Maybe I’ve been thinking about this topic because of the recent arrival of my twin sons Pascal and Thibault, but it seems to me we are about to take the next evolutionary step in the digital world with regards to replication. Digital replication, creation, or programming, has traditionally had a steep entry curve, requiring very smart people with very specific skills to create anything of value. Today games like Spore™ and LittleBigPlanet™ are replacing yesterday’s object oriented programming languages and are making online content creation accessible to a much larger audience. Virtual worlds like World of Warcraft™, Second Life™, and even the upcoming Diablo III MMORPG offer trading and even sale of your creations for fun or profit. Inworld artifact and content creation doesn’t represent the end, the next-generation replicator will allow users to create self-sustaining, independent objects that can exist outside (outworld) the domain of their originating world. These objects will be able to easily travel between devices (including mobile platforms) in ways that are relevant to their creator. Perhaps these objects themselves will contain within themselves the ability to replicate, perhaps even evolve?
Post back if you’ve already seen this in the wild and have a great weekend!
Most virtual worlds have have fans/residents that use the world, creatures, and other residents to create Machinima. Second Life is special because you get to do set design instead of location hunting. The concept is interesting but it seems they still haven’t figured out the mouth part yet. EWWWW! Learn more about the behind the scenes for this project here.
Second Life (SL), one of the first successful virtual worlds, was released in the wild in 2003. Some of us have avatars born in 2006. As part of our continuing exploration of the future of digital, we have decided to build a virtual office / meeting place / retreat in second life, and where better to build but on the waterfront. SL shares a lot of common traits with RL (real life); one being beachfront property is expensive and coveted. Needless to say, the auction was a very exciting event and we may have set a new record for the price paid for virtual soil. We now own approximately 10,000 square meters of virtual land in Second Life. Construction and landscaping begins today.
In the virtual world everything must be intentional. This video makes an excellent example (thanks Travis) of this as the story and the conflict between cultures evolves. Watch the metaphors stack up on each side and then explode into reality as they drink their tasty beverages. A LOT of work went into this.
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