Archive for November, 2004
raganarok and cultural design
at terra nova, nick yee has written an interesting discussion about how cultural assumptions inform the design of in-game culture. he mentions the differences in ideas about how appearance and profession affect identity in western v non-western game. read it here.
Full Storyavatar beauty contest seeking models and other yummies
this little morsel is from Variety: Miss Digital World — An Avatar Beauty Contest Wired News has a story about a beauty contest searching for the best looking female digital avatar.
Full Storymore stuff you can do with terms of service (TOS) agreements
i dunno how many of you guys have bothered to follow the TOS thrashes that show up here now and then. for those of you who do not follow them — the points debated can concern the use of TOS as holy writ v the use of TOS docs as really fine personal information reapers.
Full StoryCamping Noobs in Second Life
In combat based MMOs, when players camp newbies they hang out at entry points and slaughter them — n00bs being such easy kills and all. Now in a social MMO like Second Life it’s the same basic idea only more subtle. Club officers pounce on n00bs, drag them to their clubs and entertain them to [...]
Full StoryAnother Sign of The End Times: a Hello Kitty MORPG
Maybe it was bound to happen. From the web site: “Hello Kitty World will allow thousands of players to live and participate in Hello Kitty’s magical and cute online world. You will be able to roam the streets of Kitty Kingdom, XO Federation, and Melody-land. Enjoy the beautiful landscape and architecture of Puroland or Badtzcity [...]
Full StoryHammie ponders his independence
Hamlet Linden in a reflective mood In a recent entry in New World Notes, Hamlet Linden addresses the issue of his independence as an employee of Linden Lab. At State of Play he said it was analogous to writing for a newspaper in a company town. Now he isn’t so sure. I say he should [...]
Full StoryBartle: We’re d00med by n00bs!
In a provocative new paper, Richard Bartle argues that game development is constrained in large part by the need to make games newbie friendly. Does this mean that innovative games like Second Life and A Tale in the Desert will forever going to be boutique games? Can they find a way to become newbie friendly [...]
Full StoryBartle: We’re d00med by n00bs!
In a provocative new paper, Richard Bartle argues that game development is constrained in large part by the need to make games newbie friendly. Does this mean that innovative games like Second Life and A Tale in the Desert will forever going to be boutique games? Can they find a way to become newbie friendly [...]
Full StoryExploring Online Conflict Resolution
In an historic meeting at the State of Play, a group of game developers, lawyers, and conflict mediators met to discuss strategies for conflict resolution online. The headline idea emerging from the meeting was the thought that rather than impose uniform conflict resolution strategies in a top down manner, it might be more useful for [...]
Full StoryFree Speech for Avatars! And…like…Now!
Ludlow blasts Stratics. In a Session at The State of Play entitled Avatar Rights, Virtual Liberty, and Free Expression in Virtual Worlds, Peter Ludlow blasted the organized censorship policies of Stratics, while Fred Schauer of Harvard University suggested that the possibilities for free expression in virtual worlds should be used to explore alternative models of [...]
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