Virtual Pan-handling

One of the main reasons I play ourWorld is to experience the game as typical players experience it. When I play ourWorld, I do so as a regular player, with a regular membership. Nothing more or less than any other member with a paid subscription would have.


One of my policies has been to accept all friend invitations. I don't want to miss out knowing somebody who I really want to know. Unfortunately, that's not how it really works. Too many friends essentially eliminates friends as a useful tool. They're just random names on a 1000-strong list, and I still only know a couple dozen as 'real' online friends.

While my account is no different than any other, I do use it for a few official functions. When players win ourWorld Contests, I use my account to award the prize codes. An unfortunate side effect of issuing these codes with my main account is now people think it's okay to ask me for free coupons and Gems (ourWorld currency, normally only available for real money.)

I could handle one or two people a day asking for free stuff, and then taking no for an answer. Unfortunately, since awarding the contest prizes, I now get lots of people asking repeatedly. So many requests that it's sapping the enjoyment out of playing ourWorld, and that is intolerable.

My solution is semi-harsh, but I plan to stick to it. Players get one free pass. Ask me for free stuff (or give me a sob story about how you can't afford anything, which is worse) and you get one warning. Ask me again, and you're off my friends list.

From a purely pragmatic standpoint, players panhandling for free stuff are not the players who are ponying up their credit cards and purchasing memberships and virtual currency. That means my friendship is based on how actually friendly they are. Most of the ourWorld friends I talk to regularly are very nice and I don't care if they are members or not. Even huge sites like Club Penquin only have about 5% paying members. That said, if you're a high maintenance user, bugging me daily, you might consider making a purchase. I will happily contribute to a relationship based on social niceties. I will happily contribute to a relationship based on an customer/provider relationship. While its hard to mix the two, I think I do a good job with friends who are also customers as well. Bring nothing to the table, and I don't think it hurts me or ourWorld much to remove you from my friends list. That's all I'm saying.


-Adam!!!

Twitter-Done

It keeps coming up in media, in casual conversations, even at work. Twitter.

I signed up months ago, but this time I'm really going to try and sort out what Twitter can do for me. Heaven help me.


The book, Remix, really is worthwhile.

-Adam!!!

I Know My Family Will Be Prepared

More debate over violent video games. This time with conclusions I can support.


Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

-Adam!!!

They Know "Comfortably Numb" is Friggin' Awesome, Right?

Violent Media Numb Viewers To The Pain Of Others


Another study designed to support an established behavioral theory. i.e. video games are bad.

Let me make a list of things I think could generate similar results:

• A bad day at work
• Traffic Jam
• Headache
• Most media I define as 'awesome'
• Pink Floyd, Slipknot, or Barry Manilow
  
• Dealing with agressive pan-handlers daily
• Being hungry
• Being full
• Wearing orange (don't know until you test it.)

My point: Lots of things can impact how we react to a given situation, particularly in the short term. People are drastically impacted by their environment, and video games are a kind of environment. Have the kids play violent video games for a year and see how they act (compared to a control) a year later. That might hold some weight.

I particularly like how the article paints the research as "[filling] an important research gap in the literature on the impact of violent media."

Rubbish.

-Adam!!!

A Simple Plan

I don't need another T-shirt. It's epic how much I don't need another T-shirt. I may NEED this T-shirt.

A Simple Plan

Available from threadless.com

Another slice of awesome courtesy of Wil Wheaton.

Phone Privilege Day at the Home

PPDatH is an old Wizards of the Coast Customer Service phrase (coined by Jeff Harris, who should contact me if he reads this. DUDE!) We used it any time the day's ration of crazy/stupid/incomprehensible callers outnumbered the sane ones. We handled rules support for Magic: The Gathering, so the 'sane' bar was already set pretty low!

Nowadays, when I handle support, I do it mostly via Email. The primary advantage to Email is the ability to step back from the insane for a moment. Once my wits are in place, I can then tackle the problem du jour with the optimistic vigor I have worked so hard to cultivate. Still, there are days...

When I first started with ourWorld, I read up on community management. There was precious little usefull information out there on how to handle a large number of online contributers*, particularly teens. Most of the attention was spent on how to *be* a member of a community, rather than how to manage one. What written help the internet could provide, proved useful. I'll share the most imporant bit:

"You are a moderator, not a therapist."

It's shocking how often this phrase helps me do the correct thing. And there you have it.

-Adam!!!

* A quick Google search for 'virtual world community management' brings up a host of articles now. No idea if they're any good. When I have time, I'll need to see.

The Transitory Nature of Things

I think there is a desire for things to be permanent, yet so much that we treasure is made even more valuable by the knowledge that its not forever.

I'm toying with the idea of a communal art-project for ourWorld, that allows players to cover up the work of the previous artists, or if left too long, vanishes with time. I love the notion that players could impact their virtual world, if only for a little while. It's just an idea, and I'll have to do some convincing to make it happen. It's not technically prohibitive, it can be monetized, and it's pretty fraking unique. Fingers crossed.

Speaking of Transitory. Here's a clip from my last robot fight. My robots were the losing pair.



-Adam

Are we that?

Today's post from Seth Godin got me thinking (as they often do).

Authenticity

If it acts like a duck (all the time), it's a duck. Doesn't matter if the duck thinks it's a dog, it's still a duck as far as the rest of us are concerned.

Authenticity, for me, is doing what you promise, not "being who you are".

That's because 'being' is too amorphous and we are notoriously bad at judging that. Internal vision is always blurry. Doing, on the other hand, is an act that can be seen by all.

As the Internet and a connected culture places a higher premium on authenticity (because if you're inconsistent, you're going to get caught) it's easy to confuse authentic behavior with an existential crisis. Are you really good enough, kind enough, generous enough and brave enough to be authentically a hero or leader?

Mother Theresa was an atheist, filled with self doubt. But she was an authentic saint, because she always acted like one.

You could spend your time wondering if what you say you are is really you. Or you could just act like that all the time. That's good enough, thanks. Save the angst for later.

In the case of a ourWorld, or any virtual world for that matter, there is a question of Who We Really Are. ourWorld is distinctly different than the creators had in mind when they started. That's not a bad thing because our team is fast enough and smart enough to adjust to the realities of who most of our players are and what they like. But the switch, I think, has left us less defined than we ought to be. Are we a dog or a duck. We set out to be a dog.

Virtual Worlds based on established brands, like Disney, have the ability to take a concrete idea/brand and ask "are we that", and if the answer is no, make adjustments. ourWorld is for teens who like games and socializing, but asking "are we that" is still too broad a question. Even though we are acting like a site for teens who like games and socializing, does that establish a recognizable identity? More to the point, does it help define who the players are?

Like I said, it got me thinking. I'll have to think about it some more.

-Adam!!!

Happy Valentine's Day - Mollusk Style

Octopus Blind Date on Saturday, 2/14 at noon. Witness what happens when sixteen arms, six hearts (three hearts each) and two giant Pacific octopuses meet on Valentine’s Day. Aquarium biologists set the mood with decorative hearts, roses and romantic music at the Octopus Exhibit. But it’s up to the octopuses to decide whether or not love is in the water!

"Hey baby, you got a sweet set of tentacles..." (Totally G-rated)

-Adam!!!

Happy Valentines Day (for fun and prizes)

We're almost done with the ourWorld Valentine's Day photo contest. We've had thousands of entries, and I expect close to 200 finalists by the time Valentine's Day has come and gone. From there we'll whittle the best down to a few choice images, and then the winners.

To see the best entries, check out the ourWorld Photos Flickr page.

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Adam!!!

P.S. You are all bitch for doing that

This blog boils down the difficulty of handling online support for kids into a pure, uncut, resin: COPPAKids

For your entertainment, I'll post a bit right here:

“ I cant make a [COMPANY NAME] acoiunt, why. Its says Im 12 years old or younger
but IM NOT. I want to make a Acount. Please let me.PPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE!!!

0 Comments

“ hey [WRONG NAME] my name is [BLEEP] like the car but i am not a car i love all kinds of sports do you think we could be friends and i am a great singer in the school and how did you become famous please write back

2 Comments

“

Dear [COMPANY] Feedback,

It says that I am under 12 when I am not. I am 13, but please don’t tell anyone that. I hope all this feedback is kept private. Please let me become a part of [COMPANY], I really want to! =]

From
[RIDICULOUS USERNAME]

0 Comments

“

hey [company name] people can you erase the thing on my computer that says you are under the age of 13 because im 20

p.s. you are all bitch for doing that

There's more, all 100% awesome.

-Adam!!!

All Hail the Emperor of Humanity!

My past seems to be taunting me in unexpected ways this week. 10 years ago, this would have been the coolest thing ever. Now...well, it's still pretty darned close!



I want one!

WarHammer 40k was my obsession of choice for many years. I still have all the old mini's tucked away in my closet, just in case the galaxy turns out to need defending after all.

-Adam!!!

Rules Are Made To Be Broken

...and thank goodness.

One of my tasks is to manage the ourWorld photo contests. Of the 950+ Valentines Day contest entries we've received so far, I've reviewed roughly 600 of them. Happily, I've been able to discard about half of the entries because they didn't follow the contest rules close enough to be considered.

The theme of the contest was couples (Valentine's Day, after all) so I required that there be a couple in every photo, and the names of the couples be either visible or provided in the text of the entry. This rule has a simple purpose. I want to give both people in the winning photos a prize. As it turned out, the rule DQ'd about 30% of the entries. We said we wanted the photos to not be from the in game photo-studio, again because the names of the Avatars would not be visible (also because those photos tend to look the same.) Another 20% out the window. A few players didn't get to the bottom of the rules where we imposed a 5 photo per player limit, designed to keep individuals from spamming us with entries. It's hard to enforce, unless players sent us 6+ photos in a single Email entry, as many did.

Could you imagine 900+ worthy entries? What a nightmare that would be! I'm torn on whether I want to keep these 'complex' rules as a filter, or make sure that future contests are as easy to enter as possible. Most of the best photos follow the rules closely, thus maximizing the chance of winning. I had to let a few good ones go, though.

If anyone reading this is thinking of entering the contest, also take note of the judging categories. Of the remaining 300 valid entries, about half didn't meet the specific judging criteria close enough to be put in one of the three finalist categories.

• Fashion - Both avatars are dressed up and looking cool (or unique, or silly, or something!)
• Dancing - Both avatars are performing a dance move. Some of my favorites have features avatars photographed dancing in sync. These are hard shots to capture, but worth it.
  
• Quote - The avatars are saying something sweet or funny. This is the least populated category. Of 600 entries, I have less than 20 finalists in this categories. Emotes, 'I love u', 'wanna be my gf', aren't quite sweet, funny, or original enough to make the cut. With only two more days left in the contest, this category is wide open.

Read the ourWorld Photo Contest Rules on the ourWorld Blog

-Adam!!!

In Another Life...

Graphic design is what I went to school for, and a couple of years back I took one last stab at getting back into that business. To get back into the swing of things, I decided I'd do some free logos for Battlebots teams that requested it. I was a fan and many of them really needed better logos! I had a couple of takers and was generally pleased with the results. While most of the teams are long gone (though Battlebots may be back soon), logos are forever. Case in point, Infernolab's reuse of my work:

I couldn't be more pleased that Jason thought enough of my work to reuse it after all these years. I'm also pleased it blew up without serious pixilation. My designs were too focused on web applications back then (but hey, that's why I was working for free!)

More pics of this sweet arcade cabinet.

My obsession with combat robotics is still alive and well. Our club, Western Allied Robotics, will be holding its next event at the Seattle Center House on April 12th, Easter Sunday! I designed the WAR logo and site graphics well.

-Adam!!!

Update Day

I love update day on ourWorld. That's the day, roughly every two weeks, where we update the site and add new features.

This last update occurred on a Friday (normally it's on Monday) and instead of adding new features, we actually did some system house cleaning, which for many players, actually had a negative impact on their experience. It's been rough on many of those players. I agree with everything we did, but I totally understand how they are reacting. I'm sure I'd feel the same way.

Membership cancellation - We hadn't been turning off lapsed subscriptions. In some cases we provided a free coupon last year and those players had enjoyed most of the paid member benefits for months and months. Lots of players assumed they were keeping those features indefinitely, without subscribing.

Super Rewards - One of two features allowing players to earn free Gems (which normally cost real $) wasn't working out for us the way we wanted. It was deactivated. Now friend referrals and links like the image posted on this blog are the only ways to get free Gems.

Friends Limits - Some players in ourWorld have accumulated thousands of friends. It was drastically slowing down our system. Now free accounts can only have 200 friends, paid memberships can have 1000. This is causing the most pain for players.

Notice how all three of these features only (seriously) impact non-paying players. I'm being told repeatedly that players are leaving because of the changes, but how should I feel about that? If they aren't willing to become members, we're losing their contribution to the community, but little else. At least on an individual level. New players are still coming in record numbers, and they'll never know that players ever could have over 200 friends, that Super Rewards was ever there, and that back in the day, a one month membership could provide months of premium benefits.

The question remains, is the free experience of ourWorld good enough? I'm confident it is, as we keep adding to what is available to free players, just not as quickly as the premium features. Non-playing players don't consider what they bring to the table, and they shouldn't. Their job is to play and to come back if they like it, not come back if they don't. Our job is to try and keep them coming back in numbers large enough that a tiny percentage that do pay, will pay. Then, once they have paid, make sure they get their money's worth. Easy! (If only...)

-Adam!!!

Be careful, kids!

If you don't read check out GraphJam every day, you're missing out.


Quick! There isn't anyone named sexiboi18 in ourWorld yet. (groan!)

-Adam!!!

Real or Miniature

I created a quiz on Facebook! Can you tell which photos are of real things and which are of miniatures? Some people can!

I think this will take you to my quiz (Facebook membership required)

This started out as a regular photo!

The effect that makes the photo look like a miniature is called Tilt Shift. I've been interested in photos that have been modified this way since I first noticed it a few years ago, but never bothered to try it myself. Now there's a simple web tool that does the basic modification for you.

Check out Tilt Shift Maker!


-Adam!!!

Twas the Season...In Pictures!

One of the high points of my ourWorld holiday season was dressing up as Santa. I took a lot of in-game photos, visible on the ourWorld Photos Flickr account.



I received a lot of requests. The kids wanted, in order of popularity:

1. A pony (an off-color inside joke, I think)
2. A girlfriend/boyfriend. Sometimes specific, sometimes general.
3. Money
4. World Peace
5. Puppy

To be fair, money and peace were a toss up, with money gaining a slight edge towards the end. My avatar now looks like it does in the sidebar here. That image is automatically updated and yes, you can click it to join ourWorld.

-Adam!!!

The Deep End

I just received a comment about the ourWorld experience. This sort of feedback is really helpful as we try to mold our site's First Impression.

There are two factors that play off each other poorly.

1. To provide a consistant new user experience, new users need to appear in a part of your world designed to accomodate them.
2. When all sorts of new users appear in the same place, they tend to detract from the experience.

New users are more difficult to handle, in-game, than just about any other sort of player. They don't know what to do. They don't know what to say. If there's any kind of etiquette, they don't know it. They don't yet have a vested interest in the site or the community, so they're prone to a level of rude/crudeness that mellows as players settle in.

I like YoVille's party system, because its easy to find and it gives even the newest players a framework for discussion. TOPICS.

The ourWorld experience starts with a mission-based tutorial, but that doesn't last long, and it doesn't satisfy the need to establish communication with the other players. Those other players also don't know what to say, so its common to see a crowded room full of people not talking (or talking crap.)

I will say that once ourWorld players do make some friends, they have a lot of fun. Our loyal players are extremely loyal, and I think its because our work is paying off with a strong, entertaining, experience. (of course, I'm biased.)

No solutions today, but food for thought. That might be even better.

-Adam!!!

Time to Pick One

In today's ourWorld update, we added a "heart" feature. Each player gets exactly one heart that they can give to a single bestest friend.

My ourWorld Crush/Match is my real life wife. Back off girls, he's taken!

Virtual dating on ourWorld is commonplace. Everyone is looking for a bf or gf (mostly girls, as they outnumber boys) and a fair number of players, of both genders, collect virtual sweethearts much the way one collects weapons in a first person shooter. I believe "playa" is the word for their activity.

Now, it seems, each person will have to pick a favorite other person (or not), declared for all ourWorld to see. Time will tell will see how dramatically this changes the social scene.

Already I can see girls becoming each other's BFF's to avoid choosing a single guy. Not sure that will work for guys who, due to their relative scarcity and the number of available girls, are more frequent offenders.

Note: If you are an ourWorld player who just found out you weren't your sweety's favorite, that cheatin' other person didn't deserve you.

-Adam!!!