This weekend is the pre-sales preview of Guild Wars Eye of the North (or GWEN). There is a mission in Norn territory called “Worth Deeds: Done Cheap” where you have to slay 3 well protected bosses. The last is called Nulfastu Earthbound, and here is my tale of this mission:

TIM: Behold the cave of Caerbannog!

TIM: There he is!
ARTHUR: Where?
TIM: There!
ARTHUR: What, behind the rabbit?
TIM: It is the rabbit.
ARTHUR: You silly sod!
TIM: What?
ARTHUR: You got us all worked up!
TIM: Well, that’s no ordinary rabbit!
ARTHUR: Ohh.
TIM: That’s the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on! Look, that rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide! It’s a killer!
GALAHAD: Get stuffed!
TIM: He’ll do you up a treat, mate.
GALAHAD: Oh, yeah?
ROBIN: You mangy Scots git!
TIM: I’m warning you!
ROBIN: What’s he do, nibble your bum?
TIM: He’s got huge, sharp– eh– he can leap about– look at the bones!
ARTHUR: Go on, Bors. Chop his head off!
BORS: Right! Silly little bleeder. One rabbit stew comin’ right up!

TIM: Look!
BORS: Aaaugh!
ARTHUR: Jesus Christ!
TIM: I warned you! I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you knew it all, didn’t you? Oh, it’s just a harmless little bunny, isn’t it? Well, it’s always the same. I always tell them–
ARTHUR: Oh, shut up!
TIM: Do they listen to me?
ARTHUR: Right!
TIM: Oh, no…
KNIGHTS: Charge!
KNIGHTS: Aaaaugh!, Aaaugh!, etc.

ARTHUR: Run away! Run away!
KNIGHTS: Run away! Run away!…
TIM: Ha ha ha ha! Ha haw haw! Ha! Ha ha!
ARTHUR: Right. How many did we lose?

Virtual Society guildwars, reviews

So, on and off this summer I have been tinkering with the Dating Simulator game. Some of it was game balancing, some bug fixing, and in a few places, some new content.

There were some unserved rare scenarios, like what happens if you go dancing in the club, and get kicked out, then go lingerie shopping and meet Rebecca who wants to take you to the club you just got kicked out of? Or, whats the point of the “spin the bottle” game if the four possible results you can do on your own anyways?

Then there was a problem I have been struggling with since I started making the game 3 years ago. What about romance?

Throughout the game there are little mini games that basically test your intelligence: The dress shop (memory, logic), the home improvement store (observation), the art museum (general art history), star gazing (general astronomy), etc. Is there a systematic way to test romance?

Well this summer I sort of came up with one, and I won’t spoil the fun with hints, but I believe it is the last missing ingredient to the dozens of possible scenarios in the game.

With that in mind I am calling it the end of the stand alone dating simulator. Future versions, if there are any, may (or will) include various web enhancements. For example, maybe a trip to the movies with an embedded video, or maybe that radio will play real music, or an evening playing board games with flash animation, etc. Sounds like a lot of work actually, and I have other distractions in the mean time.

Have fun.

Virtual Society Dating Simulator

Back in the early 90’s it became trendy for advertisers like Ford to put URL’s in their print and TV advertising. The World Wide Web was significantly smaller then as only a couple of million or so people with AOL or Compuserve dial accounts could access the web outside of a college computer lab. It made you a cutting edge future looking company to have a web page.

Almost 2 decades later and the new cutting edge future looking companies are showing up in the 3D Internet that only a couple of million or so people with Second Life or There accounts can access. But it looks cool to have a Second Life or There logo on your website.

Companies wanting to put up a presence in Second Life can buy property like anyone else, hence the dozens of companies from IBM to Playboy with their own islands.

Well many people at the Virtual Worlds 2007 Conference were convinced that if you want a real 3D advertising presence you have control over and not tainted with adult fare, then There is a much better spot for your company, even if it only has about a fifth of the population as SL. (Heck, I was reading about There dominance of the conference from Second Life websites.)

Well the commercial potential of There is bearing fruit as two companies Capitol Records and Toyota now have a presence in There.

There.com has always had a goal of pursuing commercial sponsors for the game. Most notably, Levis, Nike, iVillage, astronomy.com, MTV (which has its own independent mini There), and the US Military (which also has its own private 3D training program based on There technology). Notice I am wearing official Levis Jeans in the pictures on this post.

Game purists are not all that thrilled, personally I don’t mind. My personal wish list is a 3D internet where all 3D worlds eventually merge together. It is inevitable that the only way to achieve it is through corporate sponsorship.

Personally, I do not see this kind of advertising adding much business to the bottom line. How many people are going to buy a new car based on seeing one in a 3D game? The Beastie Boy’s upcoming gig at the Capitol Records Tower might generate an iTunes sale or two (we metaverse people dont buy CDs anymore) but thats it.

As I said before, its all about company establishing a cool factor with the hip young techie crowd.

Welcome to the metaverse guys, glad you could make it.

Virtual Society exploring, There, virtual economy

Here it is folks, with Second Life getting so much press, it is inevitable that a hate piece or two would show up. But an article on The Australian website called Virtual Terrorists has got to be the most ignorant, false and lets face it unintentionally funny piece I have ever read. They offer no evidence that terrorists are using SL as a training and recruitment tool, and the incidents they cite — if they happened at all, most are heresay — are script hackers being script hackers.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting bad news about the economy of Second Life, combining news about the gambling ban, and the collapse of two independent investment schemes. They followed it up with a story about a second life land glut which in truth is not happening. Land prices are still freakishly high that most new premium players cant afford a 512m parcel that they get rent free with their monthly fee.

No, the SL economy is still doing well. Growth is slower in recent months, as it happens every summer. But despite all this bad news the exchange rate of Lindens to Dollars is still stable at around 270.

Let me finish by pointing out a sane article about Second Life Debunking 5 Business Myths about Second Life which should clear things up.

Metaverse News fake, Media, secondlife