The Next Generation Experience

"Experience" was the key word often mentioned in the recent talk by Ebbe Linden on Designing Worlds. "The Next Generation" seems to be the official name of The New World, so jot that down.

There was much talk about collaboration, inviting people into the content creator's worlds and building community within those worlds. Sifting through the breadcrumbs, more now than four months ago The Next Generation (see that wasn't so difficult to switch) appears to be a mix of ideas from several already in existence platforms. We have Linked In (especially in its infancy) with the invitation aspect as well as a possibility of some Kitely ideas.

If I muse on the subject with my seer glasses firmly attached I see a creator based platform (official statement) where those making mesh (still in the flow chart) mix with those new experience key aficionados (introduced into SL possibly for testing) to make a platform (Desura) where creators can collaborate (an often mentioned term in this talk) to build worlds and invite folks in.

There will apparently be no induction area pipeline for the new folks; instead the introduction to TNG will come within each of the "experiences". 

Now where would the profit come from? Well there might be a charge per experience like entering a gaming world, and indeed that does seem to be a likely plan at this point. Content creators might be able to sell there mesh, animations, rigged avatars etc. to those making said experiences in a kind of template market like many that exist on the web (that Desura link).

It has already been stated that "charges" to content creators will partially replace high land fees -- or at least that was my take on the statements made. In fact, TNG is beginning to look less like a home and more like a vacation spot that you might drop into from time to time. Since the goal is to have identities and lindens transfer between old and new worlds, that might work out very nicely. It also seems that even though TNG already looks better than SL  according to Ebbe, it might not fulfill all the needs of the current SL citizens.

Playing a game, enjoying a concert, attending a meeting isn't the same as LIVING in a virtual world -- and indeed many of us have done just that for many years.


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    # by Inara Pey - October 8, 2014 at 7:51 AM

    I wouldn't necessarily mix "experience" in the next gen sense with "experience keys" in the SL sense.

    Ebbe seems to use "experience" much as you or I would use "presence" - to him an "experience" can be everything and anything from a training facility created by an educational institution through to a role-play environment to an art gallery to a residential community.

    I'm also not sure that "there will apparently be no induction pipeline" is correct.

    What has been said that the Lab will look to provide the tools and mean be which those engaging in the new platform can more directly pull people into their particular "experience" - but that doesn't necessarily mean the Lab won't also provide their own gateway(s) into the the broader platform.

    Presumably it will have its own web presence, a-la SL, and so it's hard not to think the Lab would miss some kind of "Join here" option to those coming to that website directly, rather than relying purely on user developed gateways for building their user base.

    The revenue model is tough - from comments made by Ebber after the DW show (he did an unscripted Q&A), it's clear the Lab are still trying to boggle this one out, and they have a lot of idea for how they might tackle it, but not clear idea (yet) as to which options will be selected - other than they very much want a mechanism that makes "land" (whatever form that takes) cheaper, and which can allow for volume over high margins.

    Problem here is that any revenue model is a chicken-and-egg situation. You need the revenue model pitched so that people find it attractive, but you need to find the people in order to ensure the revenue model is actually attractive enough to pay the bills.

    My own concern is whether the breadth of the user base the Lab envisages for the new platform actually exists, with or without a favourable revenue model.

    With all the wonders things like VR and AR are said to be bringing us, I actually think any VW (at least as how *we* regard them) being about to break-out of the niche environment they've enjoyed is far from a given - but it is perhaps being taken for granted that they somehow will.

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    # by Chic Aeon - October 8, 2014 at 8:08 AM

    Thanks for reading. My comments mostly were in regard to this video where Ebbe did appear to state that there would be no great all inclusive new user pipeline. And plans do change over time, so we will only know the answers as they are revealed and perhaps come into being. Plans -- even by the lab -- are not necessarily the end results.

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    # by Inara Pey - October 8, 2014 at 10:33 AM


    That's the thing about statements like this, they can be taken many ways, and the proof of the pudding will be in seeing it come out of the oven, and you point out vis plans and time.

    My own perspective was that he was addressing on-boarding in the response to the way the questions were couched in ther interview, both in respect of SL and TNG: those of community involvement, rather than him addressing on-boarding as an issue as a whole.

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    # by Indigo - October 8, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    But...."The Next Generation" is already a thing, has been for a long time, and every nerd over a certain age knows it. I don't know how smart it is to co-opt that name. OTOH the Trek RPers will love it.