Esbee – aka Sarah Kuehnle (nee Hutchinson) in real life, had previously had responsibility for the SL Viewer, prior to departing from the Lab in January 2011 of her own free will, but returned in June. While active on Twitter, her public-facing profile at LL was quite low following her return.
At SLCC-2011, she was part of the team that demonstrated some of the gaming mechanisms the Lab were then experimenting with (some of which eventually found their way into Linden Realms). During the presentation, it was announced that she would be taking-on the role of “Subject Matter Expert” for “role-play” – but so far as I’m aware, did not have a major user-facing roles as such, and didn’t host and user group meetings related to this.
I didn’t really “know” Esbee (as much as anyone can get to know Lab personnel), but we did swap a few tweets and other bits, and she always came across directly as someone who was warm and fun-loving, and I remember that at SLCC-2010, after coming in for a lot of criticism for the level of spin around Viewer 2, she Oz and Q had and open forum on the (then) new Project Snowstorm, and that by-and-large they were more aware of worries and concerns from both users and devs than perhaps they’d been given credit.
Charlar’s famous tree avatar
Charlar has had a fairly high-profile role at LL, firstly with regards to mesh, which rolled out last year, and then within the Content Creators group. He’s enjoyed something of a mixed reputation in the eyes of users, but I will say that I had the opportunity on several times to chat with him one-to-one, and we swapped ideas and points-of-view via profile direct messages, and I always found him to be polite, thoughtful and with a keen sense of humour.
News of the departures is bound to bring mixed reactions across the community. However, being laid-off is never a pleasant experience, so I certainly hope that both Esbee and Charlar find safe havens work-wise soon.
It’s been over a year since Linden Lab last put out a Press Release – long enough for most of us to have given up looking at the official Linden Research PR page (I was checking monthly up until December, then lost the will after a year of silence). Fortunately, Tateru Nino has kept a weather eye on things, because yesterday, Linden Research did slip out a release, announcing the acquisition of LittleTextPeople, a move linked directly with the company’s upcoming new products, as the press release states:
Best known for Second Life®, Linden Lab will grow its digital entertainment offering by launching several new stand-alone products this year. Now part of Linden Lab, the talent and technology of LittleTextPeople will support the development of these new forms of interactive entertainment.
LittleTextPeople was founded by Emily Short, and Richard Evans. Short is perhaps best known for her work in Interactive Fiction, starting with her 2000 title Galatea, and her psychology-complex NPCs, while Evans was formerly the Senior AI Architect at Electronic Arts (spot the connection! 🙂 ), where he was involved in the development of The Sims 3.
The press release describes LittleTextPeople thus:
LittleTextPeople explores the gameplay possibilities of nuanced social interaction. The company’s core technology is a simulator able to model social practices and individual personalities. Combine the simulations with the expressive freedom of fiction and the result is gameplay that more closely resembles the rich emotional dialogue of a novel, rather than a fight scene in an action movie.
In breaking the news to a wider SL audience, Tateru’s piece has drawn very mixed reactions, some fairly negative, some speculating on how the acquisition might fit with LL’s plans for the development of NPCs (Non-player Characters) within SL. However, at this point in time, such commentary is only speculation – Linden Research give absolutely no indication that the experience gained via this acquisition will have wider application within Second Life. As Rod Humble himself comments in the press release:
“LittleTextPeople brings a depth and breadth of AI and interactive story development expertise that is a great fit for Linden Lab as we launch multiple new products,” said Rod Humble, CEO of Linden Lab. “The result of this investment will be a new type of digital entertainment that modernizes the novel as a shared story-telling experience.”
Note the emphasis on the intended product – “A new type of digital entertainment” – rather than any overt link to Second Life. However, one cannot deny that the acquisition may have a broader fit for Linden Lab further down the line as products and ideas mature, particularly as NPC capabilities are seen as a major development for SL during 2012 and elements of which are even now entering a test phase. As such, it may well be interesting to see where this relationship leads over time.
The negative reactions to Linden Research broadening its product brief appear to stem from the belief that doing so detracts from on-going development of Second Life. However, there would seem to be little in the way of substantive evidence that this is so. As evidenced by the Linden Research recruitment page over the last few months, the company is clearly recruiting fresh talent clearly aimed at the development of these new products while continuing to recruit talent for the development and support of SL. Similarly, as has been frequently pointed out, currently Linden Research is somewhat exposed in the fact that it does only have the one product – Second Life – in its portfolio. This weakens the company’s position somewhat in terms of attracting wider investment and places a lot of pressure on SL to perform well financially. Over time, and assuming the new products are successful, diversification should be beneficial for the company and Second Life in both of these areas.
Obviously, the main problem here is that, when all is said and done, we actually know very little about the new products themselves and how they will be marketed and their likely appeal. As such, it is possibly easier to voice concerns than might otherwise be the case.
Nevertheless, this is an interesting move, and one is curious as to what comes next where these new products are concerned – and how soon it will be before we do start seeing more substantial information emerging about their development.
Frank Ambrose, Senior VP of Global Technology, departed Linden Lab last week (with thanks to Hamlet Au for the pointer).
Known in-world as FJ Linden, Frank Ambrose joined the Lab in 2008, and while rarely seen in-world, he was responsible for instigating a major overhaul of the grid’s hardware infrastructure, work that resulted in both some bumpy times – but also in very welcome and continuing overall improvements.
I’ve personally long been a fan of FJ – his blog posts were always honest, open and articulate, and gave valuable insight into the operation of the platform and the goings-on at Linden Lab.
The reasons behind Mr. Ambrose’s departure are unclear, but he is the second member of the senior management team to depart LL in recent weeks, following on the heels of Kimberly Salzer.
Whether their departures are in any way linked in terms of either the overall direction the company is taking or as a result of Rod Humble “cleaning house” ready to appoint his own team, is entirely speculative at present.
Wheatever the reason, Frank Ambrose’s departure from the Lab is sobering and a little sad. I’d like to pass on my best and good wishes for his next endeavours (which aren’t currently listed on his LinkedIn page).
(A semi-lighthearted look at the arrival of the newest member of Linden Lab’s Board)
Last week’s Phoenix Hour had something of a cryptic start, allowing for the fact this is the season of Halloween. As the show opened, Phaylen drew attention to the fact she was wearing a green gem over her head.
The “Simified” Phaylen Fairchild
“D’you seen the little green thing above my head? It’s time, ladies and gentlemen, for Halloween; so this year I thought I’d do something extra special and spectacular and arrive on stage as something we’ve all come to love – a Sim!”
The mystery apparently deepened when Jessica cryptically commented:
“It’s actually interesting that you have The Sims theme. I have this feeling that we might be seeing more of The Sims theme in the future…”
Now, I admit I’ve never played The Sims; I’m genuinely not into computer games per se. However, I am aware (Google is still sometimes my friend) that a green gem is very much associated with that game.
What’s more, I’d venture to say that The Sims isn’t somthing people would size upon as a theme for a Halloween costume. Well, not in my household and neighbourhood at least; around here it’s more sheet-over-the head, Dracula, witches and zombies – but then, this is rural England…!
The Sims Logo (TM & C EA Games)
Of course, the comments were more than likely made in complete innocence and sans any deeper meaning than referencing the season itself (by Phaylen) and perhaps concern over the yet-to-be-released new UI (from Jessica).
Howeverm the comments did prove to be remarkably prescient, because it now appears that at some point (possibly during the last week*), and entirely on the Q.T., none other than Will Wright joined the Board of Linden Lab.
Will Wright is, of course, the man originally behind the massively-successful The Sims – hence the precient nature of Phaylen’s and Jessica’s comments.
The Sims, as we all know, is also a game that is very dear to the heart of one Rod Humble, who worked on both The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, as well as serving as EA Games’ Executive Vice President and Head of The Sims Label.
Will Wright speaking at the Games Developer’s Conference in 2010
Just how involved Wright will be in Linden Lab’s development and direction is far from clear, as Tateru Nino notes in commenting on his arrival.
The Board as a whole has been very quiet since mid-2010, in marked contrast to the past, where they appeared to be far more vocal in matters relating to Second Life, with Bill Gurley making statements as regards the platform in 2009, and most famously, Mitch Kapor for his 2008 SL8B address, which could best be summed as an attempt at a, “So long and thanks for all the fish,” kind-of farewell to the user community as efforts were made to push SL aggressively towards becoming a “business application”.
Of course, a quiet Board doesn’t mean an uninvolved Board, so it will be interesting to read precisely what Tateru can ease out of LL by way of comments on Wright’s arrival and possible contribution / involvement in the company’s development.
Certainly, Wright and Humble have much in common. Humble, as we know, is very focused on “creative spaces”, and Wright has always been fascinated by what he dubbed “possibility spaces”; and Hamlet Au notes that Wright himself sees MMOs very much as environments that should encourage user creativity – which could be taken as a very positive sign for Second Life.
Quite when he joined the Board is unclear – there was no Press Release or other form of announcement, possibly by mutual agreement that this should be the case; something that is not actually as unusual as one might expect in these matters.
Was there a hint at all anywhere that this was happening / about to happen? Did it in fact occur after The Phoenix Hour was broadcast on the 18th? If either is the case (and to return to a more lighthearted frame again) then given the season, there is only one way to respond to Phaylen’s and Jessica’s opening comments in the show in light of what has happened…
Spooky!
In the meantime, and more seriously, welcome to the wacky world of Second Life and Linden Lab, Mr. Wright!
*Thanks to Ciaran for his observation that Will Wright may have joined LL in August and we all missed it!
Daily Finance carries an article speculating on the upcoming new products from Linden Lab.During his SLCC presentation, LL CEO Rod Humble pointed to the fact that the company would be releasing new products, and mentioned that tablets and mobile devices were of interest to the company.
While little has been formally said by the Lab itself, the article speculates on one of the potential products, stating:
Is being designed as a mobile gaming platform that would allow users to create or generate games on Apple‘s (AAPL) iPad or other iOS devices
Will be a browser-based design aimed at allowing users to create text adventure games, a type of genre that incorporates puzzle solving and exploration into a storyline.
Interestingly, the article comments that the green light and that “efforts are underway” to develop the product. Rod Humble’s comments at SLCC tended to suggest things were somewhat more advanced on than this.
The article also raises the speculative prospect of an acquisition, using Mr. Humbles ties with EA games as a reference:
“Given Humble’s gaming experience and close ties to Electronic Arts — where he headed the EA Play label, which included popular PC game The Sims — the 12-year-old privately held Linden Lab could make an interesting addition to the game publisher titan EA. (EA recently announced a large acquisition, PopCap Games, that carried a value of at least $750 million.)
“That said, IDC’s Ward notes that for such an acquisition to possibly work, Linden Lab would need to have a large user base for its gaming platform and demonstrate strong forward momentum.
“Gartner analyst Brian Blau says that it’s unlikely that EA will want to pin its hopes on an unproven gaming platform. However, he notes that if Linden Lab gets into the user-generated games business — turning Second Life players into game makers — it would set the company apart, in that he has never seen that type of offering before.”
As reported by Tateru Nino, Fredrik Bjork – better known as Fredrik Linden – is leaving the Lab this Friday and off “on new adventures.”
Fredrik has been at the Lab for around 18 months, predominantly as the Director of Web Engineering. Most recently, he’s been in the limelight with regards to the new web profiles & the social media tools that have been added to them.
As Chair of the Web Profile User Group, Fredrik has always been one of the most attentive and responsive members of the Linden team, seeking-out feedback from users and taking on-board ideas and requests to ensure concerns are met and improvements made. This was very much highlighted with the launch of the social media add-ons to web profiles; when a large number of users voiced concern (via Twitter) over the lack of an option to completely opt-out of the Twitter-like Feed aspect of the software, Fredrik ensured there was such an option within an hour of the launch. Nor did he limit his input to the UG meetings – but clearly sought out views and ideas as expressed through blogs, etc. – as his comments on this blog clearly demonstrate.
Nya Linden will be taking over Fredrik’s responsibilities within the UG from next week, where she’ll doubtless receive Friendly Greetings. To Fredrik, I repeat the words of my Tweet from earlier:
Sorry to hear you’re leaving; but hope the adventures are fruitful. All the best to you 🙂
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 