ReViving Virtual Worlds pt. 2

After yesterday's foray into the Lively beta, I finally decided to swing back to the Vivaty private beta invite that had been sitting neglected in my inbox. To my surprise, they are now supporting IE6 as well as IE7. So, though I'd really like to see Firefox capabilities, at least I didn't have to upgrade...

Vivaty currently functions as a Facebook or AIM imbedded application. I decided to go the Facebook route. This integration ended up being great - at least on the setup side of things. The usual Facebook login also served as the Vivaty login, transferring all of my Facebook data to the application as well. This was great, as it provided for a quick entry into the app and my default scene already had some personal touches (profile pics, info, etc.).

The application loaded fairly quickly (< 1 minute) and had a graphical quality similar to SecondLife. The navigation was also reminiscent of SL, but without a 'fly' option and a little clunkier and less responsive. A small menu allows you to add to your scene from a library of pre-made objects. You can modify their size and texture, but that's about it. Avatar customization is also limited to selection from a library.

I found Vivaty to be very functional (with a few glitches - to be expected in a beta) and on par visually with the competition, but incredibly lonely! A shared virtual environment quickly loses it's appeal if there is no one to share it with. Instead of adopting a 'public spaces' policy like Lively or SL, Vivaty opts for a private 'invite-only' system. The only way to share your space with others, or visit someone else, is to invite people from your Facebook or AIM friend lists.

Ingenious marketing strategy or fatal flaw? It's a great idea to tap into a well established distribution network, but I think Vivaty is making a mistake by not facilitating some sort of public meeting spaces. I'm sure this makes the system easier to manage, but it also stops the flow of users who just want to try out the experience without getting to invested or subjecting their friends to unwanted invites.

In the end, I think the lack of social spaces puts the Vivaty beta a step below Lively. While Lively definitely needed some technical issues worked out, the experience was still engaging and available. Vivaty was interesting at first, but quickly became old without true object creation options or interaction. Perhaps the public release will open things up. If so, I will gladly add Vivaty to my regular list of virtual hangouts!

Lively Conversation

Last week Google jumped into the world of shared virtual environments with a beta release of 'Lively.' Lively is essentially a 3d chatroom where users can customize their avatar from one of a library of preset characters and create custom environments with furniture, pictures, etc.

As I was downloading the Lively web-applet (it runs completely within your browser) I found myself pretty excited, even after coming across some pretty bad reviews. Google has created some great applications in the last decade, especially involving 3d (Sketchup, GoogleEarth), so it seemed promising. But so far, I have to agree with the critics.


Right of the bat, the application seems to have a scaling issue. In any of the Lively 'rooms' with say, 10 or more people, the environment loaded incredibly slowly. In fact, in one case I left it running for 10 minutes and only managed a fifty-percent "Room Materializing" bar. The libraries of avatars and room items also had a long enough loading lag that I still haven't been able to explore them all.

As expected with user-generated content of this nature (see: SecondLife) there is already quite a bit of wading through advertising, spam, and adult content, though apparently Google is attempting to address it. Good luck!

It's tough to blast Lively too much as it is still a beta release. Hopefully Google will recognize these issues and make some improvements soon. Though it will never provide the flexibility and creativity of SecondLife, Lively could definitely become a popular hangout for chatters. The graphics are nice and have a 'youthful' quality to them. I also really enjoyed the navigation (when it worked). It reminded me of the pan feature from Google Maps - very fluid and intuitive.

All in all it was a disappointing launch that offers a glimpse of a good platform with many opportunities to become great. I'm ready for version 2.0!

ReViving Virtual Worlds

I recently received a beta-testing invitation from 'Vivaty,' a new player in the SecondLife dominated (and dragging) virtual worlds game. I'm not too familiar with the company, but based on a quick Googling, it seems to be well funded and has solid leadership. The most interesting buy-in for me at this point is their Facebook integration. If its solid, that could be a great boost for them and a neat add-in for us Facebookers.

The current roadblock to any real Vivaty appraisal by yours truly is the Internet Explorer 7.0 requirement. No Firefox or Mac support yet! I haven't had the desire to update my long neglected IE yet, but I will be sure to try out Vivaty when I do. Stay tuned for updates!