Do Mobile Virtual Worlds Have A Future?
I was recently introduced to MiniFriday, a Mobile Virtual World, currently only for Nokia S60 handsets (available for both 2nd edition and 3rd edition). MiniFriday is developed by Sulake, the same company behind the successful virtual world ‘Habbo’. The interface looks a bit like SchoolHouse Rock, but it’s fun, looks great on my N95, and easy to get into without taking it too seriously. MiniFriday is basically an interactive IM/Chatroom environment, visualized in a bar or club atmosphere. They currently have over 200,000 users, which isn’t bad considering that it’s really only a small research project. There are different ‘rooms’ for different languages, which makes it really easy to get in and meet people from your same locale.
Virtual Worlds are starting to really take off, with places like Second Life and World of Warcraft inticing millions of users into the graphical world. I can’t help but think of TRON, where the virtual and real worlds start to collide. The idea of taking these worlds mobile, however, is interesting to me. I think the bigger question is, are these virtual worlds more mobile or portable? I think that’s an important distinction to make.
My laptop is portable. I can easily move it from place to place. However, I wouldn’t say it is very mobile. My mobile phone, however, is quite obviously mobile, as it’s easy to use while on the go, without needing to stop to use it. The portability of these virtual worlds is quite obvious: of course I’d like to take my virtual world from my home to work, to a friend’s house, or elsewhere. However, what about the mobility? Is it really something I’d like to be involved in while walking down the street, standing in line at the grocery store, or other mobile usage situation?
After playing with MiniFriday for a little while, I’m honestly not convinced either way. The interface is definitely well done, and offers quite a bit in terms of eye candy and usability. However, I don’t know that my presence in this virtual world would be all that consistent, other than specifically to meet someone in it for coffee or a beer.
Thoughts?
