musings of a social architect

Zuma, Take Me Away-

Yesterday, I got my first taste of Zuma, a gorgeous, addictive action puzzle game. Zuma is puzzleicious -- the look, sound and gameplay weave together to create an immersive experience that truly 'takes you away.' I had a hard time tearing myself away from the game - always a dangerous sign. I hear the game is doing well, especially among women. As this reviewer says:

Zuma is a fun casual puzzle game. It's the kind of game where you start by firing a few balls and the next thing you know your demo time has run out and an hour of your life is gone. But what really takes it to a level beyond it's competition is the level of excellence that is brought to the product as a whole by paying attention to every little detail. Its not that the graphics are good or that the sound and music are excellent or that the game is fun to play but rather that every one of those details binds together in a really cohesive solid gameplay experience that transcends the individual bits.

Put the tab on my mobile

Interesting article in the Guardian about a mobile-enabled payment system that -- if widely adopted -- will make your mobile phone function like a credit card.

An Architect in the City of Bits

Good, short interview with William Mithchell, MIT architect professor & author. He muses on location-based services, and offers this call to action:

I think what designers and writers need to do is paint really compelling pictures of possible futures in very human terms so that the public debate can really evolve at a high level in a sophisticated way. We must understand the relationship between these rather abstract technologies and our everyday lives. We need to ask ourselves how we want to live our lives and how we can organize our technological capabilities to fulfill those ideals. Public debate is critical. And you can only have that debate if you engage the public's imagination.

American Idol Seasons Finale

Last night, I watched the American Idol Season Finale. It was FABULOUS TV - I laughed, I cried, I cheered, in spite of myself. The combination of raw, ascendant hope and high-gloss production values does it every time. Woof!

I love that American Idol is all about "player-created content" in gaming terms. Sure, it's shaped and molded by the TV people -- but the core entertainment value is provided by the players - average Joes (& Josephines) like you and me. For example, last night featured a medley performance that included many of the contestants from earlier this season. So we got to see the two top contestants perform - along with other newly-familiar faces, many of whom generated controversy. And they're all smiling and singing together. Brilliant!

The voting structure of American Idol is brilliant, too. Pitting opinionated celebirty judges vs. the American public adds a dramatic overtone to the ongoing competition. And (I think) it's the first sustained, high-profile example of mass texting in action. Smart Mobs driving a hit reality show! You just CAN'T get anymore on trend :-)

Applying Game Mechanics to Exercise

This article discusses a new game for Xbox Live that's targeted at women, where you advance through the levels by reaching exercise goals. Very cool. I'll bet we'll see more games like this -- females being a great 'untapped market' for networked gaming.

Leaving Landlines Behind?

Interesting article about the trend of carriers selling off their landline businesses to invest in growth areas, with Verizon as the poster child.

Verizon Wireless started life as one of the regional carriers that resulted from the breakup of AT&T as the landline monopoly in the US. Like other regional landline operators here, they launched a wireless service, which has grown to a nationwide footprint. Verizon is now moving away from their original business, selling off landline properties in less populated area to fund their wireless and fiber investments.

Hmm.... given these trends, wireless content & services sure looks like a growth area...

SMS messaging in the US on the upswing

According to this article, SMS messaging is becoming more popular in the US, with 35% of US mobile phone users serveyed reporting that they regularly send SMS messages, compared to 70% of UK users.

Another interesting stat is that 8% of US users regularly send picture messages, compated to 15% of UK users. I'm VERY interested in picture messaging popularity, so this is a statistic to watch.

If you know of any other recent studies that describe messaging trends (SMS, pictures, etc.) please post URLs. Thanks!

Will Content Services Drive MMS?

Interesting article about useage patterns with MMS messaging. This article summarizes a newly-released survey into mobile phone users in Great Britain conducted by market researcher NOP. They questioned 771 people aged 15+, and found that although 65% of respondents had an MMS compatible handset, 17% claimed they didn't know how to send one. The survey also revealed that 21% of mobile phone users have so far sent or received an MMS message. Of this group, photo messages of friends and family were the most popular type of service with 78 per cent have sent or received this type of MMS.

The takeaway idea is that content services (e.g. short, timely video clips delivered to your mobile handset) will drive MMS, rather than user-generated multimedia messaging. People are (surprise, surprise) not so hot about sending short video clips via their mobile phones. Part of the problem is poor UI - but videophones as a general concept have NEVER taken off like people thought they would. Sometimes, a simpler communications channel is actually better are serving people's needs. Otherwise, why is IRC still alive and thriving? :-)

Back from E3

I spent most of last week at E3, the annual video game trade show and lovefest in Los Angeles. As usual, E3 was fun, informative and totally exhausting. Game companies like Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Sony go all-out to showcase their wares at E3 -- with booths featuring ear-splitting rock music, huge video screens showing game footage, workstations where you can play not-yet-released titles, and of course the ever-present, pneumatically-engineered, scantily-clad booth babes who happily pose for photo-ops with shy, grateful-looking geeks.

I used to hate E3 - the noise, violence and overt sexism really got to me. But I've learned to enjoy the show, and see it as a big videogame cartoon that I get to immerse myself in. And those nearly-nakes booth babes? They're most likely under-employed actresses and models who are happy to have some well-paid work for a few days.

Among the many games on display at E3, my favorite was Karaoke Revolution Volume 2. I played an earlier version of this game during my recent visit to Harmonix in Boston, and it's looking GREAT. For a few blissful moments I escaped the visual and aural assalt of the show floor and sang my heart out, while a small but appreciative audience cheered me on. I can't wait to get my hands on the finished version (due to ship sometime this summer) and invite my friends over for some home-made musical fun. You can read more about the game and view the new songlist here.

What Now For Cameraphones?

Good summary piece on how people are using (and not using) cameraphones.