Comments on: A Mesh of Chips: Rendering Virtual Worlds and Saying Goodbye to the Second Life Prim?

By: Dusan Writer’s Metaverse » Getting Extra Rays: Picturing Second Life 2.0?

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:46:49 +0000

[...] have the time to figure out how to update my card. I’ve recently covered the possibilities of “richly rendered” 3D spaces, have looked at the OTOY engine, and have been wowed by Blue Mars (although disappointed with their [...]

By: More than Realistic Rendering - Second Life Home Page Forums

More than Realistic Rendering - Second Life Home Page Forums — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:41:24 +0000

[...] An interesting article from Dusan about realism in rendering and the future of Second Life: Dusan Writer’s Metaverse A Mesh of Chips: Rendering Virtual Worlds and Saying Goodbye to the S… My response: Shadows, while nice, should come after bump maps and shaders, standard features of [...]

By: Clubside Granville

Clubside Granville — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:39:16 +0000

Shadows, while nice, should come after bump maps and shaders, standard features of hardware rendering for a decade. Shadows and mirrored surfaces and more await us as they are standards in real-time 3D this century, even before Second Life launched.

It is pt for you to call the prim “lowly” as it is a relic from the earliest 3D applications of the Amiga in the 1980s. They can continue to have their place but not at the expense of meshes or bones or other modern 3D objects. What’s wrong with out-world construction? It’s no different than build web pages offline.

The real issue you raise is the issue of “creative” and “passive” use of 3D worlds. Creative to what end? Passive to what detriment? While creativity for creativity’s sake is all well and good, it produces what Second Life has become: a marginal space that hemorrhages users.

I have argued from my signup in 2006 that bridging the gap between gamers and socializers is the only plan to ensure a sustainable and popular world. Gamers can also enjoy the pleasures of building, exploring and making friends. Some of this already exists in the gaming community where modders create new levels and objects and people maintain friends through common gaming servers. When I signed up Linden Lab even used a banner ad proclaiming “yesterday I created my own FPS, today people are paying me to play it.” The design of landscape manipulation and building creates the ideal environment to make Second Life a living map editor for games, all that’s missing is the proper infrastructure as the current “damage area” code is worthless and LSL is too anemic to allow script-based solutions.

The anti-gamers out there argue they don’t want to be part of a Wild West but why is that the presumptive outcome? Gamers in their areas, some watching and chatting others playing, builders creating new areas and weapons, and everyone getting to take a break to enjoy Second Life for what it is today. Millions log in to Xbox Live a day, millions buy new games every month. It is a social non-passive entertainment that is just waiting to be rolled-up into a larger persistent user-extended world.

By: Dusan

Dusan — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:32:00 +0000

I don’t disagree Troy. In fact, I always hesitate to use the word realistic and prefer “richly rendered”. It’s not to say that SL needs to appeal to folks with high end computers, leave that to Blue Mars, but knowing what’s out there, what’s coming, should put added momentum to SL making sure they give a good REASON to come (and stay).

By: Troy McConaghy

Troy McConaghy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:27:21 +0000

Whenever people say we need realism in virtual worlds, I just point them to The Simpsons (TV series). It’s popular, it’s fun, and it doesn’t look realistic.

Then look at something like Beowulf, a big budget movie with near-photo-realistic rendering – and a flop.

In summary, realism is neither necessary nor sufficient for broad appeal. In fact, by requiring a more powerful computer, you end up shrinking your potential audience.