gewgaw

The last few weeks (as you might have guessed) have been very hectic – but eve more so because I’ve been travelling a bunch. Last week I was in NYC briefly to meet with people and demo the game… this week I’m overseas in Europe.

On the one hand – it is so tough to be away from the team at this time in development. There are so many awesome things happening every day that my email is a constant source of interest. I miss being part of that environment, where every day brings new clarity to the final game.

But on the other hand – it is so great to show the game to people and see their reactions. Especially when they are building things. Better still if they are new to the console; so many journalists are just discovering the console, and it has been a pleasure to watch new players light up, smile and laugh!

This is my first press tour, and I am getting such an education. Television, radio, consumer and gaming press – each person (and each country) comes to the table with a different background, experience of Sims games, Nintendo and the Wii. In many ways, it’s like being a graduate student again – learning to communicate new concepts, helping people understand the possiblity for new gaming experiences and perspectives on play.

The whole thing sounds quite glamourous now that I read what I’ve written – flying about from the UK to Munich to Milan, being a game ambassador. But in reality it’s hard, tiring work. Especially giving demos early in the morning, with very little sleep. In some cases my visit lasts less than 24 hours, with maybe 45 minutes to walk around near the office or hotel, before heading to the airport for the next destination. And that’s leaving out details about traffic and cabs, language issues, equipment loss or malfunction, and all other manner of peril.

Still, it really is wonderful to show people the MySims universe and to see what they create there. Each demo I learn something new about how people can use the tools we’re providing to create unexpected, awesome things.

Wonder what I’ll see tomorrow? Better get some sleep so I can be awake when I’m there!

The plans are detailed in a patent filed by Google in Europe and the US last month. It says people playing online role playing games such as Second Life and World of Warcraft would be particularly good to target, because they interact with other players and make decisions that probably reflect their behaviour in real life.

The patent says: “User dialogue (eg from role playing games, simulation games, etc) may be used to characterise the user (eg literate, profane, blunt or polite, quiet etc). Also, user play may be used to characterise the user (eg cautious, risk-taker, aggressive, non-confrontational, stealthy, honest, cooperative, uncooperative, etc).”

The information could be used to make adverts that appear inside the game more “relevant to the user”, Google says.

Players who spend a lot of time exploring “may be interested in vacations, so the system may show ads for vacations”. And those who spend more time talking to other characters will see adverts for mobile phones.

At last – the future is here!