When Khamon first asked me to participate as a contributor here, I was elated. It was not until the initial joy of recognition wore off that I realized I had no idea what to write about. It seems my counterpart has stumbled upon a similar dilemma and approached it by asking, what I believe, is a very important question. It is the same question I have been asking myself since agreeing to contribute here, and quite possibly the question that will fuel the content here for a very long time.
As my husband and I find ourselves enjoying a moderate success from our animated animals in SL, we have had ample opportunity to ask ourselves that age old question. Why? The truth is we have no idea why. On any given day it is not uncommon to find furries, children, couples, gothic folks, country western folks, pirates, trekkies and even naked people exploring our SL zoo and purchasing animals for themselves. In marketing, one of the first thing any successful business person will tell you is that you need to identify your target market before you can begin enticing people to buy your wares. We don’t appear to have a target market. How can that be?
The same holds true in real life it seems. I recently visited my local zoo. The real life zoo visitors were almost as diverse as my SL zoo visitors, though admittedly, I did not see any furries, pirates, or trekkies.
In the many MMORPG’s that I have played, trees grass, plants and animals seemed to be used to set the mood of a certain area. In SL the players present the nature in a much more admiring manner and I find myself marveling at the beauty of places like The Cliffs of Bonny Doon.
When further considering the use of nature in drastically different gaming platforms, the unsuspected success of our virtual zoo and Andrew’s question, “what is virtual nature?” I find myself searching for a deeper, more philosophical reason for needing nature in our games.
My opinion is that nature in its many forms transcends age, gender, and special interests. Almost everyone appreciates it in one form or another. To leave it out of our virtual world would essentially leave the world empty and unfeeling. It is quite possibly the only constant between individuals in real life and in our virtual lives.
1 comments:
Target audience is an interesting question indeed. Fate Gardens' target is any resident needing a few plants to decorate their lawn, patio or club. I'm always surprised at the number of plants people pot indoors in Second Life.
Cin's zoo in Zoe was wildly popular in its day. There was something very immersive about wandering through it. Inworld amusement parks lend that same effect somehow.
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