MMO's, web 3.0 ?

[Hal2005]

One of the largest appeals of the internet (aside from it's series of tubes) for business and finance is the notion that digital communication can lower the transaction costs and improve the efficiency commerce. Since 2004 there's been a big jump in the lowbrow (read: mainstream media) take on how video games and social networking programs have begun to replace real world social networks in both culture and social mobility. More often we're inundated with the most recent 'millionaire' in Second Life, or the eccentricities of Korean power gamers.

However, recent attention has been given to the interface and concept of the MMO and attempts have begun to extract the 'twitch' elements and implement them into financial UI's. The ideal objective to be either to improve productivity, or try and tap the synergies of 18 hour raiding to your 10 hour Excel pro forma's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/bu...=1&oref=slogin

To cut this short, I'm curious (with an open question to the developers that view the forums as well) as to what features within the UI or MMO experience do you feel to be either 'addictive' or that appeal to consumers?
Obviously we're all aware of the progression treadmill, but are there other features inherent to the genre that draw us in for months on end ?

[Millie]

It's all about human nature, really. Successful MMOs tap into the same things that appeal to all of us on at least some level:

- Collectibility
- Progression, as you mentioned, and as I needn't belabor
- Fame and Infamy; reputation management
- Freedom from real-world consequences; ability to explore modes of behavior and moral systems we wouldn't be able to in real life
- Escapist fantasy (i.e., change in setting, scenery, etc.)
- Reaffirming the idea of a pure meritocracy (i.e., my skills and efforts in this game will directly translate into better items and progress, whereas in real life, things seldom work out in such a clear-cut way)
- Social fluidity and boundary-breaking
- Social and "class" mobility (again, to a far greater extent than can be accomplished in most people's real lives)

[PerritoBites]

Hmmm second life?

[Dolalin]

I would not go so far as to say that web 3.0 is owned by an MMO.

[Cadrid]

Originally Posted by Millie

It's all about human nature, really. Successful MMOs tap into the same things that appeal to all of us on at least some level:

I can't believe you forgot sex. EQ1's naked female trolls helped pave the way for WoW.

[Andric d'Regor]

would disagree interface/usabilty from games - many or even most game interfaces suck. the collaboration and support stuff also works in games as its a social/relaxation activity and folks will put up with lesser interfaces for their own activities that they will not for work where many struggle to multitask anyways. Games are a single focus activity () while most peoples work days are not and the interfaces need to reflect that.
Basically unless you have a work task as single purpose as a game then a gaming interface would suck, and even then most popular interfaces are not even from the gaming companies but from the community - try getting a community UI from your collegues at work....

[Kolle]

I'll wait for the ultra model brain-jacks.

[Sancti]

"That’s quite unlike, say, children who play baseball, where the adults tell them what to do. One downside to managing the gaming generation is that it associates “bosses” with level bosses, the obstacle in their way to the next level in a game. (Mr. Beck tells managers to avoid this by becoming a strategy guide to their charges, something any gamer can appreciate.) "

This quote got me right here. Rest of the article is pretty interesting and not really detatched/baseless speculation sounding, but this paragraph is just lolz. Yes, I most certainly feel the need to decapitate my boss by distracting him and then moving in for a sweet back-position 1000% damage modifier attack.