There’s only so much one avatar can do these days!
Between family, friends , work and play there is usually some form of virtual contact taking place, how can we find time to manage all of this? Experts of memorizing passwords and learning new interface.. it still takes up a whole lot of time.
Here’s my top tweets on 3d, virtual worlds, mmo’s and networking, or ‘guide to the next life’ maybe it can save you some time;)
Blue Mars - Represents the leading edge of what is possible in an open ended 3d user environment, Stunning visuals if you have newer hardware.
Second Life - Ain’t going away any time soon, It’s a pretty impressive and eclectic amalgamation of mans beliefs and desires, more of cultural experiment than anything which will probably come to some drawn out over dramatized demise. For the time being it stands as a major marketplace and source of revenue for 3d developers who can keep up with the rapid and sweeping changes in culture, policy and demand.
OpenSim - Not bad, very suitable for in house business uses but a lack of available content and culture means a tough start for new users. Too many people seem to forget about the serious security holes and alpha stage of the software. The developers are right to focus on an open system, not tied to the Second Life client but this forces the project into the already crowded game server development arena.
Rex - or RealXtend .. .Some great improvements on the Second Life client viewer here with a server based on OpenSim. Mesh import, shadows, and a very interesting avatar management concept. They have now merged with the OpenSim SVN.
ExitReality - Can the names get any more confusing in upcoming virtual worlds? This browser based X3D plug-in is a little gem for a easy web entry level 3d environment. Using VRML and x3D make user content a little trickier than other worlds but its definitely possible using the built in inventory system. Decorating spaces is really easy with a neat feature that any web page can be parsed by the X3D plug in and display a pseudo-3d page even if there is no 3d content on the page. The content is served off a data store like Amazon s3 so it could get expensive if another dedicated solution isn’t added.
Vastpark - A straight forward and robust implementation for 3d spaces that trumps Multiverse in ease of use.
MetaPlace - All other Virtual Worlds should take a look at Meta-place’s social interface, it’s a seamless blending the traditional web into the Virtual world and should become popular with a younger market.
Unity 3d - If you’ve ever played around with making a game or anything 3d this application is the cat’s pajamas. With seamless imports from Blender and ohers, the scripting, shaders and controls are totally simple but work great. I would say its easier to use than Second life .. really! Includes a huge range of publishing options from web to Wii to iPhone.
And some of the more well known:
Twitter - why not? it’s short and sweet.
FaceBook - Headed into myspace madness, more of a giant ad for nothing than anything else.
YouTube - Is a true creative phenomenon in the youth , where else can you see a lego animation of the Harry Potter chant?
-w
