Google launched Lively today, which is basically their effort at Second Life. But it might not be all nerds and emos like Second Life, it actually looks moderately cool. It runs in a browser (doesn’t need any software download), and Google already have about 40 million users using Gmail, which includes Gtalk, which is now part of Lively.
Users can create their own avatars (which are also more comic-book like than Second Life), and then create rooms where they can meet their friends. There’s not one big world where everyone is like in Second Life, but apparently that’s on the way.
Google didn’t just launch this so people could see avatars of the friends they’re talking to, if it does take off it will be a massive advertising platform, and it will be completely controlled by Google (which everyone said about Second Life too, but that’s still just nerds and emos).
This is pretty big news for those keen to see the aesthetic of Second Life evolve: Linden is testing the introduction of ’sculpted prims’. Prims are the basic shapes used in constructing all kinds of objects within Second Life. Until now, the process of buidling something has been fairly rudimentary and the shapes very basic. But what is a sculpted prim? This from the FAQ:
“A sculpted prim is a prim whose shape is determined by a texture - its “sculpt texture”. Sculpted prims can create organic shapes that are not currently possible with Second Life’s prim system.”
This, together with the new capability to export from professional 3D packages such as 3DS Max and Maya, will mean Second Life will soon be peppered with architectural visuals similar to that of animated films and video games.
An interesting potential effect of this could be that branded (ie better funded) development will begin to look quite different from the user-generated constructs. I am curious to see how the residents react to big companies bringing in their professionally sculptured Maya models. It could create a greater divide between individuals and brands, or maybe the professional developers that make their living within Second Life will take on a new array of modelling skills with much of the development across the board migrating to sculptured prims.
Personally I think it’s a great step forward and may potentially result in more users hanging around to check out Second Life beyond their initiation. Many users expect to see a Grand Theft Auto-style rendering of the virtual world and can feel a little let down when it doesn’t appear as smooth as it appears in still photos. I will post some happy snaps of sculpted constructions in the near future when this capability is released onto the main grid.
Calvin Klein recently launched their new ck IN2U fragrances in Second Life so I popped by to take a peek. The launch includes custome animations from the perfume bottles that ‘initiate dialogue’ with my fellow avatars. There’s also a L$1 million competition running - oh what i could do with a cool million - Holden’s empire begins!
Anyway, interestingly, as Lori Singer, Calvin Klein Fragrances’ VP of Global Marketing, puts it in the press release, “ck IN2U speaks the language of a generation connected by technology — the aptly named technosexuals”. What is the language of the technosexual? Probably features quite a few cyber-expletives. She goes on to say: “They are the first generation to be defined more by their means of communication rather than fashion or music.â€
This is kind of an unofficial tenet at St Edmonds Lab - the actual form of the message (amidst the noise!) can be nearly as persuasive as the message, or at least significantly contribute to what you’re trying to communciate. It’s like comms variation of form-meets-function, with potentially startling results in the digital world.
