Talk about harshing my buzz. Electronic Arts is going to let us design creatures with its long-awaited Spore game and stand-alone Creature Creator, but in using the game and creator, we agree to hand over all rights in our creations to the megalithic publisher, including the right to "further modify" the creations. So much for using Spore as a sketchpad for creature concepts.

In my legally-ignorant view, EA should have no IP rights in how I assemble the building blocks it supplies. That's like LEGO claiming ownership over everything we build, or Adobe claiming ownership over images run through Photoshop. The way I see it, creature designers are creating new IP with a tool set they paid for--why should we give EA our work, except for the exclusive purpose of sharing with other creature creators in the way the game was designed?

Continue reading: EA Grabs Your ‘Spore Creature Creator’ IP

The operator of the upcoming adult-oriented Age of Conan MMO intends to establish strict rules about role-playing on designated servers, according to an official community bulletin. This might be great news for role-play enthusiasts, but I have to wonder if AoC's operator has a plan to police and enforce its own proposed rules. Any such plan must involve human moderators at some point along the chain (software isn't smart enough for the job), which is an awfully costly investment in role-playing, if you ask me.

Names from outside the 'Conan' universe (as in, from another fantasy universe, such as Pokemon) are not allowed. Names from inside the 'Conan' universe (such as Conan) are also not allowed. Neither are derivatives or sound-alike names. Out of character chat is to be "avoided." Making fun of role-players is not allowed. Using role-play to justify immersion-breaking actions and exploits is not allowed. Interfering with in-progress community-driven role-playing events (such as a wedding) is not allowed.

These rules are setting the game operators up for major headaches. A good rule is one which doesn't need to be discussed--it's simply incontrovertible. These are bad rules. Not only do they require human supervision, they are open to interpretation. Who's going to moderate player names, and when will that moderation occur? How much out of character chat is acceptable, and when is it acceptable to speak OOC. What if the sight of weddings drives my character into a berserker rage--isn't it about my immersion, too? What if my entire clan of players has an in-character grudge against that wedding?

Unless the rules are tightened up, enforced transparently, frequently and consistently, the whole system's going to spiral out of control. Transparent enforcement (i.e. we see who was busted for what, and how the policing or punishment was carried out) and frequent enforcement are expensive. Consistent enforcement is sure to be a joke--I can't even go to a bank and get the same answer about the same question from 5 different tellers.

SXWi 2008 rough notes: "Human Rights and Property Rights in Virtual Worlds"

Susan Wu- If we don't address legal issues as publishers and developers, we will lose control [presumably through regulation]

Scenario: Your Tier 5 armor which took 6 months to acquire gets nerfed, do you have legal protection against devaluation?

Eric Bethke- No.

Boyd- Game world designers should have control over that decision [to nerf the armor, I think].

Scenario: You lose equipment following a server crash, do you have the right to have that property replaced?

Andrew Schneider- yes

Bethke- yes
Boyd- publishers can treat you however they want within the law. If I were running a game I would bend over backwards to give it back.

Schneider- This is all covered in EULAs, ToS, how rules are communicated to gamers

Continue reading: SXSWi 2008 Notes:  Human and Property Rights in Virtual Worlds

Linden Lab has warned users of Second Life that QuickTime-based video streams may be used to "crash or exploit" Second Life's client software. The Mercury News paints a more sinister picture, alerting us that "security researchers have found a flaw in Second Life virtual world [sic] that allows them to strip a user’s character of all of its in-world money."

Since Second Life currency is easily converted to American dollars, there's a real risk here: Users of the virtual world may have dozens to hundreds to thousands of "Linden Dollars" on hand at any time. In the past 24 hours, the equivalent of about $1.5M USD has flowed through the system. So how to avoid getting robbed? Linden Lab's advice is for users to turn off video streaming, despite the company's ability to turn off streaming for all users across the virtual world until Apple fixes QuickTime. This strategy is reactive in my view, as Linden Lab plans only to act if it discovers a malicious stream. Affected users will receive "appropriate assistance," whatever that means.

• Study Reveals Significant Entertainment and Technology Spending Amongst Gamers
  No surprises here. Gamers are trend-setting technology enthusiasts who consume lots of music and movies. Preferred movie genres: Comedy, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi. No word on preferred game genres.
  (tags: groups data statistics gaming culture technology trends music motionpictures genre consumption)
• Five people leading the industry into the future
  The Hollywood Reporter says Reuben Steiger, founder and CEO, Millions of Us, is a driving force behind major brands and properties in Second Life and other virtual worlds. Kudos, Reuben!
  (tags: business marketing places synthetic.worlds secondlife article list)
• Here come the clones--- AGAIN! [The Central Nexus Blog]
  Interesting observations about fan/infringement culture in CoX. Seems the game admins are quite quick to quash too-close-for-comfort character imitations. Which is a good thing, considering the earlier legal quandary with Marvel Comics.
  (tags: synthetic.worlds law ip fandom comics administration policy)
• Terra Nova: Two Releases: Arden I and Exodus
  Ted Castronova says his virtual world based on Shakespearean works was no fun because there were no monsters. I don't get the impression he's using "monsters" metaphorically, which is a real shame. Surely there are more fun things to do in a virtual world besides kill monsters.
  (tags: synthetic.worlds games gaming play places history)

The Beeb reports that a 17 year-old Dutch teen stands accused of stealing 4,000 euros worth of Habbo Hotel virtual furniture, with 5 other teens allegedly moving the stolen virtual goods into their own Habbo rooms. I can't help but laugh at these witless kids, who would apparently rather steal furniture than give out virtual hand-jobs. Everyone knows furni-whores get theirs for free.

• SLPTO Offers Second Life Content Creators Suite of Intellectual Property Protection Tools
  Unofficial, powerless organization intends to "offer a full suite of intellectual property protection tools" including copyright protection. Ergo, further confusing what is protected by copyright, trademarks and patents.
  (tags: law places secondlife synthetic.worlds policy organization ip tools)
• Industry Employment Solution VirtualWorldsJobs.com Launches
  I don't think we're quite at a point in virtual world history where an online job market/portal is really needed. Anyone worth their salt gets work based on word of mouth. Besides which, word has it some developers aren't paying talent properly.
  (tags: employment work freelance online synthetic.worlds networks business)
• "COMPLETE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT": VIDEO GAMES AS GENDERED PLAY SPACES
  Henry Jenkins offers "a cultural geography of video game spaces, one which uses traditional children's play and children's literature as points of comparison to the digital worlds contemporary children inhabit."
  (tags: books games gaming youth article development gender play design synthetic.worlds places)
• Independent Games Summit: Valve's Kim Swift - 'From Narbacular Drop To Portal'
  Crapload of IGS 2007 video links posted on Game Set Watch for leeching. Viva indie!
  (tags: download media video list resource research games gaming design development presentation events)

• Residents no longer own Second Life? [Terra Nova]
  Historically: “Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents” Now: "Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined and created by its residents” Whuh happen?
  (tags: language law ip synthetic.worlds secondlife business marketing)
• .: Kallisto-Estates - Titanic R.M.S. :.
  The Titanic comes to Second Life. Excellent, infringetastic intro video shows off this epic build. Should be a popular attraction if it doesn't sink.
  (tags: secondlife design development 3D history culture)
• Universe Creation 101
  Christy Dena's new netcast about "Creating unique properties that traverse media platforms." Focuses on content, which I personally don't find any more important than design, development, or deployment issues.
  (tags: transmedia netcast content storytelling technology publishing design development people)
• Status Reversal [The Daedalus Project]
  "In MMOs, it is younger players who are more willing to take charge and take on leadership roles, whereas older players are more content to sit back and follow along." That's because older gamers generally want to chill out after a hard day.
  (tags: gaming youth society leadership work play)
• Pocket Realms (features)
  "Create and share your own 3d world where you make all the rules. Play and socialize with your guests or link to and explore a network of wildly imaginative realms." So, like Activeworlds, then?
  (tags: synthetic.worlds technology networks)

When I first read about PS3 augmented reality game Eye of Judgment, it didn't even occur to me that cheating would be an issue. Surely Sony had planned ahead and would be able to prevent players from pulling the wool over their Eye cameras.

Security expert Steven Davis brought my attention to the cheating issue in his analysis of Eye of Judgment as revealed in a Wired blog post:Wired article explaining Sony's anti-cheating strategy:

"Sony, as a thoughtful designer, had to consider how to handle cheating with their card game... after all, if players manipulate the deck, they can gain a substantial advantage. The solution, as described by Susan Arendt of Wired, is to have the console shuffle the cards and then tell the player which one comes out."

Eons ago, I used to work as a clerk in an all-night copy shop, and having seen everything from counterfeit currency to bootlegged public-transit tickets, I wondered if Sony had considered what comes naturally when you put a flat object of value, people and a color copier (or scanner and ink-jet printer) together in private. Apparently not--the cards don't appear to come with copy-protection measures, such as a unique serial number.

Eye of Judgment: Broken.

• Gamasutra - AGDC: Haro On Making Habbo A Success
  Habbo's Sulka Haro gets surprisingly specific about user demographics and interaction styles. Concludes with 6 tips: create something to play with (i.e. LEGO); kill the UI; don't punish failures; "players know best"; shared social setting; safety.
  (tags: business mmo casestudy casual design habbohotel groups statistics data youth)
• Why We Eat Strangers' Candy: A Reflection on the ARGFest 2007 Keynote by 42 Entertainment
  Summary article. "How is trust established?... Why should puppetmasters care if the players trust them?... Why do ARGs require trust?" Contains links to 2 YouTube videos of original presentation.
  (tags: arg games gaming groups trust presentation article)
• Alternate Reality Games Need a Generation Iteration
  A bit of classic discussion over the merits of the TINAG philosophy. "The TINAG aesthetic should blur the lines between day to day life and the game to the point of being eerie." It's all fun and games until someone calls in Homeland Security.
  (tags: arg design games gaming immersion)
• Kids Movie Creator, educate kids to make 3D animation movies and game
  Allegedly kid-friendly game / virtual world creation tool with built-in machinima recording and exporting. Windows only, it seems. Single license costs $15 USD. Buy additional content packs. No user-created assets as far as I can tell. Pity, that.
  (tags: software games gaming synthetic.worlds machinima animation youth development design)
• ParaEngine Website
  Chinese studio behind 'Kids Movie Creator' tool-set, creators of ParaEngine "distributed computer game engine." They believe that "game technology is the driving force to a new 3D Internet or web 3D." Everybody has to have a dream. Mine's to be taller.
  (tags: business development games gaming engine 3D internet web)
• Twitter Fan Wiki / Use Cases
  "Here is a list of Web pages that discuss productive, interesting, innovative, lifechanging and/or otherwise cool uses for Twitter." There are only 7 such pages listed. Does that say something about the utiity of Twitter?
  (tags: technology internet networks socialsoftware list)
• ‘Aimee Weber’ ™ Gets USPTO Stamp of Approval for Pigtails, Tutu, Wings, Tights, and Stompy Boots
  'Second Life' cybercelebrity trademarks her avatar appearance, apparently locking her into that appearance for eternity. Now she's obligated to go after any virtual world resident with a similar look (or name, I guess). Worth it for the PR? Doubt it.
  (tags: secondlife business law marketing avatar identity)