Lively: Google Launches Virtual World
While IBM and Linden Labs are cozying up to each other, Google has just released its own virtual world: Lively. Lively is available through a browser plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer. It is Windows only for now. Lively does not feature one coherent world like Second Life but splits worlds up into different rooms. Lively was originally developed as a 20% project by Niniane Wang.
Lively runs completely in the browser and you use your Google account to log in and create your own avatars. Within the world, you can interact with other users, very much like you would do in Second Life. You can also watch YouTube clips on virtual TVs and share your own photos.
Users can choose from a number of preset animations for their characters, ranging from shaking hands with others, to applauding, crying, etc. By double clicking on certain items in the virtual world, users can also often activate some preset animations such as sitting down on a chair or jumping off a dive board.
Setting the plugin up and creating an avatar is a very simple process. Creating rooms, too, seems quite easy, as you can quickly import a number of templates to get started. Currently, all virtual items for Lively are for free, but chances are that Google will start charging for premium items in the future.
For now, the content in Lively is being created only by Google, though over time, they are planning to allow users to start creating their own content as well.
Rooms can be easily embedded into any webpage and worlds often launch with a basic skeleton of the room within just a few seconds.
Graphically, Lively runs very smooth on our test machine here and the visuals, while not comparable to a modern game, are not too bad either. Interestingly, there is no first-person view available, instead, the world is always seen from a camera perspective the user can control.
One area where Lively could definitely needs some improvement is in how users move their avatars around the rooms. To move an avatar, users basically have to drag them through the room, while most people we have met in Lively have commented that they expected to see a more game-like approach where users use the keyboard to move avatars through the rooms.
Second Life users might find the Lively rooms and the amount of customization they can do to them rather restricted - however, Google's idea seems to be less to create one large virtual world, but to give publishers an opportunity to create their own small virtual world for their readers and visitors.
It's interesting to see Google moving into this space. There have always been rumors that Google might be working on a similar product for Google Earth. As of now, the rooms in Lively are compartmentalized and there is no way to move or communicate from one room to another, but given that this is only a first release, this might (hopefully) change over time.
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This seems a little far afield for Google doesn't it? Why do they need a third-rate virtual world tool in their portfolio? They should focus on doing deals to monetize the good ones that are out there. Shareholders should be afraid of products like this.
Posted by: SteveR | July 8, 2008 3:22 PM
I have an Apple MacBook and I cannot run this. END TRANS>
Posted by: Account | July 8, 2008 3:25 PM
Grrr...not available on a mac...thumbs down for Google...
Posted by: Kat | July 8, 2008 3:37 PM
Google is becoming Microsoft!
Posted by: chris | July 8, 2008 4:47 PM
My guess is that Google is targeting educational users. Given that they have been offering other services to educators for a while now and given how expensive and convoluted SL can be in the context of a large university, this might be the reason for Google to jump into virtual world creation.
Posted by: pz | July 8, 2008 4:49 PM
A note of clarification. Content can be created today by preferred Google vendors for third parties on Lively.
Our company, Millions of Us, is doing this and has brought the National Geographic Channel into Lively as the first branded experience.
Posted by: tagami | July 8, 2008 4:59 PM
ooook. I take it someone had 20% time open?
I don't mean to be overly snarky, but what's the point of this? crappy controls, meh graphics, rooms with no connection to each other in a world that's got no purpose?
Posted by: rick | July 8, 2008 5:09 PM
This must all be part of some master Google plan that is not immediately apparent to us mere mortals. Second Life knockoff? Are they going after the under 16 market?
Posted by: Raskin | July 8, 2008 6:32 PM
Two words: product placement.
Posted by: Peripatetic | July 8, 2008 7:21 PM
Hi Tagami, congrats for the launch of the National Geographic Channel there. This surely opens up the options to your clients to more mainstream offerings?
Actually the whole platform is simple and fun and I think it's an interesting move from Google and help to open up a new platform for them
As a startup building a high-end fashion avatar community (www.frenzoo.com, in alpha) we were building a client download application, but decided a while back to switch to browser 3D tech. Although we met some skepticism about whether it was possible, I think this Google move really validates the approach, even if the application is quite different.
However apart from Second Life, it's going to spell tough times for the 2D web communities like Habbo, Gaia and Cyworld
Any idea when you think this will open up ore widely to all content creators, and will it let you directly modify the avatars?
Cheers,
Simon
Posted by: Simon Newstead | July 8, 2008 9:08 PM
This was a long time coming... http://www.dipity.com/user/xantherus/timeline/Virtual_Worlds.
Check out the timeline of all the virtual worlds that lead up to this.
Posted by: Mark | July 8, 2008 10:57 PM
Best part of the game,
Walking up to someone, saying hi...
and then bodyslaming,force choking, using kung fu, or squishing them with an anvil
...google is awesome
Posted by: me | July 8, 2008 11:32 PM
I'm pretty excited about it. Time will tell.
Posted by: Laptop Tech | July 9, 2008 12:53 AM
Sounds cool. By the way, where did you get that second screenshot from? Looks quite like Google headquarters main entrance.
Posted by: jacky | July 9, 2008 4:19 AM
Why is Google doing this?
One word. Advertising.
Posted by: Rob | July 9, 2008 8:29 AM
WOW that sounds just like Thepalace.com from the 90s created by Jim Bumgardner jbum.com
Great work google duplicating The Palace software (java browser version) and claiming you invented it.
And beter yet none of these new bloggers will even noticed because they were not on the net back then.
Posted by: tmaster | July 9, 2008 9:51 AM
Google has so many resources that then can ( and should ) diversify to infinity.
The only enemies here are ( AFAIK )
internally: chaos.
...but this can be handled with the right tech and communications.
externally: diluting their brand
... last time I checked YouTube is still called YouTube ( they even removed the Google logo ) and Lively is, well, called lively ( not google world , etc ).
So, nothing to say. I just hope someone would stop them. Just for the sake of change.
Best,
A
Posted by: Aldo Bucchi | July 9, 2008 1:53 PM
Very Cool Idea! I tried it out this morning, and I faced the same problem with having the characters move around. I got bored in about 2 mins :) It would be great to see varieties of rooms people come up with.
Posted by: texttoscreen | July 10, 2008 11:32 AM
I think the big advantage on Lively is the ability to implement videos, photos and blogs inside the rooms. I wonder which advertisers will discover the wisest way to use those rooms in a commercial way.
Posted by: clifinar | July 11, 2008 8:48 AM
The Mmog Social Network
has already launched a Lively Channel on its website
http://www.koinup.com/in-lively/
Posted by: Mforiero | July 11, 2008 9:39 AM
Repugnant! SecondLife? This looks more like IMVU. A lot like IMVU. It does not even *begin* to compare to SecondLife. Crapy, hard to navigate, crashy, windows only, and laggy as hell. A room with only 14 people had the room "materializing" for 1/2 an hour. No first pirson view, you move around by dragging the avatar and the camera does not follow you.
What is Lively? A windows application with a plugin to allow you to put it in a browser... argh.... disgusting...
What is so disturbing is that Google is showing a monopoly of the internet. All they have to do is put crap on their page and everyone knows about it. Repugnant.
Posted by: Darryl | July 11, 2008 1:35 PM
Pretty easy to set up.
I put a room called Digg Lounge here:
http://surfpick.com/digg
What do you see there, before downloading Lively?
Posted by: sunny beach | July 11, 2008 2:07 PM
After try it out.. hardly to move and see who is who... but still nice project
Posted by: Ismail | July 12, 2008 1:33 AM
Google should rather develop a decent VRML/X3D plugin. Such an application could be implemented on top of it. A "3D-Plugin" that can only do one thing looks like a waste.
Posted by: drx | July 12, 2008 9:03 AM
I have checked it out, but not very impressive. Also, the sex rooms are quite bad especially since Google has never done this sort of thing before. Quite disappointing really.
Posted by: moserw | July 15, 2008 11:29 AM