A couple of separate pieces exemplify some of the problems and opportunities for virtual worlds. Firstly, Reuters reports that several companies are re-thinking their virtual world strategy. Companies spent millions to jump into the Second Life bandwagon only to find that nobody visits the vast corporate environments (“if you build Read more…
(via EFF Deep Links) Microsoft has released a Game Content Usage Rules, which will make it easier for machinima enthusiasts to assert their copyright from content generated in games like Halo (1-3), Age of Empires, Rise of Nations, and Project Gotham Racing. The inspired grant of licence reads: “Here’s the Read more…
I have been meaning to to write about this column by Marina Hyde in The Guardian, but I wanted to keep some distance from it. While I welcome all sorts of articles that criticise technologies, I have been distraught by certain tone emerging in the supposedly more progressive sectors of Read more…
On Day 3 I attended the Identity workshop organised by James Grimmelmann from New York Law School and Caitlin Hall from Yale Information Society. This was a surprisingly good and fruitful session, not surprising because of the organisers, but because workshop format can be quite uneven. The small number of Read more…
Last night we were treated to a sumptuous and delicious dinner at Singapore Zoo, and then taken on a night safari. Tigers, lions, hippos, giraffes… but no gnus. Oh yes, there were no velociraptors sighted on the tour. As a Costa Rican, I’m always conscious about the inherent dangers built Read more…
The highlight session of the conference for me was Regulating Virtual Worlds, which I was very much looking forward to. I’m sure this was intentionally built into the choice of speakers, but each of the panelists took a very clear regulatory approach to the new technology. Charles Lim Aeng Chang Read more…
I’m in Singapore for State of Play V, which concludes a self-indulgent week of buffing-up my research into games and virtual worlds in preparation for next month’s Gikii 2. I’ve just come from a dinner where we were shown a documentary on businesses in Second Life, following the rise of Read more…
Yes, I know I am coming across as a curmudgeonly harbinger of doom, but I’ve just read an excellent article on Wired on actual traffic numbers for Second Life. To quote from the article: “Once you put in several hours flailing around learning how to function in Second Life, there Read more…
(via net.wars) The official Second Life blog has announced that it will ban gambling from the popular virtual world. The new policy bans all games of chance through random-number generators that provide a payout in Linden dollars or any real life currency. This includes all sorts of casino games (such Read more…
Internet news websites have been commenting on a copyright infringement case involving sex toys in Second Life. With spectacular titles like “Sex Toy IP Scandal Rocks Second Life“, one would imagine thousands of depressed avatars shocked by the news of a lawsuit involving sex toys. The lawsuit involves something called Read more…