The Funware Blog @ rmbr

Last week I had the extreme pleasure of achieving 2 firsts:

1. Keynoting my first conference
2. Attending my first Gamehotel event

It was a super fun event. Not only did I get to become a smidge reacquainted with Zurich (a lovely city that’s really worth exploring) but I got the (unexpected) surprise of anchoring the event with Chris Hecker. What could be better?

The theme of the event pivoted on my keynote talk, which really focused on an overview of the Funware concept - particularly as I’ve refined my “Great Unifying Theory” of Funware in our lives. I also deconstructed the current economic crisis in the context of an MMOG - which was super amusing. I also suggested that economic policy design should include game designers with MMO economics experience - they’d know how to anticipate and counter cheating.

Separately, many interesting presenters were part of the dialogue, and we had a wrap-up panel discussion at the EOD that asked some great questions about games and the world around us. Probably the most pointed was when the topic of “self-policing” communities came up. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing - and apparently, so has Alan Greenspan. I struggle to find any community application (MMOG or otherwise) without a substantial moderation and enforcement infrastructure.

Although the notes are not included, you’ll probably enjoy the slideshow below, courtesty of SlideShare.

Well, the Web2.0 conference was super interesting, even though I couldn’t stay past Wednesday evening. Our session, ably moderated by Justin Hall with Rajat Paharia and Chris Chapman, was fairly well attended and became a bit of a sensation after this article in Computerworld (posted just minutes after we finished). And after the session I was the recipient of nearly a dozen (!!) amazing Funware ideas from the audience. It was really extraordinary and very heartening to see all the creative energy flowing through the attendees. To whit, some of those ideas are really good - I hope we get to work on them at some point.

If you want to read the musings of another blogger - LaSandra Brill - she has an interesting perspective on the session as well.

If you’re going to be in SF for the Web2 Expo in April, and you’re interested in hearing a panel about Funware organized by the exceedingly charming Justin Hall of PMOG, come by and say hello (I’ll be speaking on it)! We’re going to discuss some exciting topics and probably have a spirited conversation with semi-conscious bloggers who will have spent the entire preceding night partying super hard in San Francisco. That’s how they roll, those bloggers.

UPDATE: If you want to attend Web2Expo, they have graciously created a discount code for you: websf08sbg (Enter that into the registration website and save)!

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the pleasure of giving two talks at GDC. One at the Virtual Worlds Summit, and one (as a speaker/panelist) at the Casual Games Summit. While I have had the fortune and pleasure of giving many talks over the years, it seems that my Monday discussion struck a real nerve here at at the show. Since then, I’ve been inundated with people that want to talk about the transformative nature of Funware and how the games industry is on the move.

So I thought I’d post copies of my talks to the site, since many of you have asked for them. Feel free to download and enjoy the presentations to your heart’s content. It was my sincere pleasure to share my ideas with you.

Worlds in Motion Talk PDF
Casual Game Summit Talk PPT

This past week I had the pleasure of visiting Amsterdam for the CGA Europe:West conference and tradeshow - dedicated to the Casual Games Industry. It’s really an awesome love fest for our business - and a great place to learn, network and heartily debate the future of Casual Games. Or at least it is if you’re not running a 100 degree fever! Doh!

Despite feeling completely run down, I soldiered on and managed to give a presentation so good, so on-the-money, that I feel good even talking about it today. Ok, I was a bit sweaty, but the topic (The Future of Casual Games) could get anyone riled up.

I spoke about the need for the casual games industry to look beyond the traditional definition of a game and to think about how Funware signals the arrival of a ubiquitous gaming culture. Games are going to be integral parts of all aspects of society - not just as the (rightfully artistic) distractions that they are now.

Apparently, some audience members agreed. And while I don’t expect anything more than a couple of stimulating conversations as the upshot of my work, someone told Jessica that my talk was worth the conference’s price of admission all by itself.

A compliment like that really sticks with you, especially if you’re someone who feels that they live/die by the quality of their communication. And, it has healing properties not unlike those of chicken soup. Ah, positive reinforcement - how we love thee.

Want to see my slides? Check out the CGA Website for the content to be posted or reach out to me and I’ll send you a copy.

And, check out my talks at GDC - they sort of continue where the CGA dialogue leaves off!

Susan Wu of Charles River Ventures and the GDC have selected rmbr as a finalist for the first annual “Startup Launchpad” at GDC. We’re super excited to be in the illustrious company of the other finalists (there are only 4-5 of us), and we’ll be sharing our product vision on Friday, Feb 22 at the GDC. If you’re interested in attending, the session info can be located here.

We’d love to see you if you’re going to be at GDC.

In addition to the fascinating Funware topic we proposed to the GDC 2008 (we’ll know more soon), the GDC’s Worlds in Motion Summit has just asked us to give a “left-field” talk at GDC. The WiM blog and Summit are both super interesting, and you should check them out.

rmbr is a 2D virtual world - somewhat unusual in the testosterone-driven, male MMO world. But we think that 2D is the right platform for photos and memories to really shine.

Well, it’s not that unusual for me to speak in public, but I do have an upcoming engagement where I talk about Funware - the merger of games and utility software - as a category. Funware’s implications on Casual Games are just starting to be understood, and with the meteoric rise of apps like FaceBook, we’re just getting to the point where we know that they are taking up a ton of consumers’ leisure time. So, for the first time, the games industry finds itself in the position of having to defend itself against social web applications for consumer interest and engagement.

I posit that most in the casual games industry haven’t yet figured this out because the continued growth of casual games masks a lot of things. But, the stats are unmistakable - social apps are dominating user time spent online right now, and their numbers are growing like crazy.

I’ll share some of my data and thoughts after I’ve given the presentation at CGA Europe East: Kiev on the 19th. In the meantime, if you happen to be in Eastern Europe in mid-late October, come say hi at the CGA event!