New World Notes

My Personal Top Ten Favorite / Important New World Notes Posts of 2024

If you missed these stories over the year, I hope you give them a second look: They're among my personal favorites and/or the ones I believe will remain relevant for the coming year.

Study Suggests Emotion & Player Agency More Important Than High-End Graphics in Virtual Experience

 "Field of view and visual realism – achieved through cutting-edge graphics and usually powered by high-end headsets – can be relatively unimportant in creating a believable VR experience. Far more important is the way a user is made to feel (e.g. happy or scared) within the virtual environment, the study found." This specific study was conducted in VR with over 300 volunteers, but the results probably apply to flatscreen 3D experiences just as neatly...

CONFIRMED: Adam Schiff's Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act Would Apply to Video Games, Virtual Worlds & Metaverse Platforms

While the 2024 election means Schiff's specific bill is dead in the water, the gen AI intellectual property controversy will likely come to a head in 2025. (Or stagger on, bloody and bedraggled, through protracted court battles.)

US Government-Funded Researchers Found That Women Using Quest Devices Much More Likely to Experience VR Nausea. No One in Meta/the VR Industry Has Contacted Them About It.

I can't believe the tech/VR industry hasn't given this revelation wider (hardly any?) coverage, so I'll keep bringing it up until they do:

Dr. Kelly tells me no one at Meta, let alone the VR industry at large, has contacted him about these findings.

“I'm not sure why they haven't reached out,” he tells me by e-mail. “My guess is they have their own ideas of how to solve the problem of cybersickness, but I don't think the industry track record on that is very good.”  

He adds that they may just be unaware of this research (from a NSF-backed, well-ranked science and technology-focused university), but I tend to agree about the unimpressive track record. Then again, no one at Meta contacted danah boyd about her findings, even though she’s a senior researcher at Microsoft.

Seven more beneath the break!

 

Top 10 Most Popular New World Notes Posts in 2024!

Based on social shares and/or total pageviews, roughly arranged in chronological order, here's the most read New World Notes posts of 2024. Overall, these also posts happen to be a pretty good reflection of the year that was!

Midjourney Metaverse? CEO David Holz Confirms AI Startup is Building "Real-Time Open World Holodeck"

I received a late-night reply from Midjourney CEO David Holz himself, in answer to my email with the subject line, "Confirm Midjourney holodeck announcement?"... Holz's one sentence reply: "roughly correct quote yes". 

Confirmed: Linden Lab Investigating Serious Allegations Recently Posted to Social Media, Say Sources

I can now confirm through at least two highly credible sources that the company is indeed investigating these claims -- both the accusations themselves and whether they have defamatory intent.

CONFIRMED: Adam Schiff's Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act Would Apply to Video Games, Virtual Worlds & Metaverse Platforms

I contacted Adam Schiff's office [asking:] "Would the Act apply to 3D models, i.e., content in video games, virtual worlds, and metaverse platforms? So for instance, 3D models of castles, heroes, user-generated 3D models, and so on."

Rep. Schiff's communications officer confirmed to me that indeed it does: "Yes, it would apply to any copyrighted material."

With Real Time Mirrors Officially Part of Second Life, Here's a Tutorial for Reflecting Your Virtual World

More than just a fun visual effect (as amply demonstrated by Gogo of JuicyBomb), mirrors are likely to alter the culture of Second Life. We've already seen that happen in VRChat, where mirrors are central to the social experience.  That said, setting up your own Second Life experience for mirrors takes some work...

What Went Wrong With WoW? A Blizzard Veteran’s Theory on World of Warcraft’s Fall From Its 12 Million Subscriber Height

“This is a classic blunder that game studios make -- they feel they need only to throw more content at players, more storytelling and more narrative. I love storytelling, narrative, don't get me wrong. But the whole point of a great open world is for you to explore it at your own pace, not to be compelled to do things in an order.”

Four more after the cut!

 

Cajsa's 10 Favorite Second Life Blogs of 2023 -- Plus Her Advice for SL Bloggers in 2024!

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

Making a list of my favorite Second Life fashion blogs of 2023 is so hard. My first time reading through all my posts about blogs, I ended up selecting a couple dozen excellent choices all of which could easily fit my list of faves, but it’s easier to pick my top choice than my top ten. 

To start, I am obsessed with Gross Rizzo. See my post: SL Fashion Friday: Rockabilly / Kawaii/ Goth / Grunge Styles By Gross Rizzo. This pic is from her NYE celebration and yes, that is a cockroach. Somehow this seemed a fitting introduction to my annual checkup on the state of the blogging world.

For more fab blogs, click here:

My Metaverse Predictions for 2024. What Are Yours? UPDATE: Added Matthew Ball's Own Forecasts Based on Mine!

Some predictions for 2024 before we hit the New Year:

A new, well-funded metaverse platform launches. Likeliest candidates include Everywhere from Grand Theft Auto veterans and Playable Worlds from Raph Koster and crew. I say "well-funded" because we also sure to see some bootstrapped or crowdfunded projects hit the market as well. (I may know of some!)

A leading metaverse platform start-up is acquired or goes on an IPO track. Here some probable candidates are Fortnite developer Epic (still a private company) and Rec Room, which worked with Apple to integrate with the coming VisionPro.

Speaking of which...

Cajsa's Favorite Second Life Images of 2023 -- Plus Several More Selections to See Before 2024!

Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

To celebrate my favorite Second Life images of 2023, check out this gallery I put together above. 

This got me thinking of all the pictures I wanted to feature this year but didn’t -- until now. These are some of the best that didn’t make it to my columns. 

So for some more images that deserve a look this year, click here:

My Top 10 Most Read & Featured Posts in 2023, including ChatGPT in the Metaverse, Second Life on Mobile, and Borges in VRChat

• Richard Bartle, Top Virtual World Expert, Tries Explaining Core Problems With NFT & Blockchain At A Crypto Conference. It Does Not Go Well.
• BREAKING: First Test Viewer Of Crystal Frost, Unity-Based Second Life Viewer
• AI Expert Explains How ChatGPT Really Works -- And Why It's Designed To Produce "The Most Mediocre Web Content You Can Imagine"
• BREAKING: Official Second Life IOS/Android Mobile App On Unity Revealed "With Joy & Trepidation"
• ChatGPT Comes To Second Life! Inside A Giant, Humanoid Bunny. (Featured in The Atlantic here)
• Dear Zuck: The Metaverse Doesn’t Need Your Ultra-Realistic IRL Avatars
• Second Life's Human Avatars Have Become Amazingly Ultra-Realistic Over The Years -- Even If That Hasn't Grown The User Base At All.
• The Nightmarishly Infinite Library Of Babel Has Haunted People For Decades. Now Borges' Impossible Vision Exists In VRChat. (Featured on Boing Boing here)
• Watch: Second Life Featured In Secret Meeting In Apple TV's Morning Show!
• Linden Lab Says "Spicy Adult-Friendly Bedroom Secrets" Coming To Second Life In 2024. It's A Sign Of Changing Times!

Grading My Metaverse Predictions for 2023: AI, Apple, VRChat, Meta & SL

Time to come clean about my 2023 predictions from last January:

• "Apple will not release or announce its widely-rumored XR headset in 2023." Whoops. Not released, but definitely announced. Award half a point.
• "VRChat will announce 10 million monthly actives in 2023." My research indicates this is the case during high usage months, but the company itself has not announced anything like that publicly. No points for me.
• "Meta will announce some kind of major shift away from the Metaverse." I'd say its very public shift in 2023 toward generative AI qualifies here. Award one point.
• "A major tech news outlet such as VentureBeat or TechCrunch will in 2023 declare AI-related startups like Midjourney or OpenAI as not being 'hot' any more." Unqualified fail on my part. Even though scalable use cases for generative AI have yet to be determined, there's no denying the market perception of them remains unswervingly hot AF.
• "Official Second Life native mobile app will launch in 2023." Does a closed Alpha test for Premium+ subscribers count? I sure think so for one more point.

Final score: 2.5 out of 5 right. Not great! I let my excess bullish-ness on VRChat and bearish-ness on AI hype cloud my predictions.

Reader predictions from January 2023 rated below. Speaking of which, start thinking up your 2024 predictions for next week!

Top 5 Posts Including The Problem With Meta's Avatars & The Launch of a Mini-Metaverse Platform Called Rooms.XYZ

• Welcome, Bad Unicorn: Creator Of Comically Chaotic Second Life Items Is Now A New World Notes Sponsoring Partner!
• Viewfinder, Immersive, Brain-Melting Puzzle Game, Now 20% Off On Steam -- Read My Interview With The Indie Dev!
• Rooms.XYZ Is A Kind Of Mini-Metaverse You Can Customize & Explore In The Palm Of Your Hand
• Today's SL Flickr Pick: Powerfully Composed Images By Andrej Paulik
• The Problem With Meta's Approach To Avatars In Horizon Worlds -- Excerpt, Making A Metaverse That Matters

Top 6 Posts: Roblox's Low Growth Hamilton Launch, ChatGPT's Flounder & Selling Memes & Fundraising for Maui in Second Life

• Starting This Weekend: Second Life Shopping Fundraiser To Benefit Maui Families In Need, On A Sim Shaped Like The Island
• Meme Means Business: Second Life Creator Sells TWO THOUSAND Copies Of Combat-Ready Foldable Chair, Latest In A Meme-To-SL Business Model
• ChatGPT Has Been Slumping On Google Trends Since April -- And Outranked By Leading Metaverse Platforms Roblox, Minecraft & Fortnite
• Hamilton-Themed Crossover Roblox Experience Yet To Gain Mass User Growth -- Here's How It Still Can
• Darkly Amazing Images From A Flickr Group Devoted To Noir In Second Life
• Ultima Underworld's Untold Influence On Early Metaverse Development

Top 3 Posts: Acclaimed Second Life Artist Expands to Steam, Metaverse Platform Usage Grows to 520 MAU+, and a Warning to Students About ChatGPT... from ChatGPT

• Second Life Artist Exports Her Latest Experience To Unreal & Steam -- Here's What Bryn Oh Learned Along The Way!
• Professors Warn Students About Cheating With ChatGPT With Stern Warning… Created By ChatGPT
• Metaverse Platform Usage Grows To 520M MAU -- Q1 2023 Metaversed Chart