musings of a social architect

Game-ifying Your Digital Lifestream

The boundary between online and offline life is disappearing. This is the new paradigm for staying in touch: the "ambient intimacy" that comes from sharing bits of our daily lives with our extended network of contacts. This "digital lifestream" exists as a semi-ephemeral collection of status updates, blog posts, photos, videos, and links. We dip in-and-out of each other's lifestreams -- sampling the output in bits and pieces, not necessarily consuming it all. 

Here at Shufflebrain, we're working to game-ify your digital lifestream. We want you to have MORE FUN keeping up with your friends. Why just LOOK at photos, videos and status updates when you can PLAY brain-building puzzle games made from that content?  Our gaming engines choose the best, most relevant content created by your network to include in the puzzle games - so you always have something fresh, relevant, and brain-healthy to play. 

As a busy working Mom, I've dreamed of having a feed of quick-to-play games that help me stay in touch with people I care about - AND have the one-armed-bandit thrill of connecting with people online. Our first game, Photograb, is a step in that direction. We're excited about taking the next steps -- stay tuned for some exciting announcements, coming soon. :-) 

I'll be speaking on a panel at SXSW this year: Strong Gaming Communities: Text vs. Speech. We'll be looking at best practices and lessons learned for suing text vs speech in gaming communities like Everquest, WOW, Second Life, and There.com. The other panelists are experienced and insightful; it should be a lively and informative session. I'm looking forward to being part of it - come by and say hello if you're around!

I'm looking forward to learning a lot at SXSW -- in sessions, panels, get-togethers, and late-night drinking sessions :-) 

Send me an email (amyjokim at gmail dot com) if you wanna meetup. I'd love to connect with folks who are doing interesting things in the "games meets social media" space. 

Saving the World Through Game Design

I was inspired by Jane McGonigal's New Yorker talk on Saving the World Through Game Design. Like Shufflebrain, Jane is designing and championing games that embrace the real world. I particularly like her thinking about the "economy of engagement":

• satisfying work to do
• the experience of being good at something
• time spent with people we like
• the chance to be part of something bigger

These ideas capture the mechanisms that keep people involved in MMOs -- and in a good work situation as well. It's no wonder so many people are intrigued with the idea of applying an MMO framework to getting work done.

However, MMOs and jobs -- and Jane's ARG games -- are time-intensive experiences. I'm VERY interested in how these ideas apply to lightweight social games that are quick to play and accessible to people with limited free time -- AKA a busy working Mom, like me. Or like the millions of casual game players who can take a few minutes a day to play a fun game.

Any thoughts about this? Do you know of any lightweight casual games that offer a satisfying "economy of engagment" without the overhead and grind of an MMO?

 

Do Social Networks Change our Brains?

There's an interesting discussion going on about the brain-changing effects of social networking, especially on kids. A British neuroscientist, Lady Greenfield (professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln college, Oxford)  claimed that Facebook is "infantalizing" kids' brains. She makes some good points about reward systems and brain plasticity:

"The sheer compulsion of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction. So we should not underestimate the 'pleasure' of interacting with a screen when we puzzle over why it seems so appealing to young people."

I completely agree -- feedback systems are powerful drivers of behavior, and social networks provide almost constant feedback with variable reward size - AKA the classic "one-armed bandit" variable reinforcement  schedule that diabolically addictive. She continues:

"It is hard to see how living this way on a daily basis will not result in brains, or rather minds, different from those of previous generations. We know that the human brain is exquisitely sensitive to the outside world."

She's right -- we are HIGHLY adaptable creatures. Our brains are wired differently than our ancestors, because we grew up in a different world. Books, telephones, movies, TV, and video games have dramatically changed the entertainment and communications landscape for humans - and inevitably shaped our brains.

Our kids are growing up with social networks -- not to mention a dizzying variety of compelling computer games. Kids often communicate as fluidly online as they do in person. For them, it's not about whether you're online or F2F, it's all part of the flow of communicating, socializing, and staying in touch.

Which brings us to this post by Sarah Lacy on why Social Networks Are Good for the Kids  In refuting Lady Greenfield's conclusions, Sarah points out:

...like a lot of people who don’t actually use these sites, she’s missing a fundamental shift from Web 1.0 chat room days to Web 2.0 social networks: Real identity. We no longer “go to the Internet” to interact with some shadowy user name where we pretend to be someone we’re not. Ok, maybe people on Second Life do. But sites like Facebook and Twitter are more about extending your real identity and relationships online. That’s what makes them so addictive: The little endorphin rushes from reconnecting with an old friend, the ability to passively stay in touch with people you care about but don’t have the time to call everyday.

Bingo. That's the unpredictable payoff of social networks - you never know who's going to show up next, or connect with you, or post an intriguing status update or photo. SNS's keep you lightly connected to a larger group of people, and enable you to stay in touch via a shared digital lifestream of status updates, photos, videos, notes, and affiliations. You get to know a different side to people - and when you see them in person, you have more context for what's going on.

Whether it's movies, TV, videogames, slot machines, or even books, humans will always compelled AND shaped by new technologies. Some people will abuse new technologies - that's a given. Check out the cheap slots in Vegas, or the sad stories from WOW widows, or neglected convalescent patients drooling in front of an always-on TV, to see that phenomenon in action.

As a parent - and former Neuroscientist - I embrace new technology knowing full well that it will shape our brains. How could it not? We're born to adapt -- and our technologies are an increasingly big part of our environment. Rather than bemoaning this inevitable fact, I think it's more forward-thinking and practical to embrace our brain plasticity, and learn how to use the technoligies in a healthy, life-enhancing way.

From destinations to distributed network

I really enjoyed reading this fascinating article about Why Reuters Left Second Life. The author, Eric Krangel, captured EXACTLY the reason why I grew tired of developing virtual worlds.

The very things that most appeal to Second Life's hardcore enthusiasts are either boring or creepy for most people: Spending hundreds of hours of effort to make insignificant amounts of money selling virtual clothes, experimenting with changing your gender or species, getting into random conversations with strangers from around the world, or having pseudo-nonymous sex (and let's not kid ourselves, sex is a huge draw into Second Life). As part of walking my "beat," I'd get invited by sources to virtual nightclubs, where I'd right-click the dancefloor to send my avatar gyrating as I sat at home at my computer. It was about as fun as watching paint dry.

Virtual worlds (and especially gaming worlds) are great sources of entertainment. They're immersive destinations where you go to escape from your everyday life. And immersive escapism -- via books, movies, TV, and games --  is often what entertainment is all about. 

At Shufflebrain, we're creating a different type of gaming experience: lightweight, distributed mini-games that connect with everyday life by using photos, videos, feeds, and  status updates from you and your friends. Our vision is to turn your digital lifestream into an ongoing series of puzzle games that build your brain - AND deepen your social connections.

Innovating a new style of game

 

I'm a big fan of thatgamecompany here in lovely Santa Monica. Their games - flOw, Cloud, and flower - are visually arresting, family-friendly, and move at a different pace than most games - particularly console games. As Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat says of Flower:

It takes you to a primal emotional level, like you feel when you watch a good IMAX nature film. Some people might very well find this boring since there are no guns and no fast-action button-mashing. But I see it as a breath of fresh air.

Bingo. For last night's Family Movie Night, we watched Planet Earth. My 2-year-old daughter focused on the animals and their babies; my 10-year-old science-loving son soaked up  facts and details and loved the chase scenes; and Scott and I were mesmerized by the stunning visuals and sweeping story. Afterwards, we felt good -- energized -- uplifted with mind-stimulating entertainment.

I look forward to finding more games that can captivate our family -- bring us together -- leave us feeling energized -- like Flower, Rock Band, Karaoke Revolution, or a really good nature documentary. We're working on that Shufflebrain -  bringing together media-sharing and braingames -- and we're inspired by brave visionaries like the folks at thatgamecompany

What  games do you love to play as a family? What's your favorite family game? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments, or via email (amyjokim at gmail dot com)

Status is the ultimate social gesture

Great post by Fred Wilson about the role of status updates in the digital/social ecosystem. Love this quote in particular:

Much of the innovation in social networking is being driven by entrepreneurs in their late 20 and early 30s. These people were teenagers or young adults when AIM came out in 1997 and they rapidly adopted the IM interface for rapid (and rabid) communications with friends from their bedrooms and/or dorm rooms. The status update is ingrained in their social networking intuitions.

That's the same reason so many young entrepreneurs are embracing (and innovating around) game mechanics and game design thinking  - they grew up playing videogames, so it's second nature to them.

Go read the whole thing

Fun in Functional: Google and Startup2Startup

Last Thursday, I gave an updated version of my 'Fun in Functional' talk as a Google TechTalk, and also at the Startup2Startup Gathering. The talk got some great coverage on TechCrunch, InsideSocialGaming, and Master500Hats (Dave McClure). Here's the video and slides. Enjoy!

Google TechTalk


Startup2Startup - Parts 1 and 2

Designing Games; interview with Amy Jo Kim

The Next Woman - a "business magazine for female internet heros" -- just published an interview with Amy Jo Kim, CEO Shufflebrain.

Social Gaming Metrics - upcoming workshop

I'll be participating in - and speaking at -- Kontagent's upcoming workship on Social Gaming Metrics. This small, focused event is attracting some great people and should be a stimulating and educational experience. If you're working in this space, feel free to submit an application to attend. I'll be sure to post a summary of what I learn at the event.