LGWIV: Chris Klaus keynote
Here’s some rough notes on Chris Klaus’ keynote this morning. Seems to me like he’s almost pitching Metaplace. 😉 It’s nice to see industry leaders all pushing in the same direction.
Chris Klaus, Kaneva
Virtual worlds have been one of the more exciting segments for everyone here. I tried to write a videogame when I was a kid, ended up in security instead. Now I want to help change the world by enabling kids with the tools that we are seeing, and with games and vws we can do that.
Wanted to talk at a high level about main themes we are seeing in the industry. We are seeing patterns, divergence emerging. Some are entertainment, some are more serious and business oriented. Also will talk a bit about Kaneva.
Opportunity: 80% of Internet will engage in a VW by 2011 — Gartner. Consumer need: entertainment, connect me, enable me to express creativity and individuality, in an immersive 3d environment that is easy. Business need: engage with customers where they spend time, in our own space, without needing to develop tech from scratch.
8bn market for VW goods by 2018
addressable market 50-60m
Convergence with social networks.
#1. watch 3d TV with friends and other stuff around rich media within a virtual world.
#2. Target community. Very different from world to world. Long term we will see VWs move to niche communities.
#3. Brand safe environments. A success criterion is whether there are self-policing mechanisms.
#4. Does your brand fit the world? It doesn’t make sense to have a MCD’s logo tattooed to a dragon. To fit in brands, the easiest world to build is a modern day one.
#5. Real time engagement — webcasts into the world, like interviews with TV cast members, stuff where you can see an engagement. Not just in world — Twitter, videocams, etc.
#6. Rewards and incentives, something lacking in most of the worlds to date. The games do it well, but it is a missed opportunity in virtual worlds — builders are rewarded but what about everyone else? Look to games for models: level progression, badges, leaderboards and ranking, etc more.
#7. Fun & casual games. Dancing, treasure hunts, trivia, card games, etc — icebreakers. and allow the community to make them! And tie them into the reward system.
#8. Hollywood at home. Augment reality, mirror events in real time. there was the Screen Actors Guild awards show, and we did a simulation of the red carpet, etc. Represent patterns people are familiar with, people want to be in them. Mirror worlds, traveling to LA, NYC, Shanghai…
#9. encourage creativity. The tools right now are too complex for this. But new paradigms are coming — and around all kinds of digital content, not just 3d assets. Music festivals, etc.
#10. Package the experience. Starbucks provides a reliable experience everywhere in the world. VWs don’t do this yet.
About Kaneva: Latin for “canvas.” Want to be a hub to lots of creative experiences. STAR System: Synthetic Theme-based Augmented Reality. Allowing partners to have their own STARs.
7 Responses to “LGWIV: Chris Klaus keynote”
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Is watching TV on a screen inside a 3D virtual world really going to take off? I don’t see it.
It strikes me as more likely that you’ll watch the same stream as your friends with chat channels or video chat alongside.
@matt:
I’ve been to some events that do that. Like any simulation in real-time, it has the charms of onset cues, noting who sits next to whom, who sits alone, who’s wearing what or nothing, etc. OTW, as others note, the important aspects aren’t the 3D unless one is in motion which is why the games are better at this (questing, fighting, blah). A ‘sit around’ experience is ok but not a dealmaker. The important aspect is the real-time communication.
Events make a difference wherever celebrities congregate. The idea that one is online with Buffy or Bubba Whoever in the same chat room and their avatar is proximate to yours, that has charm.
Maybe it is an acquired taste. I enjoy 3D better than a chat board with photos, posters, kiss-me-kate gadgets and so on, but my 14 year old daughter is a Facebook addict and makes little use of 3D even where available. I treat a 3D room almost like a meatspace party; as soon as the pleasantries are done, I’m off exploring the grounds. The idea that I will run into someone and have a smaller circle chat is a lot more fun for me than hanging out in the meatsquare.
Except for hanging out with orcs. They always have the best stuff.
Matt Kelland:
“Virtual TV” is yet another flying car: fanciful, but impractical. At best, that functionality is a minor supporting feature.
Chris Klaus via Raph:
A “brand” is not a logo. *sigh*
No, not Chris Klaus! Chris Kringle! Santa Claus!
Richard
Black Bartle! 🙂
[quote]Is watching TV on a screen inside a 3D virtual world really going to take off? I don’t see it.[/quote]
A system with two monitors, one showing the streamed video and one showing the 3D space could be quite popular.
Two monitors (or similar) is becomming more and more common. It may just be a matter of time.
Imagine a setup where the streamed video is playing on your tv while the 3D space is on your computer monitor (or smaller TV sitting above the larger TV) or even a “page” on one monitor that is easily switched between whenever someone speaks.
This is true.
However, I have no idea what you’re talking about with the rest of it.