Pixels and Policy

Gold Farm: Shanda Games Becomes Year's Best Stock IPO

  Games like CrazyKart rocketed Shanda's share price.

Making money in the virtual world is easy. It's real-world finances that elude even trained economist and stock speculators.

It's a sign of the times, then, that the most profitable public offering of stock so far this year comes from little-known Shanda Games (NASDAQ: GAME).

You may not know Shanda, but you will. Titles to its credit include the new and reviewer-acclaimed Aion and popular teen-targeted browser MMORPG Maple Story.

To find out just how many bags of money Shanda made on the NASDAQ and why this means big things for gaming companies, read on below the fold.

Second Life Proves Fertile Ground for Nursing Education

          Virtual medical training yields real results.

A few weeks ago we outlined how South Dakota State University was adopting Second Life as a virtual medical training simulator.

Now The Metaverse Journal reports that Second Life is finding a new life as an educational tool for midwifing and child delivery.

From the article:

The birthing unit is so much better than most in existence in the real world. As a Registered Nurse (but not a midwife), I’ve witnessed half a dozen births and even from that limited perspective I can totally appreciate how much better a birthing environment Te Wāhi Whānau is compared to even the better hospital-based birthing units.

As a clinical simulation for midwives, I can see its power as a key adjunct to lab-based learning and practicums.

Read on to find out why Second Life is getting into the business of birthing babies, and why this is good for the quality of medical care nationwide.

The L.A. Times Contemplates America's Avatar Addiction

As we discussed yesterday, the recent spate of virtual reality action flicks has Hollywood is gaga over gamers.

Between James Cameron's Avatar, the Bruce Willis vehicle Surrogates, Gerard Butler's Gamer, and anything else currently in the pipeline, more people are experiencing virtual worlds through old media than ever before.

The Los Angeles Times has a thoughtful report on the prevalence of virtual worlds movies and what this means about what our society is thinking:

"One life isn't enough for anyone anymore," said Mark Neveldine, who co-directed "Gamer" with Brian Taylor. "Part of it is people get heavily isolated today and then they also greedy, they want more than the life they have and what it can offer."

Read on to uncover why the Los Angeles Times thinks the trend of virtual worlds flicks will only increase as we move deeper into the Metaverse.

New Virtual World Educates Kids Without Ads

It seems any virtual world dedicated to the interests of kids is awash in advertising from companies desperate to snare new customers in the impressionable youth population. Not so with a new educational world, reports the Washington Post:

Wonder Rotunda, the creation of former international trade lawyer Eric Garfinkel, opened for business online in August.

Parents pay $45 for a year-long membership, or "park pass" at the site, a two-dimensional virtual world based in part on some of the Great Falls resident's earliest memories as a kid growing up in Queens.

Thanks to that subscription fee, the site doesn't have the advertising that blankets most kid-oriented sites, and there's a pleasant, old-school look to the thing.

Wonder Rotunda aims to educate kids on a wide range of topics, from healthy eating to American culture. The Rotunda will find some competition in its healthy eating aims - Independence Blue Cross of Philadelphia recently opened a world catering to the same subject. But there's enough traffic to go around - according to the Post article, over 9 million kids visit these worlds every year.

As more families turn to virtual worlds as creative and educational outlets for their kids, the prevalence of advertising is becoming a concern. This is where Wonder Rotunda really makes a break for innovative territory. As a review from CommonSenseMedia.org confirms, the site is completely ad-free, creating an immersive educational experience without hawking products to pint-size future consumers.

This makes a strong case for the educational integrity of the Wonder Rotunda project, and at $45, it costs less for an entire year of membership than a month of some supplementary education programs. That credibility will boost Wonder Rotunda in a field crowded with educational worlds but lacking in quality content.

We will be following Wonder Rotunda as it breaks across the Metaverse with the promise of providing an interactive and engaging educational source for young, internet-savvy avatars-to-be.

Is Hollywood Finally Taking Virtual Worlds Seriously?

Has Hollywood made up its mind on whether virtual worlds are important?

With the release of Bruce Willis's heavy action flick Surrogates, Hollywood finally seems to be moving virtual reality from the realm of Weird Science to John McClainville.

One of our early articles focused on popular perception of the Gerard Butler film Gamer, wherein Mr. Butler plays an avatar engaged in life-and-death combat while controlled by another person miles away. Despite only grossing $19 million domestically, the low-budget flick turned a profit and got people asking: Are virtual worlds cool?

Read on to find out why Hollywood is suddenly making the Metaverse the preferred realm of self-exploration for their flawed anti-heroes.