Other Uses For MMO’s or Corporate Gaming
Recently I have been lucky enough to have A LOT of exposure to the world of gaming (more so than usual) and more specifically the MMORPG segment. What is interesting though is the exposure is not from the traditional gaming side, it is from the business side (ok, perhaps you expected that). Which has given me insight into just how much it takes, from every aspect, to launch a game. Aside from that it got me thinking about business gaming or corporate gaming.
Corporate gaming, whats that? (I can hear you asking this question) Corporate Gaming (as I am officially dubbing it) is using already existing gaming technologies such as Second Life and Lord of The Rings Online to build a game engine based around your company. How can this be useful? (Again I hear your brains thinking this) Well imagine being able to hold a board meeting, or a conference call or even a training session online, with everyone there but not physically. Quite innovative if you ask me.
For instance some companies struggle with team building (major issue, you need a great team), well why not load up your Pepperjam MMO, gather your team, suit up in your armor, pick your weapons and go slay some monsters together. Not only have you effectively worked as a team to meet a common goal, you have also had a great networking session, and have seen top prospects in action for positions in leadership, planning, organization etc…
Another thought that has crossed my mind is opening a division of your company online (yes I know some people have done this) but if you are a company like Pepperjam who already works online, why not go to Second Life, build the Pepperplex and actually do online marketing online. I think it would be quite interesting to be able to load up your avatar and walk to the virtual Pepperplex where you can find either a virtual version of myself or Kris Jones to help you with your online marketing dilemmas.
There has been a lot of buzz around people making supplemental incomes from playing Second Life (or would you call it working at, the line gets blurred here) some people have simply made player animations for dancing and sold them for $1, but if you make 10 different animations and 1 million players buy them, you have got a pretty nice business on your hands. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in video games and has been for years. (Ultima Online started it) In this instance it is the true essence of an entrepreneur because not only has it never been done, it hasn’t been done in a completely different living, breathing world.
I just think the prospect of virtual offices and boardrooms is an exciting thought, forming an online community with the rest of your workforce is a great idea, sometimes you don’t even get to see some of the people in your office let alone meet them, I think this would be a step in the right direction to circumvent problems like that.
Chuch.
