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My So-called 2nd Life (NMK)

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With massively mulltiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) rapidly gaining traction in the media world, will we soon be talking about the latest "virtual" reality shows instead of Big Brother or giving out a BAFTA for the best MMORPG enhancement? This event asks can British creative firms start to make sense of this new environment for artistic, marketing and advertising purposes? What of collaborative and creative working, and e-business, inside virtual worlds? Start to make sense of this new media space...

With MMORPGs (massively mulltiplayer online role playing games) rapidly gaining traction in the media world, will we soon be talking about the latest "virtual" reality shows instead of Big Brother?

In turn, this event will ask if UK creative suppliers, agencies and brands are ready to grasp emerging opportunities in this new media space.

World of Warcraft is one of the most played games in North America, and the most played American MMORPG, with a total of over 6 million customers worldwide. As of the first half of 2005, Lineage II counted over 2.25 million subscribers worldwide, with servers in Japan, China, North America, and lastly, Europe. The free Korean MapleStory features purchasable game "enhancements" and claims to have more than 30 million players in all of its many versions, with the majority of them from East Asia.

Emerging Trends:

Entertainment tie-ins
One (arguable) MMORPG trend is "tie-ins" with successful movie licenses. The most recent example of this is The Matrix Online, based on the Matrix trilogy of films. This process is also apparently being applied in reverse, with James Cameron designing a MMORPG that will precede the movie (Project 880) it is tied to. Bands have also played gigs in the virtual environment of Second Life.

User-generated content in games
One near-future trend could be the introduction of player-created content into the games. Some MMORPGs already rely heavily on player created content, from animations to complete buildings with player-created textures and architecture - examples include objects, content and buildings inside Second Life and the non-combat RPG A Tale in the Desert.

MMORPG software engines
Also possible in the near future is the widespread introduction of MMOG software engines, which are generic tools that make it much easier for individuals (or small teams) to produce their own MMORPGs for profit. Some examples of this kind of engine are Multiverse, Kaneva, and Realm Crafter.

MMORPGs in the media landscape...

Although MMORPGs are just 7% of the $28 billion game market, they may be the most addictive niche according to research from Stanford University. It found that while the average console gamer might spend seven to eight hours playing, players in MMORPGs spent 20 hours a week, potentially rivaling TV viewing figures.

• So can British creative firms start to make sense of this new environment?

• What are the benefits of MMOGs to TV and movie brands? Can MMORPGs help programme brands hang on to straying TV viewers or can they really help build communities around brands?

• Will we be giving away a Bafta for best MMORPG enhancement in a few years time?

SPEAKERS:

Michael Smith - CEO, Mind Candy (makers of Perplexcity)
Michael Smith co-founded gadgets, games and gifts e-tailer Firebox.com in 1998. The company has grown rapidly and recently featured on the Sunday Times Fast Track list as the 13th Fastest growing company in the UK. In 2003 Michael launched a very unusual interactive entertainment business called Mind Candy. The company specialises in Alternate Reality Games. The first game to launch is a global treasure hunt called Perplex City that is played simultaneously by thousands of people around the world via email, web, mobile, print and a wide range of other media. Most recently, Michael co-founded the internet networking event 'Second Chance Tuesday that hosts events for London's leading entrepreneurs and investors.

Justin Bovington - Founder, Rivers Run Red
Justin Bovington, CEO of London brand consultancy Rivers Run Red, sees Second Life as the future of the Internet because it lets companies do business and promote their brands more vividly than on the Web. He bought a virtual island in Second Life, Avalon, where he helps clients such as fashion designer Mrs Jones display their products. Known as Fizik Baskerville inside the virtual world, Bovington also uses Second Life as a design studio and virtual meeting-place. www.spacethinkdream.com

Andrew Reynolds - Metaverse Evangelist, IBM Labs (UK)
Andrew (Roo) Reynolds is an Emerging Technology Specialist and Metaverse Evangelist at IBM’s Hurlsey Park laboratory in the UK. As part of this role, Roo attempts to keep on the early-adopter curve, but acknowledges that there are not enough hours in the day to claim to be an expert in everything. Roo reads and writes far too many blogs, and tries to keep his eyes open. He enjoys exploring and building in the metaverse that is Second Life, uploading his photos to Flickr, keeping his bookmarks on del.icio.us and his playlist on Last.fm, as well as indulging in any number of other bleeding-edge alpha geek social software type activities. He contributes to eightbar.co.uk and blogs at rooreynolds.com.

Gauti Sigthorsson - Lecturer in Media, University of Greenwich
Gauti lectures in media in the Creative, Critical and Communications Studies department of the University of Greenwich . His current research is on alter egos, social media and the ethics of participatory databases. He is co-responsible for the Upstart project and the Creative Commerce short course, supporting emerging entrepreneurs in the media arts. He blogs irregularly and irresponsibly at the Concept Bin.

Esther MacCallum-Stewart - Researcher, University of Sussex
Dr. Esther MacCallum-Stewart is a researcher into digital games narratives and theory. Her work looks at the ways in which MMORPGs use representation and narrative within games; ie. how they actually tell stories and how they use this to various ends.

EVENT OUTLINE

MMOs: where are they now, and where are they heading? - Michael Smith
MMOs are one of the fasting growing and exciting areas of the gaming industry, but the current landscape will change rapidly over the next few years. What does the sector look like now, and what new forms of multi-player gaming, such as ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) or MOORs (Massively Open Online Racing), can we expect to see emerge?

Collaborative and innovative working inside virtual worlds - Andrew ‘Roo’ Reynolds
With a fast growing population, a thriving economy and inescapable media coverage, it's hard to ignore Second Life these days. Roo Reynolds, a Metaverse Evangelist in IBM, will share the impact that virtual worlds such a Second Life are having on business and how some companies are already using them to work collaboratively on a global scale.

The artistic, creative & entertainment opportunities inside MMORPGs - Esther MacCallum-Stewart
Second Life has proved that online gaming need not be a site of gaming alone but one in which 'play' and social activities predominate. Educators, performers and artists are all using online spaces as areas of creative production. At the same time, directors such as James Cameron are looking at including MMORPGs as potential sites to integrate with existing media – film being the most obvious of them. Can, and how should this be accomplished?

E-learning business opportunities inside virtual worlds - Gauti Sigthorsson
In this presentation Gauti will focus on opportunities for taking e-learning beyond the dreariness of content-delivery, feedback and assessment, investing it with a sense of play. Online environments richer in synchronous and asynchronous media can allow for a sense (currently missing in conventional Virtual Learning Environments) of potentiality, digression, and old-fashioned fun.

Business opportunities inside Second Life for creative industries - Justin Bovington
Second Life, the virtual world development platform, is one of the most talked about products in 2006. Justin will be talking about its true potential and exploring why Second Life has become a global phenomenon. He will also be showing case studies of brands and branded content that have taken the leap into this new world.

Location

01Zero-One, Hopkins St, Soho, London W1F 0HS.