Quentin Hardy's panel on "Beyond the Video Console" is fascinating. Increasingly video games take centerstage in the online world going forward.
One of the panelists made the point that every generation worries about a new "technology" that will corrupt children: once upon a time, that "technology" was jazz music; then rock and roll. Fast forward and today it's video games.
Video games become a dominant means of telling stories. Even more compelling--multiplayer games where the "community" can engage in playing a game. The "game" aspects, of gaming, matter enormously.
That doesn't make SecondLife the answer, though.
As one panelist pointed out, once you have created an avatar and dressed it, there isn't too much to do in SecondLife.
Call that a work in progress. Eventually, however, the industry will figure out this emerging digital world, and invent engaging ways to play games and interact there.
For now, though, I confess I made a note to myself: better buy the kids more video games!
Source: Forbes