Are you Part of the 70% - Exploring SL

So much information, but where is the TP?

Referring to this blog post, I already wrote about bad shopping experience in Second Life. That so many have little desire to travel is certainly also a result of the myriad of badly planned and ill-designed sims. This is my topic today.

I am aware that most sim owners are laymen who fulfill a dream of their youth here. Therefore there are e.g. too much dancing and sex clubs in SL. Once to be as cool as an owner of a disco or a sex club... ;) But whatever you intend, without visitors it's not fun. And your visitors vote mercilessly with their feet. The end of all is often predictable.

Rules and threats...but no help

In early November such a project made it with a great photo into the Editor Picks: "Labyrinths de Mythos", a RP and combat sim. Of course I went there and landed ... in a shopping area. But I was immediately spammed with 3 endless note cards. I counted the words:  I should read 7271 words! If that was not enough, it contained another 5 note cards. Guess what I've read! I am an experienced traveler, but had to look around a while until I found where there was a visitor-tag and the TP. I landed on the residents sim, which I had to pass through until I finally found the RP sim. Of course, no hint or sign was there and my mood was already pretty much down. There I had to look again, until I could TP to other places and finally found the great scene from the image in the Editor’s Picks. Unfortunately I made no photos in my anger. I already had in mind to show this sim as an example how guaranteed failures are produced. And when I came back now for this article, the more beautiful 2. sim was already abandoned. So, the predicted end is obviously on its way.

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Labyrinthe%20de%20Mythos/71/87/292 

Especially tragic is that such a sim was in the Editor Picks. Many noobs were wandering around on my first visit there, as with all Editor's Picks and had no clue what to do.  After this experience guaranteed 100% never logged back into SL. But regarding this topic, more to come next time..

Here are my wishes to sim owners:

-     Define your desired visitors and offer them what they want.

-        Make a concept and ask yourself whether it is explainable in a single   sentence.

-        Think about how the guests understand without many words what is going on.

-        Give me a SHORT note card with the most important rules and instructions how to move on.

-        Give me a visitor's tag, I do not want to participate immediately the RP.

-        If certain outfits are desired, offer freebies. It does not matter if they do not look so great. The sooner I visit your shops.

-        Think about how you make the visit of guests so exciting that they become interested in the RP. For those interested, offer detailed note cards.

-        Ask not only your close friends for honest opinions.

-        Do not constantly change your concept completely just because it does not work immediately. Good things take time and it scares your already gained fans. Slight changes are ok.

-        If it does not run, don’t blame the stupid world which does not appreciate your genius work, but understand that you have done mistakes.

-    If you think at the end that you have done all just for your own fun and SL is just a game anyway, then please do not complain if no one is playing along with you.