Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Six virtual world myths busted]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/six-virtual-world-myths-busted/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/six-virtual-world-myths-busted/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/six-virtual-world-myths-busted/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Second Life celebrity, thinker, developer and blogger, Gwyneth Llewelyn takes a look a white paper by Proximity London on virtual worlds. The white paper is based on some 4,000 interviews with people and builds up a picture of the realities of these synthetic environments.

The paper's author, John Urpeth, basically rounds up six of the most popular claims about virtual worlds, and basically finds them all to be pretty much so much smoke - and you don't need to ask where that smoke is blown or why.

Llewelyn goes through all six and the results are well worth your time reading. If you only know virtual worlds from TV, newspapers, and major news sites - then the odds are you've learned little that's actually true. You can find interesting and energetic discussion on the topic at Digado.

MassivelySix virtual world myths busted originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>academicculturedigadogwyneth-llewelynjohn-urpethproximity-londonsecond-lifevirtual-worldsMon, 18 Feb 2008 06:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Seven strategies to successful games]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/seven-strategies-to-successful-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/seven-strategies-to-successful-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/14/seven-strategies-to-successful-games/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Rick van der Wal over at Digado ( which stands for "Digital Adoption") wrote a very interesting piece listing his "Top 7 Marketing Strategies in Games." Van der Wal (who is studying Communications and Multimedia design at the Hogeschool Rotterdam and has worked as a Marketer) hits on a few points that are very insightful. His article really goes hand and hand with Sanya Weather's "Why People Quit" piece over on Eating Bees.

His first strategy, Socially Excusable Meetings, states that games have evolved to a point where they offer complex, social environments and have become a "social excuse to meet and interact." Much like golf. As Van der Wal points out he's not the first to make this comparison. I've seen the analogy made that MMOs are in fact today's version of golf, which aside from a "social excuse to meet" has long been used as informal "business meetings." Why not take this modern day version of an old school concept to a whole other level?

Strategies two through five: Create Clear Objectives, Instant Rewarding, Create a "common" Goal, and Challenge your User all seem obvious to everyone except gaming companies. The one that intrigues me the most is "Challenge your User" because as I've mentioned before, players are starting to feel less and less special. As Van der Wal points out, gamers are more than willing to listen and learn, spending hours of their precious free time in game. Instead of letting them just grind their day away - challenge them! His final two points (The Value of Status, and Create "epic" Experiences) are just as fascinating. Van der Wal's points aren't just marketing strategies though, they can even be regarded as design strategies. Strategies that could benefit the gaming industry immensely.

MassivelySeven strategies to successful games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>DigadoDigital-Adoptionmarketing-strategiesmmmorpgmmosopinionRick-van-der-Walvirtual-worldsMon, 14 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST