Linden Lab and the Future of Virtual Worlds
July 6th, 2010
With the recent announcement of Linden Labs (you know the company behind Second Life) to begin restructuring, one must wonder what the future has in store for our friends. Does this really translate to the end of all the hype surrounding virtual worlds? Well as most of you know that follow this blog, I have long predicted the VW hype to trend downward. The news that Linden Labs will more actively pursue browser-based virtual worlds, doesn’t really surprise me (our CEO has been beating them up on this for some time). It seems as though this future for VW’s is inevitable, in my opinion it’s not a matter of if, just when. The large client download that virtual worlds tend to entail does not entice the critics nor skeptics, however once browser-based virtual worlds become more of a reality, those skeptics may be hard pressed to not change their minds.
The second announcement from LL entailed the fact that SL may become more integrated with social networking, again not a big surprise to most as I and many others have been predicting this for a while. With the meteoric rise of social networking the past few years, I believe this only to be a natural progression in the right direction.
What happens if Linden shuts down the enterprise sector of the company? Why wouldn’t companies go for the enterprise edition of Second Life? The opportunity for Second Life to be big is still there, despite the downturn of the hype cycle that exists now. If Linden Lab is able to introduce a valuable social networking integration within a virtual world, many may adapt to the idea and become believers. As for the browser-based usability access of a VW, if it is done right it has great potential. Time will tell if Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, has the ability to re-capture believers and reel in the skeptics.
Virtual Events- Coming to a Location Near You
May 11th, 2010
It seems like all of the hype around live conferences has sizzled out…while some still attend these long drawn out networking events, money and time savings is on the forefront of leading to mass adoption of virtual events. The worldwide virtual conference market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 56% between the period of 2010 and 2015. This prediction has been made by Market Research Media Ltd, a leading market and technology research company, in its recent research report “Virtual Conference & Trade Show Market Forecast 2010-2015“. In the estimates made by the report the worldwide virtual conference and trade show market is predicted to reach $18.6 Billion over the period of 2010 to 2015 (and yes, I did say billion with a B).
Image Courtesy of Market Research Media
One of the big advantages of virtual events is that they are able to provide a host of reporting mechanisms on the fly, unlike traditional live conference events. Thus ultimately being better able to qualify and track leads. Interaction between the participants is much more straight-forward and saves wasted time that is spent with unqualified leads. Although the more personal interaction is taken out of the virtual conference scenario; great relationships are still able to be built. Not to mention the big factor of cost, which is much less than traditional face-to-face conferences. The fact of the matter is that event marketing has changed… now there is no need for the hefty price tags associated with fancy displays and travel costs in getting representatives to and from the trade show.
Emulating Human Voice-overs with TTS Voices, Part Three
May 3rd, 2010
By Rudy Helm, Audio and Quality Assurance Tech, Visual Purple, LLC.
Continuing with our vlog ‘how-to’ series called, ‘Emulating Human Voice-overs with TTS Voices’ we now offer this newer presentation, suffixed as ‘Part Three’. We recommend that you review Part One and Part Two first but that is not necessarily a requirement. For this exercise we snipped out a small piece from one of our past projects. Unlike the premise of Part 2, where you learned to sync a TTS voice to a human voice-actor, this video tutorial will focus on the tactics of humanizing synthetic voice-clips with added detail. Today’s presentation does not only reinforce the techniques discussed in Part 1 and Part 2, but will show how to set the talk-pace to improve the phrasings and expressions of synthetic voices. And the concept of formant manipulation is introduced as well. Disclaimer: these are helpful tips, but generalized. Not all editing tools or TTS engines respond to specific techniques that you might try in the very same way. Mainly, just try to grasp the concepts, then adapt your technique to idiosyncrasies of your chosen tools.
The How-To-Humanize your TTS Clips exhibit (Exhibit Part 3). A follow-up on VO elements originally presented in Part 2’s vlog. This time, we introduce Formant handling.
As always check back in for more on this topic and other fun and useful information!
Virtual Worlds=Different Meanings?
April 22nd, 2010
Frustration abounds! Lately it seems as though the term “virtual worlds” has morphed to such a wide variety of meanings that it is nearly impossible to go back to “meaning zero.” No longer is one going to understand what I mean when describing a virtual world, instead most folks have fallen victim to confusing articles and experiences resulting in many different visions of what a virtual world is. It is a shame that it has come down to this and a few months ago I thought it would iron itself out…alas. The social gaming applications are overtaking the term/ meaning of virtual worlds (and no I do not consider Farmville on Facebook to be a virtual world). These social games are giving virtual worlds the wrong image in people’s minds, which is very unfortunate. These iPhone types of game applications are simplistic in nature, non-immersive and frankly just a graphically unimpressive experience. Sure, I could just settle on ‘serious virtual worlds’ instead, but compared to Farmville, what is considered serious nowadays?
Yes they are more fantasy like virtual worlds- not too much mimicking of the real world going on here folks. Oh yes and unrealistic avatars too. YoVille compared to Second Life is like comparing apples to oranges. Social gaming has taken over the real meaning of virtual worlds, more and more users are signing up daily for the likes of World of Warcraft and Habbo. The technology bar has officially been lowered. Facebook and 2D games take things back a few steps in some respects, but that’s where the users and the money are fortunately or unfortunately. Virtual worlds have now gone social and there is no turning back to redefine the term. Immersive, 3D environments must now take on a new name, other than the virtual world term. So maybe it’s virtual training or perhaps even a virtual collaborative environment, time will tell. Regardless, much opportunity abounds for users and producers across training and social gaming/media.
Emulating Human Voice-overs with TTS Voices, Part Two
April 14th, 2010
By Rudy Helm, Audio and Quality Assurance Tech, Visual Purple, LLC.
Since there was great interest in a blog entry last Fall called, ‘Emulating Human Voice-overs with TTS Voices’ I have elected to present those lessons as a Vlog, and so it makes sense that we give this newer presentation the same title, but suffixed with ‘Part Two’. We recommend that you review Part One’s scenario before you proceed (to do so, click here) but doing so doesn’t have to be a requirement. For this exercise we snipped out a small piece from Part One’s cut-scene where there were several actors in the cast, but there is only one actor dealt with in this clip. Recall that the premise is that your project’s budget can afford only one human voice-actor. So, you’ve recorded your one human voice actor doing each role of the entire cast. This video tutorial will show the techniques discussed in Part One. Learn how to sync synthetic voices to the phrasings and expressions of your human model. Disclaimer: these are helpful tips, but generalized. Not all editing tools or TTS engines respond to specific techniques that you might try in the very same way. Mainly, just try to grasp the concepts, then adapt your technique to idiosyncrasies of your chosen tools.
Sound effects were mentioned in Part One, but that discussion will need to wait for a future vlog. Music was mentioned also, but we cover music in other vlogs, so be sure to look for those as well.
(Ex. Part 2) The How-To-Create synchronize TTS to Human Model exhibit. A Vlog on how we developed the VO elements originally presented in Part 1.
As always check back in for more on this topic and other fun and useful information!
Back in February Linden Labs released a new Second Life 2.0 Beta Viewer. With all of the talk about the recent Second Life Viewer 2.0 Beta release, I figured I would give it a whirl. After I download and install the viewer upgrade, I am in. Well my experience was that I was now a bald avatar… no auburn color hair to blow in the wind. Not to mention just random talking and music at the location I entered at with some vulgar language mixed in. Those not familiar with virtual worlds and not knowing that SL actually has much more to offer may be tempted to exit the new Beta viewer. I on the other hand decide to stay and give SL the benefit of the doubt. Some type of annoying rock music is playing in the background- so I decide the fastest way is to fly in order to get out of the current environment and go explore wherever I was teleported into. Now you’ve got to remember that when I test out virtual worlds I want to approach the experience as a complete newbie to the virtual world- the less I know about all the new bells and whistles of the Second Life Viewer 2.0 Beta the better. I want to see if I really notice a difference, and be surprised by the cool things I might find rather than looking back at the SL blog or any other of the publicity that the Beta viewer had ramped up. Oh now I just ran into the yellow tape asking for age verification- my mind already feels tainted for the party I walked into when entering Second Life so I decide not to even go there. So my quick observations of my 20 minute test drive of the new Second Life Viewer are as follows:
• Ability to share (web content)
• Cleaner and more user friendly navigation menu
• A viewer as 3D browser for the user interface
• Movement away from strictly Linden scripting language (i.e. Flash, PHP, etc.)
In my opinion these changes won’t lead to a stampede of people signing up for Second Life. For regular SL users the new bells and whistles probably don’t even impress all that much, kind of like getting a newer version of your web browser- not too many noticeable changes although may now be happening behind the scenes. However, I can see more potential with the new viewer for companies and educational outlets to utilize SL. Although it is prettier than the prior releases, it doesn’t really take a giant step for Linden Labs, nor virtual worlds for that matter. A little more intuitive, perhaps a little bit better of a user experience. Improvement of overall work applications and use in SL. Who knows what the future holds with Linden Lab’s recent purchase of the social network, Avatars United, is the next step to go more social?
When Your Musician is a Robot, Part 4 (Can musical assets be free in a Virtual World?)
March 30th, 2010
By Rudy Helm, Audio and Quality Assurance Tech, Visual Purple, LLC.
This is to fulfill my promise to describe how we were able to develop that functional, copyright free, royalty free, original music that we showcased within the video that we presented in Part 3. Click here for a review of that video, as it is essentially prerequisite viewing to get the most from this article’s tutorial. Yes, this video-blog contains the bona fide instructional ‘how-to’. That is — a fun, informational video show-and-tell regarding the background music-making tool and processes involved with the production in the Part 3 exhibit.
Recall that Exhibit Part 3, embodied a variety of musical styles. In this latest video, Exhibit Part 4, animated avatars will act as both your tour guide and mentors. Also remember that we had promised to discuss the usage of the music tool, with emphasis on reinforcing ‘the 1-4-5 principle’ (we initially introduced that here). But today…well, with this video you can see that principle in action.
We think you will enjoy this. Please don’t hesitate to send us feedback!
The How-To-Create BGM exhibit (Exhibit Part 4). Learn how we developed the musical elements originally presented in Exhibit Part 3.
E-Learning: Is it Really Worth It?
March 25th, 2010
In a prior post I touched briefly on how e-learning tends to be, well, oversold. To follow up on this I wanted to review the relative costs associated with e-learning and compare to other technologies. With nearly one-third of training content being delivered electronically (according to ASTD’s 2008 State of the Industry Report) it’s no wonder it is such an easy go to. While e-learning is often broken into four interactivity levels – Low Interactivity, Moderate Interactivity with Emulation, Intermediate Interaction with Simulation, and Advanced Interaction with Simulation, the vast majority of other options do offer a higher level of interactivity for the user when compared to traditional e-learning. Many organizations used to turn to e-learning options due to the lower cost of development when compared to other methods… well, high virtual world development costs are now a thing of the past.
Other learning methods, such as virtual worlds allow for strategic and analytical thinking, and let’s not forget about the authenticity of utilizing a real learning environment – i.e. mimicking a virtual world to the actual workplace environment. All of this equals the ability to master skills and practice in a safe yet challenging environment. Scenario-based learning and problem-solving scenarios are hot! While 99% of the time e-learning it’s not very engaging. Notice the figure below which shows a rating of 1.20 (Equaling to rarely or never) when survey participants were asked if e-learning programs were authentic, realistic and immersive much like Second Life. Obviously even the current users of e-learning agree it is just a run-of-the-mill type of training instrument that while it may decrease costs of live training it is by no means a 100% solution to training demanding workforces of today.
Image courtesy of ASTD
Money is always a barrier no matter what type of training method is being examined. One must consider the lifespan of the course- can additional content easily be added? Here are just a few of the relative questions you will be asked when developing training (and may influence the price):
• How will the training be delivered?
• Average seat time?
• Where will the source content come from?
• What learner/trainee tracking capabilities will be offered?
• Project timeline?
Some pricing is based per hour of training while other pricing strategies give you an all-in-one package price from start to delivery of the entire project. Some e-learning vendors also charge on a per screen basis, gee isn’t that special?! Let’s keep in mind e-learning technology and content can easily be outdated, can be cumbersome to add additional training content to and doesn’t show a high Return-On-Investment (ROI) when compared to other (and more advanced) training methods. So here’s to out with the old and in with the new. I say virtual worlds and other cutting-edge learning technologies will be becoming more mainstream in the near future mainly due to the cost savings that they offer as well as the higher level of interactivity that they offer the participant….and, perhaps most importantly, their proven ability to affect behavior in a predictable and desirable fashion!
E-Learning: Is it Oversold?
March 23rd, 2010
I just can’t seem to get my head wrapped around why some people think that e-learning is the best thing since sliced bread. Popular in the late 1990’s, I believe that once upon a time it may have been the cat’s meow…but with all of the (newer and more advanced) learning technologies on the market today, not so much. Is an investment in e-learning still beneficial for companies? Sure, e-learning technology may be advancing – but will it ever be good enough? Or do fancier PowerPoints capture the learner in ways that other more advanced learning technology can? The vast majority of companies are looking to lower-cost alternatives while also providing more efficient training. With more and more computer-savvy employees (read digital-natives) the demand for immersive training is here to stay…and only growing! The ability “to-do” something in a virtual environment, rather than the monotonous point and click feature that e-learning offers is a huge benefit across all generations of the workforce. So why are many still stuck in the rut of e-learning? The real answer is:
People don’t know, what they don’t know!
The real challenge is educating decision-makers that better, lower cost and lower life cycle cost alternatives exist now. The decision-makers are usually advised by constituencies heavily vested in traditional e-learning technologies and attendant instructional design philosophies. The biggest hurdle we see is one of getting the instructional design folks up to speed on advanced vw design and proven vw world benefits for learning/training sims. Once they see the light, there is no going back!
The major selling point of e-learning was flexibility – train anytime, anywhere. Now a host of other vw based options offer that same flexibility and much, much more for less. So long boring e-learning, it’s been nice knowing you!
When Your Musician is a Robot, Part 3 (Can musical assets be free in a Virtual World?)
March 18th, 2010
By Rudy Helm, Audio and Quality Assurance Tech, Visual Purple, LLC.
Well, it’s been a while, so I thought that we should continue with the theme from my previous blog entry. There are many interesting and fun things to learn. You may recall that we were discussing the notion of your project’s background music (BGM) having the desirable attributes of being copyright free, royalty free, and an original composition at that! Those characteristics undoubtedly appeal to virtual-world developers, makers of cutscenes, trailers and Machinima projects. With the tutorials that we present here, there is no reason why even non-musicians can’t generate musically useful results (even for foreground musical elements, but that discussion is for a later time).
This exercise exhibits a variety of musical styles and embodies them into a single animation sequence. The exhibit portrays a conference room where the attendees are gathered to give their ‘boss man’ a report on the TV and film entertainment industry (actually it’s taken from the 2010 Golden Globes). Embedded in this viewable animation we’ll feature synthetic actors with synthetic speech (TTS voice-overs) as foreground elements (click here for a refresher on the technique). With this test-scene we utilize only 2 TTS male and 1 TTS female voice libraries to cover a cast of 11 adult attendees.
The animation sequence was borrowed from one of our past projects. It had been a full-motion video of a dramatized high-level meeting and for this exhibit it has been ‘cartoon-ized’ to mask logos, etc. The original human VO audio discussed issues about how to save the world, but here we have replaced them with a TTS script chattering about the entertainment world. So, obviously the script is intended to be nonsense; the focus of this little project being on ambient background music production, and less on the TTS actors (but don’t worry, we will have some more in-depth tutorials on TTS production in the near future!).
Now, please view and listen to the animation sequence. Imagine that at this meeting there might be a radio playing in the background for this scenario.
“- Link to”
YouTube Visual Purple When Your Musician is a Robot, Part 3 (Can musical assets be free in a Virtual World?)
The Conference Room exhibit –listen to the musical elements as they each segue. Note how well BGM serves the animation and VO.
In part 4 of this series I will discuss the usage of the music tool. Remember these numbers: 1-4-5? (if not, click here). Essentially, it’s all you need to know about music theory to engage in these tutorials.
[to be continued]