A new computer game developed by Media Molecule for Sony Playstation has been unveiled at the Game Developers Conference 2007. The game called Little Big Planet is seemingly very simplistic with a cute rag doll character called ‘Sack Boy’ and retro 2D style game play.

There are three things that make Little Big Planet stand out and provide a glimpse into the future of gaming.

First is a real time physics engine that the game is built on. This allows every object in the game to act in the way that you would expect in the real world. So balls roll if pushed, and big balls take more effort to push than small balls. This makes use of the Playstation’s very powerful cell processor.

The second defining factor is that every level in Little Big Planet is built by players using virtual physical objects without requiring any programming skills.

The fact that the game is built by players and is thus constantly evolving makes it a social experience, but the final differentiator for Little Big Planet is that it takes social gaming to a new level. Again making use of the physics engine players can interact with the objects in the game and with each other by grabbing, pulling and pushing. The game requires players to work together to get through stages and it also encourages players to compete with each other in collecting the resources necessary for building their levels.

This constant interplay of co-operation and competition (sometimes called co-opetition) helps the game replicate real world social interaction.

By combining physical and social interaction Little Big Planet is making use of the power of the latest generation gaming consoles and is leading the way into a future of ever more immersive game play.

Game Developers Conference presentation – Little Big Planet

Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, talks about big media’s scramble to be relevant in a new media world. Arianna is a very skilled and entertaining presenter and has a unique ability to understand and bring together new and old media people and business models. This was a presentation at the OMMA Hollywood 2007 Presentations.

Cyworld is a new social network in the West having launched in the US last July but has been operating in South Korea and much of Asia since 1999 where it has been phenomenally successful. Ninety percent of all Koreans in their twenties are members.

Cyworld is a clever name as it suggests a cyber world (think Second Life) but it also translates to “relationship world”. There are a lot of similarities between Cyworld and Second Life. Users set up their own avatars and their own “Minirooms” within Cyworld and can then visit their friends within these virtual spaces. The other key similarity with Second Life is that Cyworld uses its own currency “Acorns” to allow users to buy products to enhance their virtual space. Second Life uses Linden dollars and has been reported to have a gross domestic product of US$64 million just ahead of the Republic of Kiribati an island nation of 100,000 people located in the Pacific Ocean. In fact tax offices around the globe (Australia, USA) have been looking into how they can get their hands on this virtual currency.

It is fitting that in our ever more consumerised world it is now becoming common to spend real money to enhance our virtual lives with virtual goods. These not so virtual economies have shown themselves to be a key component of future social networks.

The question is will Westerners take to the more childish, cartoon like avatars of Cyworld. Perhaps Cyworld will fill a hole for those who do not want the completely immersive experience of Second Life but are bored with the flat page experience of social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. Only time will tell.

Every new media company needs an ad network at some stage. Here’s a list of them. This list will evolve over time. Please let me know if you know of any that are missing.

• ad 2-one
• AdBrite
• AdEngage
• Advertising.com
• Casale MEDIA
• clixGalore
• contextWeb
• dgmaustralia.com
• DoubleClick
• eyewonder
• FEDERATED MEDIA
• Google AdSense
• Gorilla Nation
• Kontera
• point roll
• quigo
• rightmedia
• sensis MediaSmart
• soush
• tempestmedia
• Text Link Ads
• tremor media
• UNDERTONE NETWORKS
• ValueClick
• VIBRANT MEDIA
• YuMe Networks