Yet another virtual room, er, virtual world (OK, fine, 3D space) is planning to allow users to import content from external applications. This time it’s Google’s Lively. In planning to open an API that will allow users to import models from programs including 3DS Max, Maya and Sketch Up, Google is hoping to put a little more, um, life into Lively.

Google “noted that the purpose of the open API, among other things, is to increase Lively’s entertainment value by bringing more interactivity to its rooms, such as games and other engagement-building units. What’s more, all Google products will ultimately be integrated into what Hanna called “the puzzle,” including Google Docs and Gmail.”

A peek at some user generated content was posted recently, and although it’s nothing astonishing, that was alpha phase stuff.

If you’re don’t include user generated content you’re, well, to steal a term from the Webby World people, a science project. Even Lively, with its 3D content partners and team holed up in a warehouse somewhere coding cartoon avatars needs - well, it needs you.


Vivaty
Even over at Vivaty the app is opening up. Vivaty is offering a prize for user-generated rooms to add to its library, and has released its mini development software to help facilitate it. Vivaty bills “Vivaty Create” as a “program for 3D developers to design breakthrough content for thousands of web consumers.”

And through the contest to generate rooms for the Vivaty library, they hope to create an ecosystem of content people to help move the range of designs forward:

“Vivaty Create is in its first and most important pilot phase and we need your help! We’re looking for some fresh new scenes and objects and our first members of the Vivaty Create Council, the creators and developers who will help us get it right.”

Vivaty also links in to common 3D development software apps.

Second Life and Mesh Imports
Which leaves the intriguing question of whether Second Life will ever move past sculpted prims and allow mesh imports into the grid - and by extension, allow a link to collada pipelines and other software applications. Keystone and others have posted on the topic, and there’s a JIRA to vote on the issue.