Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[ION Game Conference to address social networking on consoles, PC]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/ion-game-conference-to-address-social-networking-on-consoles-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/ion-game-conference-to-address-social-networking-on-consoles-pc/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/28/ion-game-conference-to-address-social-networking-on-consoles-pc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Game industry types looking for yet another reason to flock to a central location and gab about the business while getting liquored up at the open bar should take a moment to block out some time for this summer's Ion Game Conference, taking place from May 13-15 in Seattle. Known as the Online Game Developers Conference in a previous life, organizers Evergreen Events note that the re-dubbed conference will feature an expanded focus, with panels covering topics such virtual worlds and social networking on home consoles.

While few details concerning specific panels have yet been revealed for this year's event, last year's topics included "Xbox LIVE on Windows and 360: Are Your Games Dead or LIVE?," "The Future of Games and Entertainment Resides Online," and "Dirty Secrets of Episodic Video Games," among others. Early registration for the Ion Game Conference is now open, and event organizers note that as they are expecting a considerable turnout by attendees across the globe. Those interested in taking part in the event should register early.

JoystiqION Game Conference to address social networking on consoles, PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>conferenceeventsevergreenionogdcsocial netoworkingSocialNetoworkingvirtual worldsVirtualWorldsxbox liveXboxLiveMon, 28 Jan 2008 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[User-created WMDs do massive damage in Second Life beta test]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/28/user-created-wmds-do-massage-damage-in-second-life-beta-test/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/28/user-created-wmds-do-massage-damage-in-second-life-beta-test/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/28/user-created-wmds-do-massage-damage-in-second-life-beta-test/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Virtual world pioneer Randy Farmer loves to mess around with MMO games. As a beta tester for Second Life, Farmer was responsible for one of the first legendary events in the game: the Jessie Massacre. Out of curiosity, he created a weapon of mass destruction and unleashed it on a community of former WWII gamers. The resulting mayhem made him the target of more than a few nasty looks, but to the rest of the community he was thought of as a hero.

Using the SL creation tools, Farmer constructed tiny, almost invisible objects and programmed them to explode into dozens of fragments, flying out at maximum velocity and doing loads of damage. Afterwards the fragments teleport themselves to a random location and start the carnage again. The only way to stop them was for Farmer to shout "STOP!".

As you can guess, chaos ensued when the WMD was unleashed in the town of Jessie. Farmer quickly decided his completely scientific beta testing experiment was a success and went to disarm the grenades. Then he ran into a small problem: he couldn't find the little invisible buggers. With help from Linden labs he managed to remove the bombs, but the legend of the Jesse Massacre lives on.

[Via GameSetWatch]

JoystiqUser-created WMDs do massive damage in Second Life beta test originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 May 2007 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hackingmmogPCsecondlifevirtualworldsviruswmdMon, 28 May 2007 09:16:00 EST<![CDATA[Virtual worlds virtually exploding in popularity]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/25/virtual-worlds-virtually-exploding-in-popularity/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/25/virtual-worlds-virtually-exploding-in-popularity/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/25/virtual-worlds-virtually-exploding-in-popularity/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Gamasutra has a interesting article that wraps up the Virtual Worlds 2007 spring conference and asks if they are the future of gaming. They cite the growth and expansion of sites like Disney's Virtual Magic Kingom, Nickelodeon's Nicktropolis, and MTV's Virtual Laguna Beach -- which is soon to include Virtual Pimp My Ride and Virtual Hills, and be connected by a virtual superhighway.

Anyone else tired of the word virtual? While virtual worlds might become the future of social networks, we're not sure that they're the future of gaming. It's hard to imagine a Virtual Halo, where you stroll around, chat with other Spartans, Elites, Grunts ... or is it? "Hey, anyone wanna pile in this warthog and go sightseeing?" Maybe it isn't so far-fetched.

With Sony's upcoming PlayStation Home network, and Nintendo working on some sort of a Sims-like Wii virtual world, the virtual experience could grow beyond Second Life and into the console gaming realm.

JoystiqVirtual worlds virtually exploding in popularity originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>NicktropolisPCSecond LifeVirtual Laguna BeachVirtual Magic KingdomVirtual WorldsVirtualWorldsWed, 25 Apr 2007 18:29:00 EST<![CDATA[PS3 will see 'user-created experiences' next year, says Harrison]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ps3-will-see-user-created-experiences-next-year-says-harrison/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ps3-will-see-user-created-experiences-next-year-says-harrison/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/18/ps3-will-see-user-created-experiences-next-year-says-harrison/#commentsFiled under: , ,

User-created content, which has long been a fixture in the world of PC gaming, has never managed to gain any real traction on consoles, be that due to technological constraints or a lack of online connectivity. With both of those issues out of the way in modern systems, the time is ripe for users to interact and share their creations and experiences. Sony's Phil Harrison gets behind the idea in a revealing interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo, opining* that gaming needs to move away from presenting "closed experiences."

If games are to break free (God knows they want to break free), there needs to be a constant flow of communication between Sony and gamers -- more importantly, Harrison insists that said communication flows in both directions (give us money, here's your money). "Next year you're going to see user-created experiences in a number of interesting ways on PlayStation 3," goes the official and spectacularly vague PR line. A Second Life-styled virtual network has oft been rumored, but Harrison fell victim to "line distortion" before Totilo could get any concrete information about it.

So, what entails a "user-created experience?" In the worst case, it's a custom wallpaper and a shared photo between friends. In the best case? Oh, it could be anything, from personalized in-game T-shirts to deadly dungeons designed to foil your friends. Be sure to ask us about it next year.

* Basis for an awful pun later in the sentence.

Read (and be assaulted by Flash) -- Full interview on MTV News

JoystiqPS3 will see 'user-created experiences' next year, says Harrison originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>console modsConsoleModsmodsMTVPhil HarrisonPhilHarrisonPS3PS3 second lifePs3SecondLifesecond lifeSecondLifeSony PRSonyPrStephen TotiloStephenTotilouser-created contentuser-created experienceUser-createdContentUser-createdExperiencevirtual worldsVirtualWorldsMon, 18 Dec 2006 20:25:00 EST<![CDATA[Cash card taps into virtual funds]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/02/cash-card-taps-into-virtual-funds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/02/cash-card-taps-into-virtual-funds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/02/cash-card-taps-into-virtual-funds/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The MMORPG Project Entropia is known for its economic experiments, with pieces of virtual land being bought for high real-world prices. This latest news breaks the barrier between real and virtual money even further, however; a new cash card will let owners withdraw from their ingame balances using real ATMs.

Some MMOs entirely shun the idea of converting money earned online to real money, but Project Entropia is taking this to the other extreme. The game's economy is built around real-money transfer, so a move like this simply adds a logical ending to the cashflow pipeline, with developer MindArk sitting in the middle profiting from the whole process.

[Thanks, pandlcg]

JoystiqCash card taps into virtual funds originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 May 2006 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economicsexperimentalmoneyPCproject entropiaProjectEntropiareal worldRealWorldrmtsocialvirtual worldsVirtualWorldsTue, 02 May 2006 19:57:00 EST<![CDATA[MMO design: the job of creating worlds]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/16/mmo-design-creating-worlds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/16/mmo-design-creating-worlds/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/16/mmo-design-creating-worlds/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Decisions over how long burning rivers should stay aflame for can have a profound impact upon the atmosphere and enjoyment factor of a virtual landscape. This, and many other decisions like it, is how Richard Garriott spends his time these days -- as executive producer for Tabula Rasa, he has to help craft a variety of planets.

World-building isn't a new hobby; fantasy authors and tabletop GMs have been facing questions like this for years, and often throwaway comments cause a lot of trouble for those making film adaptations or video game versions of the world. Creating a world from scratch for gaming means that all the important questions need to be answered at once, however, or the players will ask them. It doesn't stop at the design stage; game companies are providing governments, too, by creating laws and rules on the fly.

Universes created primarily by users, like the world of Second Life, still operate within boundaries and constraints set down by the developers and providers of that world. If the Metaverse idea is really the future of online gaming, there's going to be a lot of influence exerted by some early decisions, just as early networking protocols and standards still influence today's Internet.

[Via Walkerings]

JoystiqMMO design: the job of creating worlds originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>designgarriottlord britishLordBritishmmoncsoftrichard garriottRichardGarriotttabula rasaTabulaRasavirtual worldsVirtualWorldsworld buildingWorldBuildingSun, 16 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Cybersex is child's play: virtual world morals]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/12/cybersex-is-childs-play-virtual-world-morals/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/12/cybersex-is-childs-play-virtual-world-morals/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/12/cybersex-is-childs-play-virtual-world-morals/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


We've already heard recently about the sexy side of Second Life, a virtual world in which the players' imaginations are more or less the limits. This article, however, shows just what can -- and does -- happen in an 18 environment where players are given free rein. Although Second Life is no stranger to kinks and perversions, some fetishes provoke far stronger opposition than others.

The case in point here is age play, a pastime in which adults put on kiddy avatars and act out scenes which would, in the real world, be considered paedophilic. Thanks to Second Life's strict separation of minors and adults, everyone taking part is of age, which makes for an interesting moral debate. Is this activity virtual paedophilia, an offensive type of sexual play that should be banned lest it lead to real crime? Or is it simply an extension of the fantasy world, a harmless activity carried out in private?

Sex-based virtual world Rapture Online, mentioned in the article, is playing it safe from the outset by not letting adults look like children. In SL, however, some official decisions may eventually have to be made on this front -- the simple existence of this sort of activity is enough to get some people riled up, but by infringing on users' freedoms to fantasise about whatever they want in private, the world loses some of its strength.

[Thanks, Ken. Image shows items available from some of SL's kid-themed shops.]

JoystiqCybersex is child's play: virtual world morals originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age gapage playAgeGapAgePlaychildrencybersexkidsmoralsonline sexOnlineSexpaedophiliaPCsex and gamesSexAndGamesvirtual moralsvirtual worldsVirtualMoralsVirtualWorldsWed, 12 Apr 2006 20:28:00 EST<![CDATA[Prediction: One virtual world to rule them all]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/25/prediction-1-virtual-world-to-rule-them-all/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/25/prediction-1-virtual-world-to-rule-them-all/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/25/prediction-1-virtual-world-to-rule-them-all/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This Wired piece by technology thinker Steven Johnson is a neat summary of a prediction about virtual worlds that's becoming increasingly common. If you take a step back from the MMOs and other online pursuits of today, you see a lot of standalone bubbles of activity with one common factor--you. However, you can't cross the boundaries between worlds, taking your Halo 2 friends list and reputation into EverQuest or sending your Animal Crossing characters messages from your mobile.

The prediction is that, relatively soon in the future, this won't be the case. As in The Matrix, as in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, one virtual world (or metaverse, if you prefer) will connect everything together:

Within a decade, then, the notion of separate game worlds will probably seem like a quaint artifact of the frontier days of virtual reality. You'll still be able to engage in radically different experiences - from slaying orcs to cybersex - but they'll occur within a common architecture.

The heterogeneous environment of home computing in the 1980s underwent a similar transformation; now it's virtual worlds' turn. Whether a proprietary product like Second Life (which resembles a fledgling metaverse) will come to the fore, or whether it will (like the Internet itself) evolve out of open standards and protocols, only time will tell--either way, in ten years' time people will look back on this post, from their virtual homes in a virtual reality, and laugh.

[Via Terra Nova]

See also:
Wharton Dean: virtual worlds are the future of MBA education
Virtual crucifixion punishes bad behaviour online
Is online gaming antisocial?

JoystiqPrediction: One virtual world to rule them all originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 25 Mar 2006 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>matrixmetaversemmomultiplayeronlinepervasivepredictionstechnologyvirtual worldsVirtualWorldsSat, 25 Mar 2006 11:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Virtual worlds' selective reflections of reality]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/09/virtual-worlds-selective-reflections-of-reality/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/09/virtual-worlds-selective-reflections-of-reality/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/09/virtual-worlds-selective-reflections-of-reality/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The announcement of Valentine's Day events for both City of Heroes and World of Warcraft comes hot on the heels of a debate around virtual identity sparked off by a LGBT-friendly guild. The creation of in-game events that reflect popular world holidays is increasingly fashionable; it seems no week goes by without some new festival being celebrated in WoW's capital cities.

However, by first stamping out discussions of sexuality, and then opening up the floodgates by theming an event around love, what are Blizzard thinking? Will players be able to flirt with same-sex NPCs or will they be instantly banned for even venturing a hug? We hope that there will be some procedures in place to help stop harassment, as it can be difficult to throw off determined admirers at the best of times.

As for those gamers who prefer their MMOs with a dash of escapism, it seems to be a dying trend, especially amongst popular Western games.

[Image from the Alter Ego project]

JoystiqVirtual worlds' selective reflections of reality originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Feb 2006 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>contenteventsmmogmmorpgsPCvirtual worldsVirtualWorldsThu, 09 Feb 2006 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ingame lawyers may soon be necessary]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/04/ingame-lawyers-may-soon-be-necessary/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/04/ingame-lawyers-may-soon-be-necessary/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/04/ingame-lawyers-may-soon-be-necessary/#commentsFiled under: ,

The complexity of massively multiplayer games is such that they are generally also called 'virtual worlds'--and as places that echo the real world, they carry with them a whole host of unanswered legal questions. GameTycoon has compiled a list of issues that are currently unresolved in various worlds, including such touchy topics as theft, copyright, indecency and gambling.

Most of these are crossovers from the real world, and are a result of the anonymising nature of gaming: people of all ages and nationalities are subject to the same in-game laws, and may carry out actions in-game that are illegal for them to do in their own country. Scripted game interactions, such as killing human NPCs, are not an issue--but when other players get involved, it becomes an extremely murky area.

While there have been notable lawsuits involving online game companies, it may not be long until legal action between players becomes commonplace; without ingame law enforcement to handle it, these 'virtual' issues may soon become very real indeed.

[via GamePolitics] [Updated to fix minor typo]

JoystiqIngame lawyers may soon be necessary originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2006 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>gamepoliticslawvirtual worldsVirtualWorldsWed, 04 Jan 2006 14:30:00 EST