Google Gets Into Virtual Worlds

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Quality control: Rather than allow users to create their own 3-D artifacts--a practice that, in other virtual worlds, has led to shoddy and even offensive content--Google is working with a number of third-party designers to create furnishings for Lively’s “rooms.” Credit: Google

The most telling difference between Lively and other virtual worlds, however, may be that it does not yet permit users to create their own content. In game worlds such as World of Warcraft, all of the content (mountains, trees, sofas, swords, pictures, lights, pathways, and the like) is created by professional designers. In worlds such as Second Life, all of the content is created by "residents," or users.

Developer content is of very high quality, but developers typically struggle to keep up with user demand for new content. Resident-created content can be amateurish and even offensive, but it easily keeps up with demand. Google has attempted to find a middle ground between the two, partnering with professional virtual-world companies such as RiversRunRed and Millions-of-Us, which provide content.

"I think Google has been wise to limit the extent of custom content creation to a select group of developers--for the time being," Justin Bovington, CEO of RiversRunRed, wrote in an e-mail. "Many brands have experienced pollution and even counterfeit of their brands in other 3-D worlds or environments--not to mention the questionable material that users put forth that led to a tarnished image for Second Life."

Lively's approach can be limiting, however. Second Life features about 20 plants created by its parent company Linden Lab, for instance, but there are thousands of plants created by Second Life residents. A quick tour of Lively turned up only 11 plants. Users also have recourse to only 11 different avatars, although their hair and clothes can be customized.

Mark Young, who does design work for Google, hinted on his blog that the company is working to allow user-created content. Wang added, "We plan to let users create their own content, but we don't have any details to announce at this time. It's definitely a feature that users are clamoring for."

Since Lively is a system for creating 3-D chat spaces, it competes more directly with startups like IMUV, Vivaty, and Vside than it does with Second Life. Nonetheless, whenever a company the size of Google enters a new market, it demands attention. In a statement, Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden Lab, said, "Google's entry is strong validation for the development of virtual worlds." He went on, however, to emphasize Second Life's advantages: its immersiveness and its working internal economy. "In Second Life, unlike any other virtual world, the economy is the experience," Kingdon said. "Users are highly motivated to create and transact in Second Life to the tune of almost a million dollars a day in user-to-user transactions."