Jump to content

Akane Nacht

Resident
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,203

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Akane Nacht

    BBC reporter visits Second Life

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    21 hours ago, animats said:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59180273

    They interviewed Anya Kanevsky, VP of product management at Linden Lab.

    It's not an overtly bad impression of SL, and at least they used recent pictures. And I agree with this bit:

    "The entry of a slightly oversized and outsized player into the space seems to signal to people that they are not the owners of it, that someone else is going to be setting the rules and kind of running the show and they will just be the consumers."

    The comparison to Roblox is irksome, but, eh.. may draw a few more people who are genuinely interested to give SL a try. 

    3/5 stars for BBC

    • Like 2

    Zuckerberg Comes for the Metaverse

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Misty Rookstown said:

    SL let a lot slide over the years and lost momentum. If you recall there was another attempt that went no where with that Blue Mars place which looked like it had potential. They need to move because Zuckerberg will dominate if LL doesn't get a better foothold. 

    Speaking as a casual long time user - visually, SL has improved enormously. I've seen more stunning builds in the last 2 years than I did in the previous 10. I tried Blue Mars back in the day and it had more of a game feel - everything matches and fits and is, frankly, boring. It had golf. Yay. Plus it crashed every few minutes. I had a similar experience with Sansar, though I admit I didnt give Sansar much of a chance as it crashed so frequently.

    New platforms seem to fall into the same thing - curated content either pre-built or done by a selection of professional designers who have their own interests and ideas of what is interesting or entertaining. I can get that from a host of games already. I'm at best a hobbyist/amateur creator, but it's an important pull factor for staying in SL. Where would my nonprofessional uploads and tinkerings fit in to a curated new world? I have fun with the process of making stuff, and I like to be able to share it, and to see what others are making. I didn't even realise how much I enjoy customising til I play on a platform where I can't.

    I feel pretty sure Facebook/Meta would prefer us as simple consumers rather than DIY-ers or small entrepreneurs, and will build their platform accordingly. If I am in a tiny minority of hobbyists who enjoy tinkering, then an exodus of big creators and simple consumers may be the end of SL.  I really don't know, but I hope not.

    • Like 2

    Zuckerberg Comes for the Metaverse

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    11 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

    Still, I think the problems with VR (resolution, cost, complexity, wearability, motion sickness, UI, etc. etc.) WILL be solved, and very soon.

    The issue I have with headsets is more to do with my habits - I'm never doing just one thing when I am using my computer, I also have to listen for the doorbell and phone, listen to what my family is up to, listen for washing machine and oven completing their jobs, and I need my peripheral vision in case a bee flies into the room (we got some massive ones).

    With a trend for more work-from-home arrangements, it's very hard to completely tune out our surroundings.

    • Like 3

    Interaction with non-human avatars and the subconscious

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Depends on what schema is running in your head when you encounter one I suppose. As you mentioned about male avatars, you had some bad experiences so that colours how you may view them. For animal/creature avatars, I've generally found them to be either 1) just wearing a costume cos they won it in a gacha, or  2) are really having fun with being a creature and throwing themselves into the part so to speak. The latter are always interesting to interact with, though they can be a little nutty.

    • Like 1

    Facebook's "High Res Version of Second Life"

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    11 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

    I think the simplest analogy is LEGO.

    Yep I think that is apt. Does that make mesh silly putty? 🤔

    11 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

    They don't inspire confidence for a Master Builder .. but the vast majority of people aren't going to put the time in to become that.

    Well...if i wanted to hang around the 'vast majority' of people, I wouldn't hang around SL. I think the SL I know and love would pretty much be destroyed if it were as popular as FB, and under as much public scrutiny.

    • Like 1

    Facebook's "High Res Version of Second Life"

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    20 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

    They have to be better to get your attention.

    To suggest SL is defining some kind of high bar that FB or Epic must meet for general mainstream adoption is a fantasy.

    They could be objectively junk from our perspective and they will still suck all the oxygen out of the room and make themselves the center of all discussion.

    They will poison the well and they will steal ideas from others, FB is already well documented for wholesale ripping off products published on their own VR platform without repercussion.

    Their mantra is "Copy, Acquire, Kill"

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-03/facebook-accused-of-squeezing-rival-startups-in-virtual-reality

    SL is the best at being SL. Despite a handful of attempts over the years, it's pretty much unreplicated. It's an anomaly that works for some reason. 

    FB can make what they call a virtual world, but FB's problems will linger. And.. just look at what they have come up with so far.. it's like low budget kids animation. This does not inspire confidence.

    If you're just referring to them buying out other products, sure, nothing stopping them (cept maybe antitrust laws? one can hope). But that wasn't what I was talking about. Getting bought out is a risk for any platform that takes the fancy of a big corporation. 

    13 hours ago, Mollymews said:

    if the Metaverse was to become as ubiqituous then I think the winners will be Apple, Microsoft  and Google (Android)

    That's more possible. But there are so many ways of imagining a metaverse, I think the best they could come up with is a product that appeals to certain niches.

    Facebook's "High Res Version of Second Life"

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Coffee Pancake said:

    They don't have to be better. They just have to be bigger.

    Actually, they have to be both. If FB by some means made something that does what SL does even better, and somehow also restores my trust in FB as a platform in terms of usefulness, reliability, privacy and security, I'd probably use it too. But those are big "ifs" and so far I see no evidence of them coming true. 

    As for an exodus of content creators.. there's never been anything stopping designers in SL selling their creations elsewhere if they have the talent. I'm sure some have. Yet here we are..

×
×
  • Create New...