The virtual world creator Doppelganger is soon scheduled to launch a new music community called vSide. I took a private tour of the Alpha-level release, and while we hit a couple of hiccups (to be expected with pre-release software), the experience was remarkably smooth. VSide looks great, thanks to cel-shaded animation, some of the best graphic design I've seen lately, and all of the other interesting elements we covered earlier.
It's basically like Second Life meets Facebook with a strong musical undertone. According to the company's founder and CCO Andrew Littlefield, vSide represents what the company has learned since launching its first virtual world, TheMusicLounge:
You should be able to check it out for yourself tomorrow, but here are some of the observations I jotted down during the tour:
- The art on the walls in clubs and so on was created by users and interns who are 16-17 years old.
- They put the nightclubs next to the clothing stores to encourage foot traffic.
- You can give your avatar a specific mood (Upbeat, Relaxed, Confident, etc.) that colors all of your gestures, from walking to waving.
- There are some hilarious dance moves in this game. Some of them apparently come from Reservoir Dogs.
- If people clap for your dance moves, or for something you shoutedout at a club, your Respekt points go up (clicking on someone claps for them). You also gain these pointsby the number of people you bring in, the number of friends you have,
and so on. Certain clubs, events, items, and apartments are onlyavailable to members with a high enough Respekt rating.
- If you get an apartment, you can play any of the 50 radio stations there, as well as decorating and rearranging the furniture and inviting people over.
- When you walk near someone who shares an interest with you, a "conversation starter" flashes above their head.
- On Tuesday, the railway station should be in effect, so that youcan actually ride a train between each of the four cities. Each cityhas its own vibe.
- The average Doppelganger user was online for 11
hours in July, which Littlefield says is comparable to the averagetelevision or radio station. The average session length was 78
minutes, which he finds impressive given today's short attention spans.
- Tomorrow, the site will launch with a sort ofmurder mystery involving a dead celebrity. While listening to music,
meeting each other, shopping, and dancing in clubs, users will try tofind items and gather information in order to try to solve the virtualcrime.
Here are some more pics of Doppelganger's vSide, which launches "in a few hours" (click to expand):
