VW08: Technical Visionaries Debate the Future

 Posted by (Visited 8010 times)  Game talk  Tagged with: , ,
Sep 032008
 

Liveblog, excuse trhe typos!

Technical Visionaries Discuss and Debate
The Future of Virtual World Technologies
This session will analyze the future course of virtual worlds technologies. Join us for debate between leading industry technology experts on the future of the technology, where it’s headed and what needs to be done to get there. Don’t miss this lively conversation.
– John Swords, Director of Business Development, The Electric Sheep Company (moderator)
– Ian Hughes/epredator Metaverse Evangelist, IBM
– Ben Goertzel, CEO, Novamente LLC
– Mark Wallace, Chief Executive, Wello Horld, Inc.
– Christian Renaud, CEO, Technology Intelligence Group

Mod: When we brainstormed, a common theme was that we might be at a point where it’s time to talk about VW’s 2.0. The last few years could be described as 1.0, what characterizes the changes and what is 2.0?

Ian: The 2.0 thing kind of scares people, geeky. For me, there’s stuff that is probably going to happen that breaks this avatar model. There may actally be better ways for us to interact as humans over this medium, and it may be that while we try to repicate the world and dress up in interesting ways, that there are better ways, whether it is motion tracking or other ways we choose. That may be a leap we need to take, though avatars has brought some acceptance.
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At VW Expo Wednesday

 Posted by (Visited 6036 times)  Game talk  Tagged with: , , ,
Sep 022008
 

I’m driving up to LA tomorrow morning for the Virtual Worlds Expo. I’ll be on a panel. If you’re there, say hello!

1:00 – 2:00 pm Business Visionaries Panel: Where is the Business Headed Next?
Innovation is coming fast and furious on multiple fronts from multiple vendors. This one-of-a-kind session brings together the business visionaries of major virtual world companies for an interactive discussion on the future of the industry. Join us for a session you won’t want to miss.
– Ginsu Yoon, VP of Business Affairs, Linden Lab
– Corey Bridges, Executive Producer, Multiverse
– Michael Wilson, CEO, Makena Technologies, Inc.
– Raph Koster, President, Areae
– Joey Seiler, Editor, VirtualWorldsNews.com & Virtual Worlds Weekly (moderator)

A Theory of Fun is available again on Amazon

 Posted by (Visited 7544 times)  Game talk, Writing  Tagged with: , ,
Aug 292008
 

This is a nice blog anniversary surprise!

I don’t know for how long, or why (maybe the publisher stuff is sorted out? Maybe someone found a cache of them hidden under a mossy rock north of Pirate Cove) — but it’s claims 1-3 weeks shipping time, and it’s $17.24, and it’s not used copies. As you may or may not know, it’s been out of print since last October or so, and copies have been going for as high as $300.

If you’ve been waiting, now might be the time to order it!

Theory of Fun for Game Design @ Amazon

BTW, if any current owners want to review it, it could use some fresh reviews…

Happy birthday, blog: 10 years

 Posted by (Visited 12050 times)  Misc, Open thread
Aug 292008
 

The banner today

The first posts on the ancestor of this site went up ten years ago today. The site was dark blue. It used this newfangled HTML tag called frames, and I added each post by handcoding the HTML and uploading the file to the server.

I feel old. 🙂

Some of the oldest things on this site date back before the site itself, to when I was a young punk designer of 25 or 26, cocky and arrogantly sure I knew everything. I turn 37 in a week. I like to think I’m still a young turk tilting at the windmills.

Ten years ago, I started the site to archive some of the things I was telling the UO community and the LegendMUD community, things about the ways in which online communities can self-determine, things about how virtual worlds can serve as bridges, as ways to connect. To talk about how something people see as “mere games” can mean much more. I eagerly read everything I could by people like Randy Farmer & Chip Morningstar, Richard Bartle, and other pioneers. I collected aphorisms from mailing lists and gathered them into a reference source. I tried to share it back, to do my learning in public.

The previous banner, aka "the pixelly look"

In some ways, the site has become a book — most literally, in the way that A Theory of Fun was born from blog posts and snippets from MUD-Dev, but also in the over half a million words I have written here.

"Wood site #2" -- there was a wood site #1 before that one. This is where the knotwork thing came from.

I thought a good way to celebrate might be to turn things around on you. I am pretty sure that there are plenty of folks who haven’t been here that long — given that the site has gained several thousand daily readers in just the last year. So I thought I would ask some questions and use the anniversary as a chance to point people to some of the older material they might not have read.

So I want to turn it around on you! I have questions for you!

I don't seem to have that old art anymore... and there was one design older than ths, all dark blue.

I don't seem to have the old art for wood site #1anymore... and there was one design older than this, all dark blue.

I have my favorites and am thinking of showcasing some of them over the next week, but I am curious, because I suspect that to some degree I am better known to many of you for what I have said than what I have done. So many of the things I have done aren’t really there to see anymore, but the things I have written and said are still here, for better or worse. 🙂

So thanks for coming  on the journey! Here’s to another ten years, another half a million words, and more learning in public.

Another games picture from Target

 Posted by (Visited 9395 times)  Game talk  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 282008
 

Kim's surprised by the giant PC game rack that has 1/3 casual titles and 1/3 adventure games

Holy balls! Look at the PC game shelf! Approx 1/3 traditional PC hardcore fare (not shown), 1/3 kids & adventure (e.g. Dora, Nancy Drew, etc – also not shown) and 1/3 $20 casual download titles.

…on pampers, programming & pitching manure: Evolution of retail

See now, what have I been saying? 🙂

Though when I point this out (as I did most recently in my criminally underreported, one of the best talks I have ever given, go watch the video now Sandbox/Web3d speech), I usually focus on adventure games, not the casual games.

The point is the same though — a misread of what the average consumer is purchasing. Target has plenty of data on this, they make their living from it. First fact: the PC rack is large, despite what anyone may say about PC gaming dying. And what they stock tilts pretty heavily towards game cards, adventure games, and casual games.

If you do venture into the “core games” shelves, by the way, what you find is that there are two shelves of Sims stuff, two shelves of Blizzard stuff, and a smattering of current popular titles.

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