Andrew Corpuz

Hello! I will be comparing how social activity is enhanced by these two casual MMOs, Albatross18: Season Two and Audition. Though the gameplay between the two is somewhat different, I chose these two games because they both have similar interface layouts and both are timing and meter based gameplay mechanics. I will preface this entry by letting you know that I have played Albatross18 5000 times longer than Audition; however, I have played Audition enough to comfortably talk about it.
Audition and Albatross18 are set up quite similarly. Both require the user to download their client (as they are rather large files) and install into their computer. After registering and logging into the games, the user is shown a screen which has gateways to several “areas” that the user can enter (ranking, match, shop, etc.). If the user chooses to enter one of the vs. or tournament servers in Albatross18 or one of the “TV Station” servers in Audition, the server's lobby is displayed.
First, I shall talk about social interaction within the server lobbies of vs./tournament/TVStation. In both Albatross18 and Audition, the biggest portion of the screen shows a scrollable list of rooms. In Albatross18, the user can right-click on any public room to see more detailed information about the room and who is in it. Below this portion of the screen is the server lobby's chatting portion of the screen. To chat in this screen, simply type whenever! The user can be clicking on other portions of the screen and type at the same time. While the general layout of these two portions of the screen is similar in the two games, the chatting system is more fleshed out in Albatross18. In Albatross18, graphical emoticons are generated depending on user input, just like many non-game-based messenger systems like MSN and AIM. While they aren't customizable such as in AIM, these graphical emoticons are extremely styilized, giving the user social experience a lot more flavor. Comparatively, in Audition, there are no emoticons whatsoever. Also the whispering system differs. In Audition, just like in other chat room clients, if you type “/w username text”, you can whisper “text” to “username.” You can do the same in Albatross18, however, that users name is also enrolled in a little scrollable menu right next to the chat input, allowing the user to scroll through all the members to which he has recently whispered and possibly whisper them again, without having to remember the exact username. Also, the chat portion of the screen and the chat text is larger with respect to the rest of the screen than the chat portion in Audition, generating more focus towards the chat area.
Still in the server lobby, the portion to the right of both the chat and room list portions of the screen differs in the two games. By default, in Audition, the right portion displays a giant version of the user's graphical avatar and some game performance information. Below the giant version of the user's avatar are three buttons, “Inbox,” “User List,” and “Messenger,” which is basically a friends and crew (guild) list. In Albatross18, the right portion of the screen does not display a giant graphical avatar. Instead, by default, the player list is loaded, with three different tabs at the bottom, “View All”, “Buddies,” and “Guild”. Therefore, in Albatross18, it is easier to see who is currently in the server and online because there is less to click through. There isn't this giant avatar by default that the user can not interact with. Also, above the player list in Albatross18, are three medium sized colorful buttons that allow the user to get “user info”, “request buddy” or “whisper” another user that is highlighted in the player list. Right-clicking on a username in the player list is a shortcut to summoning user info. In Audition, one must right-click on a username first to pull up a menu which allows the user to also view their “user info,” become their buddy, or whisper. Also, to display the “user info”, you must have premium messenger service, which I assume costs money. This, like displaying the userlist, is more difficult than in Albatross18. However, while Audition has these shortcomings, the user can do a few things that can't be done in Albatross18. First, there is no “Inbox” option in Albatross18. There is a way to send e-mail style messages in Albatross18, however, it seems that the user has to be the receiver's friend, and there does not seem to be, to my knowledge, a GUI for an Inbox. In Audition, the user can also send a user an inbox style message through the user list window popup. There is also a GF/BF heart button in the right portion of the screen, however, I have been unable to click on it so I am not really sure of it's purpose.
In either game, once the user enters an available room, there is a room lobby screen. In Audition and in non-tournament modes in Albatross18, there will be the room information and things that can be customized in the bottom and right portions of the screen. Right above the bottom portion of the screen are the chatting areas and right above that portion are the graphical avatars of the players in the room. While chatting is pretty much the same for both games in the server lobbies, there are some differences. In Audition, the chatting portion of the screen isnt really its own portion – posted text somewhat bleeds into the above portion with the graphical avatars. This makes the already-small-text seem even smaller than it is. With regards to acquiring user info, in Audition, the user can get another player's user info without the premium messenger service. However, in Albatross18, it must be noted that there is a lot more information about the user in the “user info” section, which gives users more to talk about. Also, in Audition, there can be spectators, which are people who aren't playing the game, but can chat during the actual game.
Once in an actual game, Albatross18's degree of social activity seems to conquer Audition's. However, this is largely in part due to Audition's inherently more active pacing, and Audition did make some smart decisions to attempt to combat this fact. In Audition, the only time the user can have a conversation with anyone is in team modes where there are breaks in between player's turns because the game is otherwise very fast paced. Thankfully, Audition made it easy to chat as anytime the user types anything and then presses “enter,” small white text with the user name is posted on the left-side of the screen. In Albatross18, the user has to press “enter” first and then type and then press “enter.” While this may not seem like a big deal, most users often experience small annoyances when they don't notice that they did or did not press “enter.” However, in Albatross18, the user can chat when it's not his/her turn and between swings. This usually means a user can put out a lot of text and hold long discussions with other users much more freely than in Audition, especially since some of the games in Albatross18 can last for a few hours while in Audition most games usually last for only a song. Also, Albatross18 has “Chat Macros” which allow the user to create phrases that can be assigned to any of the function (F1-F8) keys. In Albatross18, you can also team chat by going in the same menu that has enrolled whispers and scrolling and choosing “to team.” The user can also click on different user's portraits and bring up the same “user info” screen.
Because of its easier to navigate user-interface, great range of customizeability, and nature of the game itself, the community in Albatross18 has a significantly broader range of personalities. So while it is significantly easier to make friends in Albatross18, it is also easier to be pissed off at others. I noticed that in Audition, I will find it common for the room host to ask its visitors which “song” they would like to choose to dance to. The opposite occurs in Albatross18, where, especially in tournament modes, the visitors will nag, beg, and harass the room hosts to change the course, time per shot/tournament, etc. to their own liking.
Unfortunately, I have to go to class now, I still have more that I can talk about, but too bad for you! Let's wait in anticipation for Albatross18: Season Three!

Kaneva: A simpler blend of Second Life and Myspace

Well, for this week, I am to blog about a “virtual hangout.” yah. I didn't want to play anything too bland so I tried out Gaia Online. Unfortunately, I was expecting more of an immersive virtual environment instead of a format that is geared for casual gamers. The interface is entirely browser-based – the user interacts both with a browser and a small, more interactive window that pops-up if you want to go through towns. While the lack of immersion did cheapen the experience for me, I found the games' users to be extremely nice. In fact, I made a friend within 1 minute of town-browsing and she started following me around, even though neither of us knew what we were doing. So perhaps precisely what I was complaining about, the visual simplicity of the world, works in the game's favor – trying to gear to a kinder, more innocent audience. Well anyways, I stopped playing a few minutes later because I wanted to try something else.

I had read about OzWorld on mmosite.com a while ago, and I thought, “well, now here is my chance to try it out!” So after downloading the client, creating an account, and reading about the cool things I could do in the game on their website, I was definitely excited to start playing. However, upon loading the game, I was horrified by the atrociousness of the 3d graphics and was quickly disappointed to learn that much of the game revolved around fishing... basically, standing and throwing a rod into the water waiting for fish.

I guess I was just looking for and expecting to experience something really new, fresh, and polished, so I drew upon my best experiences in the past with virtual hangouts, notably Habbo Hotel, There, and Second Life. After doing some research, I stumbled upon Kaneva, which while still in Beta and greatly lacking in population, provided me with a glimpse of the level of immersion and uniqueness that which I was craving.

When describing Kaneva to others, the most succinct description to give is “a mix of Second Life and Myspace.” When I first went to the Kaneva website, I first thought, “this looks like a cheap imitation of Second Life.” The avatars on the main page all look the same and less polished. But then I noticed pictures of real people below those avatars, which intrigued me. Then, when I clicked on “Virtual World” and watched the introduction video to learn more about Kaneva, I started to learn that the focus of Kaneva is much different than the focus of Second life. While creating an account and personalizing my browser-based page with a real picture of me, I realized that I wasn't just recreating myself in a virtual world, but that I was also enhancing myself in my real world. Confused? I shall explain.

At first glance, Kaneva's virtual world looks extremely similar to Second Life. Once I started playing though, I realized how different they were. After creating my avatar, which, was not very customizable, I was transported to my home, something that can only be possessed with real money in Second Life. At that time, in my home there was a TV, a TV Stand, and a light. I tried turning on the TV and watching some stuff but I couldn't because I needed to upload some media first. So then I tried changing the textures of the walls // adding a picture, got bored, and decided to go to the mall. I was able to buy a full outfit and plenty of furniture without spending any real money. While it is easier to buy things in Kaneva, there is far less customizeability and interactivity in the items themselves. I also do not think there is anyway to create your own items. Thus, I saw a lot of people wearing the same clothing, and a lot of similar houses. But, the plus side of this lack of customizability and interaction is that everything looks cleaner and there is significantly less confusion. Also, this simplicity shifts the users' focus into other things such as socialization, which is enhanced by real-world profile pages that are attached to the in-world Kaneva characters.

Really, the main point of Kaneva is to intertwine real-world with virtual-world. The minute I saw a youtube clip of Family Guy on a flatscreen in someone's house that I had just entered, I knew I was playing in a virtual world that sought to do something different from the other virtual worlds out there. In Kaneva, you can right-click on player's avatars and direct yourself to their “My Kaneva” pages which look somewhat like Myspace pages, with comments, friends, interests, videos, etc. You can also “rave” other people and places both in-client and in Kaneva community website which is basically like giving a “thumbs up” approval. You can also leave “blasts” which are shorter versions of Myspace “bulletins.” To use your television in the game, all you have to do is upload videos or links to videos and create a playlist. TVs are also hooked up to various channels which users can upload their media to. As Kaneva is still in Beta, I expect them in the future to add more in-game features for other types of media that which you can already upload such as “flash widgets”, games, and music. This level of connectivity between the real-world and virtual-world is not achieved so easily with other virtual worlds.

Unfortunately, for now, while the site gets many unique users, there aren't that many people on Kaneva at certain times. Maybe the link between fantasy and reality is just not what the market wants right now. Perhaps linking the two can only be successfully done for a mass audience in a purely browser-based casual aspect, i.e. Something where you DON'T have to download a massive client. Perhaps the absence of customizability fails to maintain player intrigue, something to keep players invested in the world for a longer period of time. Really, as of right now, the virtual world of Kaneva is simply not interesting enough to compete with the big guns of virtual space. However, the idea of linking virtual and real is fresh enough for me to see Kaneva's potential.

My biggest beef with the Second Life universe was many people's reluctance and sometimes downright aversion to talk about real life experiences. I remember one of my Second Life friends telling me to always be cautious about asking people about their real lives because “Second Life and Real Life don't mix.” Many seem to be so focused on enhancing their Second Life and living Second Life fantasies rather than enhancing their real life. In fact, I've met many a Second Lifer who have cybersexual relationships in Second Life while maintaining real life relationships as well.

The reason why Second Life does so well for many is that it appeals to their fantasies while Kaneva is viewed as a meager virtual Myspace. Thus, if I were to simplify the dichotomy... Second Life is an explorer's game while Kaneva is truly a social game. Potentially, Kaneva appeals more to our social instincts while Second Life appeals more to our curiousity. Butterfly v. Monkey.

Side Note:
Something I noticed.... the willingness by the Kaneva designers for the users to think “real world” really infiltrates many aspects of the Kaneva experience. For example, when signing-in to kaneva, you are prompted for your E-mail and your password, just like Myspace and other social networking sites, not your avatar name and password, like Second Life.