Virtual environments have a generally poor reputation in many quarters, particularly in the mass-media. Much of that reputation is ill-deserved, and some of it is entirely fabricated (eg: by the mass-media). I have to ask, what’s the big deal
Original post:
The Virtual Whirl: Ill-repute
I sit here, racking my brain, trying to think of the very first free-to-play game that I experienced. It’s been quite a long time, at least seven years.
Go here to see the original:
Free for All: Remembering my first FTP experiences
While not every MMO features aggro mechanics ( Second Life is remarkably free of them, for example), nine times out of ten endgame content will at least peripherally involve someone tanking something big and nasty. Usually with claws. And in almost every case, tanking involves a series of mechanics about threat.
Read more here:
The Daily Grind: Threatening
This week, we cover the final installment of our summarized history of Second Life and Linden Lab (check out the first installment or the second , if you missed them). It’s only possible to cover a tiny fraction of the events that took place in the space we have here, but the highlights paint an interesting picture.
Excerpt from:
The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, 2008-2010 and beyond
This week, we cover the second installment of our summarized history of Second Life and Linden Lab (or check out part one , if you missed it). From 2005, there’s an impossible amount of material to cover, but there are some interesting stories lurking among it all. Join us as we work our way through some of the interesting highlights from 2005, 2006 and 2007
View post:
The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, the middle years
The last time we saw any statistical data on overall awareness of intellectual property issues, it seemed that awareness of copyright and trademarks was quite appallingly low – and actual accurate knowledge about them was a very rare thing indeed. Surprisingly few people seem to know their way around the don’t-do basics, and with record numbers of trademarks being registered in recent years, it is actually nice to see that some online operators have got a firm grip on things this year. Honestly, if you tossed a press release on our collective desk touting your virtual environment or MMOG having items or outfits available in support of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa[TM] ..
Read the original:
Online operators avoid balls-up with football trademarks
Second Life has just seen its seventh anniversary (called its seventh birthday, only it technically isn’t — the original birthday is in March, but the anniversary is in June. There’s history there)
Go here to read the rest:
The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life
TechCrunch has announced more changes in the works for Linden Lab’s troubled Second Life virtual world. On the heels of a move that laid off 30 percent of its workforce, the company has announced that CEO Mark Kingdon will be stepping down and giving way to Linden founder Philip Rosedale in an interim capacity.
Read the original here:
Linden Lab CEO steps down
Hot topic of the week would be the Linden Lab layoffs . 30% of the staff (roughly 110 or so individuals) were laid off this week in a round of layoffs that we spotted ahead of the official announcements
See the rest here:
The Virtual Whirl: The bottom line
Back in April, we observed the departure of what we estimate to be approximately 5% or so of Linden Lab’s total headcount. Some churn is to be expected, of course, especially in a tech company.
See the original post:
Linden Lab laying off staff, closing Singapore office
