Sunday, December 31, 2006

If you give me an empty fish tank, there will be a subconscious need to fill it.

Within a 3d MMORPG there lives a character. Because of this players level and accumulated wealth, this character has the ability to buy or build a virtual home. A place to store trophies and phat loot. A place to improve upon and show off their power and prestige. A place to call home. What if that home came standard with an empty fish tank? Right there, up against the wall, this large tank of water just bubbling away. There it is, in glorious tank-dom. I don't know about you, but if I had a house that came standard with a fish tank, I would want a fish in it. Now if I go over to the fish tank and click on it, a menu could pop up and ask me if I wanted to buy a fish for only .99 cents. With each fish purchase, I would get an endless supply of fish food. Sounds pretty reasonable right? I could select my new little pet and give him a name and a cute little gurgle that he would make each time when I select him and there could be a description of where he came from. This fish will grow and change over time. The fins will become taller and more beautiful. A sim-like personality will develop. But who wants just one fish? How about two so the first one is not lonely. It is a big tank you know. And maybe I want some of those tall seaweed grass thingies (ChaChing) and maybe an underwater castle (ChaChing) and I gotta have that treasure chest that has that skeleton laying on it(ChaChing)! Each fish could have a different AI behavior. Some fish group together, some like to be alone. Some eat up the algae, cuz you gotta have one of those otherwise you tank will get nasty and your other fish will get sick. CHA-CHING!!! Who can resist a fish tank? Not me. Who doesn't love fish tanks? I could choose from 20 unique fish, how cool is that! Better yet, what if once every 3 months, this MMO releases a limited quantity of NEW never before seen fish? Oh the madness! You think I'm joking? Decorating ones space and collecting are some of the most addicting hobbies in the virtual and real world. Micropayments! They are on their way, in a big way. All I'm talking about is a stinkin' fish tank that came standard in my house. It makes me wonder what other things could come standard in a virtual home? By the way, don't forget to feed your fish otherwise they'll die and it will cost $1.99 to bring them back to life.

3 comments:

JS said...

Mike,

Check out this link. It's just an FYI.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/01/ebay_shuts_down.html

JS said...

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/01/ebay_shuts_down.html

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