The keynote talks by Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble and employees at the Second Life® Community Convention this weekend revealed hints about the direction that Linden Lab will be taking Second Life over the coming year or so. Here are a few things that came up in their talks:
- Mesh is now a reality. If you create a mesh 3d model outside Second Life, you can now import it into Second Life using the new Viewer 3 beta, available from the Second Life downloads page. It’s a beta product, which means that it probably still has bugs, so it’s not suitable for everyday use by the average Second Life resident, but if you want to upload mesh, it’s the only way at present.
- Rod Humble declined to discuss land tier cost issues, despite the intense interest many in Second Life have in this question. Linden Lab’s elimination of the discount for educational and nonprofit groups combined with the availability of much lower priced land in OpenSim worlds makes this a pressing issue for many Second Life residents. This issue is important for many of us, not just those who buy sims. Many of Second Life’s outstanding creations, such as the Globe Theatre, have closed or are in danger of closing.
- Humble stated that SL is still growing and that the growth is tending to come from a younger demographic in their 20s rather than the traditionally somewhat older residents who have comprised the majority of the SL user base until now, but that the younger members tend do less in world.
- Premium accounts will soon come with “added value”.
- Humble acknowledged user complaints about Viewer 2 but stated that so many of the newer features were embedded in its codebase that it couldn’t simply be abandoned.
- There will soon be a new Linden-made area for new users, which will feature RPG and other entertainment opportunities.
- New ways of dealing with griefers are in the works.
Many of us were left uncertain about the direction in which Linden Lab will be taking Second Life, particularly under a new CEO whose background is heavily in the gaming industry. By itself this isn’t a bad thing, but for the many of us who cringe at the idea that Second Life is a game rather than a world, it gives cause for concern. The demonstration given by one of the Lindens, of Pac-Man like objects attacking an unwary noob, made some in the audience apprehensive.
To be fair to Linden Lab, Second Life faces some serious challenges. It’s revenue model is based on tier derived from land ownership by users, but this has been falling, the result of a combination of a bad economy, elimination of discounts for educational and nonprofit groups, and competition from other emerging virtual worlds, particularly OpenSim worlds. Linden Lab needs to find a new revenue model. The fear that many of us feel is that in the process, the flowering of creative genius that has been such a hallmark of Second Life may evolve into a more corporate and game oriented world.
I’ll provide links to videos of the keynote presentations at SLCC in a column later this week.
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