Game Politics ([info]gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2006-08-23 06:16:00
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Entry tags:linden labs, noaa.second life, second life insider

U.S. Government Agency Sets Up Shop in MMO

While some elected officials do battle with the video game industry, a key government research organization has established a presence in a popular online RPG.

As detailed by the Second Life Insider, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has set up shop within the popular MMO Second Life. The NOAA studies things like climate, weather and, of course, the oceans.

The agency's Second Life hangout is an island called Meteroa on which players can try out fully interactive demos of ocean and weather topics. These include a marine life tour via submarine or a checking out a pair of tsunami simulators.

There is also a real-time temperature map powered by Yahoo, an airplane excursion into the eye of a hurricane, and a realistic look at a melting glacier.

No Second Life account? You can still check out the tsunami demo here.

GP: Even if Second Life or MMO's aren't your piece of cake, stories like this one should warm the heart of every gamer. When even a leaden bureaucracy like the federal government can begin to acknowledge the power of games as a medium, things are definitely looking up. Kudos to the NOAA. Somebody there gets it...


(35 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]rcagent
2006-08-23 12:02 pm UTC (link)
Nice way of blending games and education I guess. The Tsunami simulators sound fun though.

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[info]xwaix
2006-08-23 12:06 pm UTC (link)
All I can do is cheer.

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Really Cool
[info]g_dog_dre
2006-08-23 01:47 pm UTC (link)
This is what an on-line community experience should be. When I read William Gibson or *chuckle* Shadowrun books, this is what the future looks like, not a Massive Multiplayer version of "Kill Goblin with Sword"

Now I want to experience a realistic simulation of venomous snakes being unleashed on an air liner during mid-flight.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Really Cool
[info]jaykaos
2006-08-23 08:43 pm UTC (link)
As long as parental filters are turned off, so in-game chat doesn't look like this:
"I've had it with these ********** snakes on this *********** plane!"

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]rhanlav
2006-08-23 01:48 pm UTC (link)
Oh groovy. I'll have to teleport over there later today and take a look at that. Thanks for the heads up on this.

And suprisingly, this is probably pretty cheap for them to set up and run. But it makes me wonder what cool NOAA guy got this approved so he'd have a reason to hang out on SL at work. *snickers* If I could get away with doing that, I'd TOTALLY do it.

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awesome build
[info]rpanganiban
2006-08-23 02:13 pm UTC (link)
Great to see virtual environments used to demo real world phenomena in compelling and often entertaining ways. I felt a real sense of dread while watching my avatar stand helplessly on the shore as the tsunami built up energy and speed and then crashed down around me. Powerful stuff.

More pics and commentary here: http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2006/08/convenient_simu.html

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No time to check it right now, however....
[info]nightwng2000
2006-08-23 02:18 pm UTC (link)
A very interesting idea. I'm surprised more scientists of various flavors haven't thought of going straight to the source. Direct play in MMOs for research in sociology, psychology, interaction in society and environmental effects, how many other scientific studies could be performed with a massive number of subjects interacting online? Instead of merely seeing the study as a MMO "game", treat the study as a "simulator". Using the mathmatical formulas for environmental effects. The witnessing of how individuals interact in such a "society". It's the one way researchers can overlook an entire "society", study it, and speculate over the whole. A real world study can only be viewed in small chunks. Even with hundreds of subjects in the real world, study can't be done without some form of interference. But online, recording and being able to look back on sections you've missed without being "seen" (even someone with a video recorder is "seen" and therefore interferes).

Amazing. I had argued about needed advanced storytelling in future games. But advanced research is also possible through MMOs. A whole new way to do studies without directing the subjects in any particular direction. I like it.

nightwng2000

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[info]slyfoxx
2006-08-23 02:42 pm UTC (link)
Good news I think: about a month ago you could join Second Life for free. I'm not sure if you still can now and it wasn't really my favorite cup of tea, but things like this make it interesting. I might have to go back just to check out that submarine tour.

Now if only they could implement a 3DSMAX-to-Second Life conversion program for building things, that would really make my day.

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[info]kurisu7885
2006-08-23 03:49 pm UTC (link)
I just looked, you still can join for free without a credit card.

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[info]lomdr
2006-08-25 08:56 pm UTC (link)
While that it is still true, there were many griefers that joined sinced 6/6/06. So you might be shunned by the community. I know it probably happened to my SL bro, even though he joined by Cell way back in January. Now I hope that my future SL cousin-in-law isn't facing the same problems.

Oh, and Kurisu, sorry for not getting back to you

MDR
SL: Max Dapto

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]iqpierce
2006-08-23 02:53 pm UTC (link)
I was hoping it was CTU, and that Jack Bauer was going to choke all those damn furries.

Oh well, a man can dream.

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[info]kurisu7885
2006-08-23 03:49 pm UTC (link)
If you don't like furries being in a video game, especially one where people have a right to be so, then don't play it ,that simple.

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[info]nightwng2000
2006-08-23 05:24 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, ya never know. When the Star Trek online game starts, maybe the furries will make their way to it and tick off the Klingons. :)

:)

nightwng2000

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[info]kurisu7885
2006-08-23 06:51 pm UTC (link)
That would be hilarious.

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[info]jesdk
2006-08-23 06:55 pm UTC (link)
They're called Lyrans! :P

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Agreed
[info]yukimurasanada
2006-08-23 05:32 pm UTC (link)
Lets not practic Jack type forms of intollerance here.

That being said, he does have a point, From what have I been told, SL is like, overloaded with furries.

That being said, I think of second life less of a game, as more of a grand experiment in creativity. And, as denni has said, 1st amendment cuts both way, and that same is true for the world of Second life, it's a place where anything is allowed, if you have the right skills and resources.

So, furries or not, Sl is a free country just like the USA.

Myself, I never got into it, but from what ive seen, it's amazing what people can do there.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: Agreed
[info]iqpierce
2006-08-24 05:24 pm UTC (link)
1. Don't get treated like a freak.
2. Obsessively pretend to be a cartoon animal and/or have sex while dressed as a cartoon animal.

Sorry, you only get to pick one!

I don't play the game by the way. Also, you should grow a sense of humor.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Agreed
[info]kurisu7885
2006-08-25 12:06 am UTC (link)
Well, I had no idea it was a joke, so how could I have laughed about it? And I don't get treated like a freak as I don't act like stereotypical minority, and my family and friends are pretty accepting.

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[info]shorxrore
2006-08-23 03:58 pm UTC (link)
this just makes me want to try second life again...maybe the endless confusement i felt the first time will be lessened by the simple monotony of the federal government?

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For those who have been confused in the past with SL...
[info]rpanganiban
2006-08-23 05:28 pm UTC (link)
I'm happy to help give some advice on getting oriented to Second Life. I'm "Rik Riel" in-world and rikomatic@yahoo.com via email.

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Re: For those who have been confused in the past with SL...
[info]lomdr
2006-08-25 08:58 pm UTC (link)
And I will be happy to lend a hand to newbies too.

Max Dapto

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[info]wxdiva
2006-08-23 07:24 pm UTC (link)
I haven't checked out Second Life yet, but already I like what I'm seeing. That might be because I'm a weather nerd though. I hope that NOAA keeps that demo up there, since it has the potential to get gamers more interested in science. I linked this article to my oceanography professor to see what she thinks.

OT note: Maybe I should have visited the forums more often while I was on vacation. I was wondering where that forum went...

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BTW...
[info]terminator44
2006-08-23 07:40 pm UTC (link)
Popular Science Magaizine did a story a Second Life and how it could change socialization and commerce for this issue. I recommend reading it, pretty insighful stuff.

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Re: BTW...
[info]zeonchar
2006-08-23 10:13 pm UTC (link)
OMG, I love that commercial!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: BTW...
[info]terminator44
2006-08-23 10:49 pm UTC (link)
Don't we all? I wish they'd come out with a new one.

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[info]ferior
2006-08-23 08:26 pm UTC (link)
So... this is the humanitarian feel-good story of GP, eh?

Well, we are gamers, I guess.

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[info]markusdragon
2006-08-23 11:50 pm UTC (link)
We have plenty of humanitarian feel good stories. Just look at 'Child's Play' for example. :)

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[info]zeonchar
2006-08-23 10:12 pm UTC (link)
That's pretty cool. Even is science isn't some people's thing, it's still cool to hear that they did that.

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[info]scrubking2006
2006-08-24 02:47 am UTC (link)
This sounds great and all, but how exactly is this benefiting the taxpayer?

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[info]rhanlav
2006-08-24 03:49 pm UTC (link)
Because it probably costs taxpayers $9.95 a month to upkeep, depending on how big an area they purchased. So, with that in mind, the NOAA can reach people who might want to look into some of this stuff online, and provide information to those individuals. SL has a lot of potential to allow folks to create content in a new way and I'm sure the NOAA would like to present some of that to the SL community.

That, and its only about $120 bucks they might be paying for year. All they have to do is not buy one $300 dollar hammer and they can run the project for 2 and a half years! ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]kyouryuu
2006-08-24 05:05 am UTC (link)
Of course NOAA appears in Second Life. They were pretty much the only government agency that had it together during Hurricane Katrina.

And to think, commercial firms like AccuWeather want to shut down their forecasting web site on the grounds that it provides unfair competition. Who in the Senate is leading the bill to wipe out the NWS' site? Why our good friend Rick Santorum, of course.

Food for thought...

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[info]stufff
2006-08-24 05:57 pm UTC (link)
It does provide unfair competition. The NOAA is run on stolen money, where the commercial firms actually have to be productive and generate an income, that is, it has to be a good enough service people voluntarially pay for it, whereas a government agency that provides a service that a private interest in the free market could also provide has no such limitation. They simply say "Hey, we took a bunch of your money and made this with it!" It isn't free, you've already paid for it, so you might as well use it, because they'll continue taking your money for it either way.

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[info]kyouryuu
2006-08-25 04:06 am UTC (link)
You make taxes sound so graphic.

The local forecasts are just one part of what NOAA does. NOAA monitors the weather all over the planet, particularly for the troops abroad. It is a corollary that they offer local forecasts on their site.

I have no problem supporting such an organization. Though it may be "unfair" in practicality, the value of their forecasts (particularly in notoriously weather-ravaged areas) and the potential for lives saved is absolutely worth it. Especially when the government is already collecting such information.

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[info]stufff
2006-08-24 07:56 am UTC (link)
I very much disagree that a bureacuracy stealing money from taxpayers to play games is a good thing.

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[info]mechacrash
2006-08-24 09:20 pm UTC (link)
I agree that stealing money from taxpayers to play games is bad.

Using that money to set up an educational area, on the other hand...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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