Neversoft Skateboard Guitar- 5 star every song on Expert Co-Op Career
Pendulaxe- Beat Co-Op- Career on Expert
Radioactive Beat- Co-op- Career mode on Hard
Risk Assessment Guitar- Complete Expert mode.
Rojimbo Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Hard
Saint George Guitar- Beat Career Mode on Medium
Tiki Guitar- every song in career on hard mode

Through the Fire and the Flames you can beat Career Mode on Any Difficulty

To unlock TTFAF, you must beat Career mode on any difficulty.
While the credits role, you will play TTFAF in no-fail From then on, TTFAF can be found in the bonus songs section.

Malware Free Game Cheats Resource Sites

NO malware or foistware, notorious on some even large “cheat sites” found.

Yes- dad checks.

GameFAQs: Guitar Hero III Cheats & Secrets
GamePro.com: Guitar Hero III Cheats
NeoSeeker: Guitar Hero III Cheats

Thanks again to Maholo billed as human search and how do I know?

Evan D made a Guitar Hero 3 Song List.

Mark B found all the best Guitar Hero III Cheats.
Adam created a page on How to Play Guitar Hero 3..

I am pleased they found nothing on me, for a change, and exactly what I wanted. Hat Tip Jason Calacanis for propogating a malware free “god mode” while even under Alpha status. I got the alpha, alpha, alpha…can’t wait to see beta, beta, omega…if you are Google everything is perpetually beta and if you are Microsoft it is called “shipped”, or a feature, or has a code name that changes three to four times coupled with twice as many skunkwork operation codenames signed in triplicate with lots of NDAs.

As a side bonus, friend and kung-fu, smack down, security ace, Chris Boyd doesn’t have to beat the crap out of any asshat with the much used “beat down stick” or my personal preference “the baton of reason”…for a nice change…

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Second Life, the wild west of the “metaverse” often requires the ability to acclimate to an idiosyncratic culture and complex jargon. How do you know when you have passed into the realm of the accomplished? That you have mastered enough of the culture to blend in? One or more of the following have happened or probably apply….

1 ) Your think your spouse and children are actly strangely. Rathar than admit you have a problem, the most logical conclusion must be they have been replaced by someone’s ALTs.

2 ) A new resident pulls the most offensive object they can from a freebie box, in this case a set of realistic sculpty canine genitals, and screams. You do not even bat an eye let alone flinch and keep looking for a decent skin. Your friend, a scripter, examines the miniature build and quickly fashions it into a gun.

3 ) Ruth is no longer a name or a book of the Bible, but an unfortunate, yet curable disease where you become a pseudo-hermaphrodite with extremely poor fashion sense. The only cure is a re-bake. This operation requires no flour, sugar, or yeast.

4 ) Getting from here to there becomes a TP while AFK remains AFK, OK is and always will be- KK.

5 ) Sit and push are not activities for a porch swing, but defensive and offensive modes.

6 ) You are concerned about privacy at your private beach front property because of the recent number of invisible tortured prims named _sand_ turning up on your zero mass scanner.

7 ) You see two people dancing poorly in real life and mentally access channel one and think the word “sync”.

8 ) Your friend, an accomplished builder, complains of tennis elbow although he does not play any sports. You try to tell him it could be his reflexive item scanning habits. He doesn’t
even respond when you mention trying to cut a prim or two out of every single, rock, bench, or tree really isn’t worth the time it takes to examine them- which he will systematically do everywhere you go mumbling about “prim conservation”.

9 ) The sim owner calls you a prim whore for using Temp on Rez.

10 ) Alll Santa Claus hats or ill-made sofas left in a sand box are probably shape deformers.

11 ) As an American you begin to use the metric system for land measurement and realize it is actually more efficient.

12 ) A new and ill-informed user comes in world interrupting a conversation with a friend and demands to be taken to the “sex rooms”. Your friend yawns and asks politely- “What species?”, explaining to the neophyte that it pays to be very specific on the grid.

13 ) You can’t wait to get home to rez your gifts.

14 ) You know that people wearing boxes are the defacto cultural signal of someone negotiating a complex GUI and not a fashion statement, or they may have no payment on file.

15 ) ‘xcite has nothing to do with search, but a place where some people go to upgrade their virtual sex life.

16 ) ll(insert crude word here) is really funny.

17 ) Marriage becomes partnering and usually lasts the span of an incubation cycle of sea monkeys. From start to dissolution it costs less than 50 cents if the Linden holds at 260.

18 ) You know that the Linden is a product and not currency.

19 ) Achieving orbit is normally a “bad thing” requiring you to re-log, although you may have tried a parachute more than once just to see how long it took.

20 ) Your friend tells you he has “won” Second Life. You ask him what level did he reach?

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Fleep Tuque (aka Chris Collins), an educator who I have a lot of respect for and know through an interesting string of “chain reactions” incited by micro media, had an interesting comment on the introduction of Live Gamer into the mix…it seemed like cheating. I replied back, but my blog seems to be eating comments so I figured I would expend what thought I had left looking at this and some other topics. This is not a term paper, but more “thinking out loud”.

Fleep Speaks

To quote her comment.

My first thought regarding these game goods trading or buying/selling platforms is: how does this not just perpetuate the “person with the most money wins” paradigm that already exists in the real world? This is beginning to happen to some extent in Second Life - though indie content creators and long term residents still have the edge because they know what actually works - that advantage will disappear with time as the big boys figure out how to do things right. But in a narrative game world like WoW? It feels like outright _cheating_.

Fleep how about the sixteen year old who has much more TIME in which to play a game? What are the conditions for a “win”? Is this maxim really true for the “real world”? I certainly think having a ton of money can help, but doesn’t mean you will win and winning is often subjective. I am not sure if the indie content creators will lose their edge at all. The big boys have been wrong for a long time and television is a great example. That is why we have Ask the Ninja, Bus Uncle or even the perpetuation of shock memes like Tub Girl and GoatSe Guy. Real life is simply more entertaining than the carefully prepared baby food they want us to eat.

She goes on…

What’s the incentive to play for hours to win the Flaming Sword of Super Powerz if you can just go out and buy the thing? Sure there are gold farmers and the like, but I say most people are playing MMORPGs for the fun, the camaraderie, the _escapism_ from real world pressures. Bring in a profit motive to play and then it just becomes another job where some jerk who already has more than you in the real world can now buy her way ahead of you in the game world too. What’s the incentive to actually play the game when it can just be bought?

Because one can buy the game does not mean they will derive some the core benefits you cite like camaraderie, escapism, fun and perhaps most important- a sense of belonging to a group and shared accomplishment. WoW pros tell me, and I have asked, that they can spot a power jacked character right away and typically shun them. They may have the “loot” but they do not have the cultural mannerisms of one properly indoctrinated through blood and fire. They are missing the secret handshakes, or the native linguistic touches. They are simply a noob in +5 Plate Mail.

Suggested Science Fiction Reading

Since I am so fond of science fiction I would recommend a couple of texts written circa 1970’s. They are fantastic fiction and great metaphors for Second Life.

Roger Zelazny
The Great Book of Amber : The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10 (Chronicles of Amber)

Phillip Jose Farmer
The World of Tiers: Volume One (World of Tiers)

In the World of Tiers we meet earthlings Robert Wolff and Paul Janus Finnigan (alias Kickaha) who through strange circumstances are “gated” into a parallel pocket universe. These pocket universes are maintained by mostly insane “Lords” who are paranoid and spend most of their time trying to kill each other to stave off ennui. The World of Tiers is just that, a multi-tiered world that spans a virtual garden of Eden and changes each level until we come to a deadly palace at the top. I won’t spoil it, but the first three are really good, old-fashioned rip roaring reads.

Farmer’s books went on to inspire the late Roger Zelazny who wrote The Chronicles of Amber. He was so inspired by The World of Tiers Zelanzy actually dedicated one of the books in the series to the main characters Jadawin and Kickaha. I have found Amber to be an incredibly accurate metaphor for Second Life. (Matter of fact you might find the quixotic Chevaliers names and behavior to be quite similar to those of Amberites at times.). In the Amber stories, Amber and the Courts of Chaos are the only two “true” worlds. Everything else, even Earth, are called or simply the byproducts of “shadows”. The royal family of Amber that negotiates the Pattern, and the equivalent Chaos nobility who have walked the Logrus, can freely travel through the shadows and alter them at will. The obvious metaphor for Second Life being that of some arbitrary static reality and the existence of an infinite number of “negotiated realities”. Furthermore we have the metaphor of a scripter or builder who can literally “create” whatever they choose- it is nothing but Shadow and really quite malleable- even the physics.

The books are narrated by Corwin who suffers from amnesia, escapes, tracks down his sister Florimel, and discovers that he is a prince of Amber. He is taken by his brother Random to walk the Pattern. The Pattern is the construct which gives the multiverse its order. Walking the Pattern restores Corwin’s memory and his powers to travel through shadow…I won’t spoil the rest and since it is late I will let the Wikipedia hammer at the metaverse concepts within.

Amber and Second Life Parallels

The series is based on the concept of parallel worlds, domination over them being fought between the kingdoms at the extreme ends of Shadow—Amber, the one true world of Order, and the Courts of Chaos. Amberites of royal blood—those descended from Oberon (and ultimately his parents, Dworkin, formerly of the Courts of Chaos, and the Unicorn of Order herself) —are able to “walk in Shadow”, mentally willing changes to occur around them. These changes are, in effect, representative of the Shadow-walker passing through different realities. There are apparently infinite realities, either found by the Shadow-walker locating such worlds or by creating them (we the readers are never sure; neither are the characters).

Within this multiverse, Zelazny deals with some interesting philosophical concepts about the nature of existence, compares and contrasts the ideas of Order and Chaos, and plays with the laws of physics—they can differ from Shadow to Shadow; for instance, gunpowder does not ignite in Amber, which is why the characters all carry swords. Other Shadows have green skies and blue suns, cities of glass and Kentucki Fried Lizzard Partes, and worlds out of our own fiction can come to life.

In short, as I have maintained, reality is what we mutually negotiate- like modems we will find a common protocol. A game is what we choose to make out of it and if left idle humans will create their own rules and games to satisfy their needs.

Metaverse History

I just finished The Second Life Herald: The Virtual Tabloid that Witnessed the Dawn of the Metaverse By Peter Ludlow and Mark Wallace. This gelled or provided a much needed history for me that is often lacking in the fast-paced world of the “synthetic”- although i am not sure they are really synthetic at all- it just makes us feel better to say that.

I would add this is a must read too. It fits together so many of the missing pieces when you see how and why the refugees from the Sims Online started showing up on Second Life’s doorstep- mostly because “skilling” (playing the game) your avatars up the ladder sucked- it was more fun to form virtual mafias and berate people, perhaps the same reason we have “griefers” in Second Life. As a bonus you get to track some of the history and birth of the more interesting personalities like Ludlow or Prok who challenges me to write on the virtual chalk board about humility- in The Sims Online known as DyerBrook a.k.a. Prokofky Neva. (Yes- it was cut and paste.)

Fiction to Non-Fiction Books

The State of Play: Law, Games, and Virtual Worlds (Ex Machina: Law, Technology, and Society)
By Jack Balkin, Beth Noveck

Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot
By Julian Dibbell

They touch on the “cheating” phenomena and I was actually able to catch up with one of the major “gold farmers” in Dibbel’s book. The amounts being made are staggering so clearly people, and many of them want this. Perhaps this should be a clue to game makers? Are most people really mechanics driven Monty-haul gamers or dedicated role-players who love true immersion?

What to Do with Noobs

If we go back to October of last year I pulled and commented on this TechCrunch Gem.

i went on second life; its rather boringand most people where just running around changing their apperance…i’m not realy going to waste my time and money doing this; expecially since i know they got hacked and all their customer data was compromised.

probably tha main point of contention in this game for me is: i don’t get to kill anyone…it lame in that i have to have clothes and the appearance sucks; and i wanted a chance to start a business/make money…and i couldn’t figure it out…and i’m not going to stay up at night making polygons…so maybe the audience is limited to people who use animation software…not me….i want a game where i can go kill something and steal gold, and then use that to start a business or something.

i was fun walking around though…but if you’ve played online games before, like Arena, etc…its kinda boring.

Sad but true and really some of this moron’s complaints are probably valid. Their appearance probably did suck and a complicated GUI (which has improved) and dedicated skill set are needed to look better. Low and behold it wasn’t so easy to get wealthy and make money especially if you aren’t willing to sit up late and “make polygons”- that isn’t even a game- that sounds like work! This guy just wanted to kill people and steal gold and use THAT to start his business. Interesting. There is a major disconnect between the uninitiated and the real virtual world.

Why Can’t You Buy a Better Second Life?

Second Life is not easy to absorb at first- sort of like nicotine. Often veterans take for granted the amount of indoctrination that is needed. From idiosyncratic speech (e.g. Tier, Prim and Orbit) to a completely self-absorbed and alien culture where people often experience vertigo from initial participation. Then again that is why veterans put up with just about anything including frequent grid failure. Once you participate in the world, once you have earned the skills through experience- you don’t want to go. Clearly you CANNOT really even BUY a better Second Life like you can in say WoW. You can look better perhaps, but participation and friends are not bought. The only thing that shocks me are people who say “I’m bored”. I really believe there is little to no hope for them.

Virtual Scarcity

Back tracking to March of this year…

I find it an interesting parallel between buying virtual goods like World of WarCraft Power leveling or Second Life Linden buying and the swapping of “joost beta accounts” for tangible or intangible goods. Both are subjective in value. Both are desired by “fans”. Both would seem to have relatively limited life spans. The only prime difference is that one (beta accounts) are predestined to become ubiquitous. At least I am sure Joost hopes so

People were paying for Joost betas because they wanted to be first or they wanted to satisfy a need immediately.

Dusan Writer touches on many things I agree with in her follow-up. One being Edward Castranova’s desire for protecting the magic circle. Users will define what the magic circle will be and in the not so near future, if they wish, they will be creating the entire magic circle.. When does the game begin and end? It varies from individual to individual. Like turn of the century Quake matches via TCP/IP…you were not the best until you mastered Ping flood protection, learned to send a string of out of band data against your foe on TCP port 139, coordinated via ICQ, kept up with the birth of the Stooge bot and a host of other challenges. The game demanded players improve their security skills or suffer. The game went far beyond the game’s own boundaries- yet people played and they still play.

Second Life and Second Iteration

Conversely, however, platform owners can play tricks with virtual economies in ways that aren’t transparent to users who may be highly invested in particular virtual worlds. The example of Second Life pegging the Linden to the US dollar is an example. This is arbitrary, and the spread of the actual rise and fall of the Linden is covered by Linden Labs. But just as it’s in their power to control against a sudden decrease in the value of the Linden, it’s also in their power to remove their hands from the wheel (for financial or other reasons) and let the economy spin off on its own.

Let’s face it - with X billions of objects in Second Life, few of which deteriorate (although MANY of which are lost in someone’s inventory), surely the value of a shirt is worth less now than it was a year ago. How many shirts have been made? But so long as the Linden is pegged at an artificial rate, the illusion of an economy can be maintained. The real SL economy is in the island and off-world economy, but these statistics aren’t tracked (or if they are, they aren’t published).

Users often take it for granted, in a cycle of trust, that the platform owners are working in their best interests - they have an interest in working economies that don’t collapse, otherwise they lose their users. But as virtual worlds grow and real economic value starts to accrue to them, this might be courting disaster.

I have a lot of thoughts here on Second Life and new technologies like hashed validation of “virtual goods” to guarantee scarcity. I would love to reveal it all but I simply want to try it first. I will say as a micro-content “facilitator” that I see the exact SAME patterns I saw in performance marketing from late 90’s until now. Most of us were amateurs who organically built up from small operations- just like we see now in SL. We had the good fortune of being in the right place and at the right time and most worked hard. Some even made millions, but it was clear with each passing year that those who had not networked, had not built a brand, had not acquired disruptive technology or strategies were doomed.

Attention Still Equals Revenue

So called “social media” was another pocket of opportunity with a different attention=revenue pay off- influence. However, just as in performance marketing, and we will probably see it with micro or social media, the bar will rise higher and higher AND / OR technology will make it so simple it will no longer be a “skill” or barrier to entry. Second Life has clearly set itself up to be disrupted and I hope to help that along- I call it Second Iteration (Second Foundation?) and it is a good thing that does NOT make Second Life “bad”. However, the bar still has a long way to drop. I grant it is easy to create things but just like in performance marketing I do not think content creation follows The Pareto distribution or principle (aka the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) like I often hear. I think it might be better expressed as a joint ratio of 96:4- very imbalanced.

It is the big players that should be sweating when amateurs in their bedroom can suddenly duplicate the work that was walled off to the elite with high-end graphics and 3D programs. They have to have noticed by now.

What is to Come

Metaplace is a taste of what’s to come. Islands and builds in Second Life are CLEARLY a sign of things to come. Games will be created by kids in their basement, companies wanting a quick new way to train staff on a new product line, and educators wanting to throw together a virtual classroom with live collaborative project and presentation spaces.

I concur with everything but I say let us dispense with the classroom. In a world where you can create or cheaply procure whatever you need I see no reason to have classrooms or ill-fitting desks. I truly hope educators don’t try to replicate everything. The game, the world, and the experience are the real classrooms and most students, like their games, will define it if you let them. You need only enable and guide them.

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I happened upon this excellent resource by John Rice who is an educator, author and speaker specializing in educational technology and instructional gaming, when he noted a recent entry I did on griefing. I really like his blog perhaps because I feel vindicated that spending my high school time reading TSR’s Fiend Folio and memorizing THACO tables really might have practical applications. Sorry Dad- you might have been wrong.

John has not only a great blogroll–

• Bud the Teacher
• Clark Aldrich’s Blog
• Education Business Blog
• EduGamesBlog Feed
• EduQuery.com
• Electric Archeaologist
• Future-Making Serious Games
• Karl Kapp’s Blog
• Miguel Guhlin’s Blog
• Research Quest
• Richard Carey Associates
• seriousgames.blogspot
• seriousgames.ning
• SharpBrains.com Blog
• Tim Holt’s Byte Speed
• VG Researcher
• Zone of Influence

and he also puts together some fine pieces and resources like Top 10 Education Video Games, gives us the truth about “Virtual Shakespeare”, follows how virtual worlds are spewing real life creations into meatspace, and I like his take on VastPark.

John Rice on VastPark

Educators love to appropriate existing technologies for pedagogical purposes. And so we have educational radio programs, TV programs, videogames … and instructional applications in virtual worlds (VWs) such as Second Life and Active Worlds. However, there is an unfortunate lack of control in VW environments, as griefers manifest themselves with online terrorism, and students may potentially wander into explicit adult areas. What educators really need are VWs they control completely, regulating who has access as well as the pedagogy that is covered. Dr. Greg Jones over at UNT is a pioneer of this idea. Now, the potential for teachers to easily create their own online education worlds is proffered with a new service from VastPark, which bills itself as a “distributed virtual worlds platform.” Essentially, you design your VW using VastPark’s tools, invite users to stroll your virtual realm with their avatars, and achieve your online objectives whether that be making money or teaching students at a distance.

Second Life Innovates but Will Serve Niche Community in the future

Lately I have been looking at Second Life “economics” and how to disrupt the market. Finally it hit me and I think it can be done by using modified classical models in the far more mature affiliate marketing space. I am seeing the same sort of entrepreneurial patterns I saw with performance marketing in 1996 and I think it will follow a similiar maturation cycle. Snowcrash anyone? I believe the struggles with Second Life have been based around its hyper-freedom. You cannot fit square pegs into round holes. This does not mean it does not have value, only that its value is misunderstood or misused.

Is Second Life Going to Die?

I don’t think so- it will continue to serve niche and fringe markets and attract hyper creatives. I think new worlds or platforms like VastPark will fill the gaps that Second Life cannot due to the nature of the platform. Their 9 new rules is a great read starting with their view that a contigious metaverse is not going to happen.

The vision of an organised single world (or even a world of worlds) where the rules apply throughout might fall nicely into the Second Life fan club’s imaginations, but we don’t think it is going to happen. We all owe SL a debt of gratitude for putting virtual worlds on the agenda. On the other hand, gamers generally look at SL and think it’s a lame place for middle aged furries and academics. Corporations want to run their own meeting places without fear of flying penises. Media companies such as MTV want to enable their audience to get deeper involved in a variety of media properties and they will generally run their universe of virtual worlds quite separately from external influences. There’s no need for a Metaverse.

VastPark’s Vision

From what I gather reading their blog VastPark posits a virtual world can be thought of as a collaborative wiki hence virtual world is controlled like a distributed content management system (CMS). Also the decentralization of content with portable worlds, platforms and purposes combined with the use of “atomic portable Widgets” will lead to an explosion of meta-worlds and quests that will become the new arena of layered interactivity that fosters exploration. Exploration equals immersion in my experience.

Also see Future-Making Serious Games VastPark piece by Eliane Alhadeff, who also cover