Shep Korvin - Blog is the new Black

Meanwhile, in other worlds...

Yesterday, I accidentally found myself wandering around in an alternative virtual world. I say "accidentally", because I just happened to click through a link from another site, and before I knew it, I'd found myself in "Whirled".

Whirled is a peculiar kind of mish-mash ... it kind of works like a social networking site, with a heavy emphasis on in-browser "casual" games. Playing the games scores you cash (and levels!), which let you equip your "virtual room", change your avatar, buy pets etc. You can invite friends to your room, or go exploring different areas of the world (and yes, just like that other virtual world that we all know and love, Whirled full of big, empty nightclubs...)

Users can create their own content (and sell it through the in-world marketplace) - though, you need to be au-fait with java and flash actionscript to build in any kind of interaction, so it's not an option for the faint of heart!! ... and the developers say they intend to introduce a game currency <-> real world currency exchange mechanism at some point in the future. They also intend to allow "adult content" in their world eventually, once they've constructed a suitable method to ring-fence it away from minors.

The Whirled environment is terribly primitive, compared to - say - Second Life (insert at least two generic verbs and mandatory trademark reference here). There's a very jarring disjoint between the two primary activities of playing the games, and exploring the 3d world. Rooms are two-dimensional, and have a Lucasfilm SCUMM feel about them.... which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the "stuff" you can buy to kit out your room is purely cosmetic. If you buy a chair, you can't actually *sit* on it; it's just there to make your place look pretty. I invited a friend over to test some of the features with last night, and her comment that "it's basically just IRC with pictures" was pretty close to the mark. All you can do is walk around the screen, and chat.

On the other hand, Whirled _does_ have a couple of very compelling things going for it. Firstly, ease of entry .... the whole thing is browser-based (built on flash / ajax), and has a very web 2.0 approach to sign ups, encouraging you dip into the games as a guest before you join, and teasing you as you go along with little comments along the lines of "if you had an account here, you would have just earned X gold coins." ... and, secondly, the whole focus on the games aspect gives you a real sense of something to do. At any given moment I can happily go and grind away at some games, to give my character more money, or a higher level (and access to better features) - and chat to a bunch of other people doing exactly the same thing; in doing so you get the sense of shared endeavour that you get from more traditional MMORPGS, and that works as a kind of social lubricant - you have something in common with everybody else playing the same game. The in-whirled games also have an xbox-style "gamer achievements" system attached to them (with little icon medals, just like you find on xbox live!) ... but given my crack-like addiction to achievements on the xbox 360, it's probably a good idea if I don't look too deeply into those... it's a very smart idea on the part of the developers though!

Many of the people who try out Second Life (insert at least two generic verbs and a mandatory trademark reference here) but bail out after their first experience usually cite the fact that they were turned off the platform because there's "nothing to do". I get the impression that those people would *love* the approach taken by Whirled; it gives you a _very_ structured work-for-reward route to improving your avatar and earning more "stuff".

So, yeah. As a virtual world, whirled is probably *far* too over-simplistic for people raised on Second Life (insert at least two generic verbs and mandatory trademark reference here) ... though it might be an interesting "second platform" for professional content creators to keep an eye on, as I can imagine whirled luring in a *vast* amount of users further down the line. In the meantime, if only some enterprising entrepreneur could take the more addictive elements/user retention aspects from whirled, and somehow transplant them to SL, we might be onto a real winner....

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I totally intended to spend the long weekend doing useful, productive stuff in SL. Kick off a new business or two... Invent brilliant new products... Instigate a dangerous internet sex cult... Put another lick of paint on my super-villain world domination HQ. The usual kind of thing.

What I *actually* ended up doing was sitting around the house eating a whole lot of chocolate, and spending far too long playing quirky Japanese video games.

Oh well, there's always next Easter I suppose...

N.F.J.B.M.W.Q (part 2)

...Being the second installment in a series where Nubile Female Journalists bombard me with insightful and illuminating questions.

And dirty pictures.

This week, our Nubile Female Journalist bends seductively over a lucky chair, and demands that I give her exactly what she needs...

Good, hard, vigorous, ANSWERS!

"How long did it take you to think up the idea of the original Lucky Chair? and did it give you many headaches whilst putting the idea into practice?"

The first Lucky Chair was originally designed as a relatively minor (!) component of a much more elaborate in-world puzzle/rpg game that I was designing (and before you ask: no.. the rest of the game was never finished... I guess the Lucky Chair led me onto a major career re-think!).

I wanted to build a viral entry-point into this game; something that would give the initial players a strong incentive to introduce _other_ players ... so I came up with a task that involved convincing a sequence of people - whose names began with randomly selected letters of the alphabet - to sit on a "magic chair". I envisioned players pulling in people from their friends list, or just asking random passers-by to help them get through this task .. and these people who had been drawn in would all have their interest piqued - "hey, what's this magic chair thing all about anyway?", and maybe join in with the rest of the game too...

Then, while I was thinking this idea through, another idea clicked into place. Something along the lines of "hey, wait a minute... what if I used this same technique to pull people into my store!"

I ratched around in my inventory, and found a nice throne/chair that my friend - Funaria Moose - had built, and put together a really simple, no-frills, Lucky Chair script. It probably only took me 2 or 3 hours to physically implement, but the "thinking-it-through stage" had gone on for weeks... so the total time involved is a bit hard to quantify, in retrospect.

(BTW, that original chair is still rezzed - now with a commemorative plaque(!) - at the back of LapGirl Boutique)

As I recall, the implementation went pretty smoothly. The hardest part was thinking of a name for the product - (I *hate* coming up with names for things!!). I remember thinking - at the time - that the name "Lucky Chair" seemed a bit weak, but I ended up just going with that name anyway, purely because I was spending far too long stewing over alternatives.

Retrospectively, it seems odd that I could have ever considered calling them something else... ;)

* * * * * * *

Are you a Nubile Female Journalist who'd like to Bombard me with Questions? Simply drop me a notecard in-world. And don't forget the pictures!

Remember the true meaning of Easter...

CHOCOLATE!

OK, maybe virtual chocolate isn't quite as interesting as the real thing... sooooo, in lieu of theobromine-laced cocoa-solid goodness, what else can I offer you? How about ... Lucky Easter Eggs!

These were really popular last year (so popular, in fact, that I've spent much of the last 12 months answering enquiries from people saying "hey, why can't I find your Easter eggs on sale any more?" ... in, like, November? July? Hmmmm....)

Anyway, in the grand tradition of pimping-my-own-wares  (and since it's finally the right time of year again!) ... I thought I'd post a reminder that Lucky Easter Eggs are back on sale again at Lucky Designs.

The idea is simple... you hide an "egg generator" in your store ... every now and then, the generator rezzes an Easter egg somewhere nearby. The eggs display letters - Lucky Chair style - and if a visitor manages to spot an egg displaying the initial letter of their name, they can click it to claim a prize.

They're really quick to set-up; just insert a prize into the rezzer, position it somewhere un-obtrusive, and utter the magic word to make the rezzer turn invisible and commence the rezzing of eggs. If you're in need of a fast, off-the-shelf Easter promotion for your store/venue, then this could be exactly what you need!

You can buy the basic single-rezzer kit for L$400 at Lucky Designs... and we have discount multi-packs (useful to extend your coverage over a larger venue) on offer too.

Have a great Easter! :)

The King and I...

Rumours that Philip Linden is stepping down from the role of CEO in order to adopt a more community-focused, strategic evangelist role are entirely false.

He's actually packed in the day-job in order to join my new all-male dance revue troupe.

FACT!

The village people have nothing on us.

As an encore, we dress as robots and bust a move to old-skool electro....

(that's me in the Dalek)

Daleks set their OWN dance style. Word!

Our first club tour is in the planning stages now. Book early to avoid disappointment. And be sure to bring lots of dollar bills / intimate under-garments / priority JIRA requests to throw at the performers. You know you want to.

* * * * *

In all seriousness, these pics are actually from a small party that I stumbled into a couple of years ago. It's the only time I've ever met Philip Linden socially ... and I have to say, he struck me as one of the most personable and witty people I've ever had the good fortune to goof around with in SL. Really nice guy.

My gut feeling over the change in corporate leadership at LL is a good one. I sense that Philip is going to be much happier in his new role and ... who knows ... maybe a new CEO at the rudder could bring positive changes. Stranger things have happened.

Best of luck in your new job, Phil :)

Fashion For Fido

Raven Lament (of Ravenwear fame, and one-time LapGirl model) is holding a special charity event this weekend ... and, as you may notice from the small-print on her poster, I've donated a (unique, one-off) prize to the cause...

Raven writes:

"Woof Woof be a part of an awesome event to help raise money for homeless dogs while buying awesome creations for your av. On March 6th the auction will begin for some ONE of a kind designs and special creations! We have items being auctioned off from Hexed, Neko Gear, Fashionity Fantasy, Fickle Fee and AW Design, Ingenue, Inspire, Draconic Kiss, Spirit, Fuel, Lapgirl, Malinconia, Sh*t Happens, Ravenation, Geometrica Design, Szentasha Designs, and two one of a kind sets from Ravenwear one for him and one for her! Cute shoes from Fuel and Maitreya. There will also be skins by Unpredictable and Skin Within. Some awesome hair for auction by Mau's and Mej's and Gurl6!  And last but certainly not least adorable animals by Zooby!! The Fashion show featuring these awesome items will take place on March 9th at 12 Noon SLT at Ravens Requiem. Bidding ends on March 10th at 6 AM SLT."

"In a nutshell, K-9 New Life Center rescues all breeds of dogs has them vet checked and made healthy and then finds them new homes. This can be very, very expensive as some dogs come in with such issues as heartworms which cost almost $1000 to treat. They also neuter or spay all dogs before adoption. They also have taken in some really bad abuse and neglect cases including a dog that was pregnant and placed in a trash bag and thrown into a ditch to die and another dog that was shot and left to die. I am happy to say both dogs were nursed back and found awesome homes including all of the mommy dogs pups. I have personally been involved RL with this charity for 9 years and have seen all of the success stories and happy endings. It is an awesome cause and I would love to really try to help them out by using our virtual power!  Visit http://k9newlife.com to see the dogs for adoption or to read about the rescue!"

Want to take part? The auction is already in full swing at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ravens%20Requiem/127/38/507/

Caliah Lyon is my new pin-up

I don't know if you've seen these around yet, but there's a new advertising campaign taking place in SL, to raise awareness of IP Rights and Content theft. The ads involve a few of SL's "big-name" content creators appearing in PETA-esque "I'd rather go naked than...." pics.

 

I spent a few moments this morning sticking some of the posters onto the walls of LapGirl Boutique... and one of the slightly more "formal" posters at Lucky Designs:

It's also occurred to me that it might be a cool idea to slip these textures into the packaging of lucky chair prizes... I mean, "free stuff" is a great distribution vector for this kind of message, right?

If you're interested in picking up some of the campaign materials - (or just want to see the likes of Stroker Serpentine and Nite Caligari with their kit off!) - you can grab a set for free at OnRez: http://shop.onrez.com/item/536171