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!!!

I Have Talented Friends

One of my oldest buddies, Bryan Edge-Salois, is a freelance writer. Here he brings us...

8 Myths About Video Games Debunked

I believe these myths are dying of natural causes, as the general population of gamers more and more represent the general population, overall. These myths are still embraced and spread by an ever-shrinking group represented by:

• An older non-gamer demographic.
  
• The not-yet-in-the-21st century wing of the mainstream media. (Dr. Phil, for example.)
  
• A minority of vocal anti-gaming zealots. These folks have an uncanny knack for getting the the ear of the previously mentioned media people.

Don't worry. As long as you ignore them and stay off their lawn, they can't hurt you nor take your XBox away.

Merry Christmas!

-Adam!!!

Even Freedom isn't Free

One of the most common inquiries sent to ourWorld support are requests for more free stuff. Its not surprising as the ratio of free vs for-money content has shifted, gradually at first, but more so lately, towards stuff that only paying customers have access to.



We have a lot of kids playing, particularly younger teens. I understand they don't have control over whether or not they become customers as a credit card or PayPal account is required (we do accept by-mail payments, but its not a popular option.)

Just today we got a from a player who wanted us to make items cheaper because, and I quote "I honestly don't want to spend money for a online game. (No matter how cool the game is!)"

Her honesty is nice, but she is saying explicitly what the cynic in me thinks every time I read a message requesting we give more away for nothing. If she's never going to become a customer, her value to ourWorld is based on her contributions to the community and the number of paying customers she refers to the site. Statistically, that's not a huge value to us, so I have to say no. Over and over again.

We could give more away for free if:

• Doing so will radically increase the retention of Tourists, leading more to eventually become Customers. The numbers don't currently support this.
  
• We can increase the value of Tourists (through ads, promotional deals, or something else I haven't thought of.)
• The free items lead to additional purchases by the players who do spend.
  

If the players' requests don't have an impact on one of those three things, the answer has to remain a polite, but firm, no.

-Adam!!!

Super Tourists

When I first wrote the series of posts covering Tourists, Customers, Fans, and Super-Fans, I wasn't in the Virtual World business. Now that I am, I want to re-explore Tourists. Not just any Tourists, Super-Tourists!


Quick recap: I call the players who are using the free version of your product Tourists. They are checking it out, and maybe they'll pony up some cash and become customers. (Note: Tourist is the literal name of non-paying players in ourWorld. I don't know if that's coincidence or not. I came up with the term Tourist long before I ever heard of ourWorld.)

If you are a player with a free membership this is what you offer:

• You might buy something and become a Customer.
• You contribute and enhance the community, increasing the value of the game for Customers and Fans
• You may refer other players to the game, so even if you never become a Customer, you may be responsible for someone who eventually does.

Note: A Tourist who doesn't do any of those things may be harmful to your game. Community contribution is subjective, and freeloading troublemakers can be an issue. Tourists who constantly use up the time of your support staff can also be an issue. I hate to cut anyone loose, just in case there is potential, but sometimes you have to.

Super Tourists are players who bring a lot to the table, besides their own money. They are as involved as a Super Fan, only without the check-book. They enhance the community by having a lot of friends and being fun to play with. They refer a lot of players to the site, many of whom become customers. For games where volunteers are needed, they're front and center. It's generally accepted that volunteers don't do it for the 'stuff', but for recognition. It may be that Super Tourists require more 'free stuff' than normal customers because their lack of spending limits their experience.

As I've recently posted, ourWorld has just started an assortment of reference features (click the avatar in the sidebar!) but we haven't started ID-ing Super Tourists yet. I'm not even sure how many (if any) there are. I'm going to look into it.

-Adam!!!

Idle Mice are the Devil's Work

"im bored"

When looking through chat logs, nothing drives me crazier than seeing that phrase. It's maddening, because it seems like we could do something, but nobody really knows what. Playstation Home just launched and the most common comment I've seen about it is that it's boring. (That and it will be good when they expand it. Why does that sound familiar?)

Virtual Worlds are, for the most part, extremely fancy chat rooms. The problem is, they look like games, so there is a sense that something more ought to be going on. But what?

• Games - I'm beginning to think that Virtual Worlds are an imperfect fit with games. Pure gamers aren't interested in the social aspects of VWs and social players aren't all that jazzed about single player or competitive gaming. A percentage of players are interested in both, but I have no idea what that percentage is.
• Exploration - Making a VW large enough where exploration is fun for more than a few minutes is difficult and expensive. In ourWorld, most of the 'regulars' spend most of their time in the condos (private member-only locations) rather than hob-nobbing with the noobs in the public spaces.
  
• In-World Activities - This shows the most promise, and what I'm working on with ourWorld right now. Something for your character to do, that isn't really competitive, and doesn't keep the player from being social. If the social players can't chat, they tend to steer clear of that activity. Pretty vague, huh. Yes, I'm still working on the specifics myself.
• Organized chat - YoVille has a fabulous feature where players can set a topic-specific party and invite interested players to their place. The topics range from age-specific (under 15s only), X-rated (of course), and the more mundane (Jonas Brothers Fans.) I think this is a key boredom killer, as it focuses the chat and the community rather than distracts from it.
  

Part of the problem for both ourWorld and (I imagine) Playstation Home is the teen audience. As stated before, a notoriously hard group to please. Still, teen players are a lot of fun if you can make them happy. OurWorld is starting to get into a groove, with regular players and a constant stream of new players (click the avatar...)

-Adam!!!

Old Man Winter

One of my best friends, Mark Gardiner, is a talented photographer. I submit proof:

Winter

Thanks, Mark!

Who is that handsome anime-looking dude?

OurWorld is adding a new feature, an affiliate script that grants the player ourWorld Gems (the currency that normally costs $) if people use its link to join the site.

If you were to click on that avatar image and join ourWorld (and save and gain a couple levels) I'd get +10 Gems. Nice.

Wylde (that's the ourWorld me!)

I love this kind of stuff.

Is Henry Rollins really helping?

There was a 2003 british TV show called Full Metal Challenge, which I quite enjoyed. One of the two hosts was Henry Rollins.

I was just reading a review of the show, and the reviewer really despised Henry Rollins' role as co-host of this gearhead-centric game show. While he didn't bother me, I did wonder why he was there when I watched the show. Why was he there?

Attaching a celebrity to your product provides attention. This is handy when you're product is a little outside the norm and/or in jeopardy of being overlooked. The producers of the show decided they needed somebody that would get noticed. They went with Rollins, and while the choice may have turned a few heads, that was the point.

The downside is that one person's awesome bad-assed musician/writer is another person's loudmouth tattooed knucklehead. People who watch your show (or play your game) want it to be represented by people who they identify with. People they feel are like them or people they would like to be more like. If that connection isn't made the result is always some flavor of poor. If the connection IS made, the results can be spectacular.

A celebrity endorsement is part of the story you're telling about yourself? The attention is a given, but it'll be a waste if the story doesn't make sense in the end.

When your worst is good enough

I just bought another pair of shoes from Zappos. My size 13's make it hard to find shoes I like in styles I like. In fact, it's nearly impossible in a brick and mortar store.

Not long after placing my order, they sent me this Email:

Dear Adam Conus,

Good news!

Although you originally ordered Standard (4 to 5 business days) shipping
and handling, we have given your order special priority processing in
our warehouse and are upgrading the shipping and delivery time frame for your
order.
Your order will ship out Monday, October 6th 2008 and be given a special
priority shipping status so that
you can receive your order even faster than we originally promised!

Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you.  It is
simply our way of saying thank you for being our customer.

What does this say to me? Well, I know that everyone gets a message like this, so while I liked it, I know I'm not special or anything. What do I think it really means? I think it means the basic level of shipping/service they reserve for when they are slammed (Christmas, perhaps) and anytime they can provide better-than-promised service, they do.

Smart. That's why I recommend them. (That and their shoes are awesome.)

They also provide a link so I can market for them: My shoes. So thoughtful!

-Adam!!!