Wagner James Au: "Virtual Reality"
This Week's Guest: Wagner James Au
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As a self-described “embedded journalist,” James Au reported from within the metaverse of the groundbreaking virtual platform Second Life during the mid-2000s. As his white-suited identity roved through the virtual universe, he collected captivating insights into the platform, telling the stories of the users he met—from virtual relationships and social cliques to real-life private detectives hired to set up honeytraps for would-be virtual cheaters. He eventually published a book about his experiences: “The Making of Second Life.”
Second Life predated most of the metaverse-based games and platforms that are extremely popular today—such as Fortnite and Oculus Rift—and its problems were a precursor to issues that would later plague the world of social media.
Listen as James recounts some of the more profound and bizarre things he encountered in the metaverse, find out how the platform was initially conceived to function, and discover what he means when he calls Second Life “the biggest mystery in Silicon Valley.”
LINKS AND ARTICLES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
New World Notes - James’s long-running blog devoted to all things Second Life and VR
James’s book - The Making of Second Life
James’s book - Game Design Secrets
NetHack - an open-source single-player game Salon once described as “one of the finest gaming experiences the computing world has to offer.”
More About Our Guest
Media/Content Partner at Sine Wave Entertainment, SVP at AnyContext
Wagner James Au is the author of The Making of Second Life (HarperCollins), Game Design Secrets (Wiley), and New World Notes, the longest-running, most-read news and culture blog devoted to VR and virtual worlds. As a freelance writer, he has contributed pieces to Wired and the Wall Street Journal, and as an analyst, content strategist, and game designer, has consulted for Linden Lab, Samsung, the Institute for the Future, and ohai (acquired by Electronic Arts).
