Futuresonic 2008: Aleks Krotoski

Aleks Krotoski (@Aleksk), an academic and journalist who writes about and studies technology and interactivity, is speaking about gaming and play on the internet.

She argues that the Brain Training game was the sole reason for the extraordinary sales of the Nintendo DS, sold on the promise that it will make you smarter ("Reduce your brain age!"). But it is ultimately a selfish game, you play it on your own.

World of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies, on the other hand, are communities where collaboration is essential. If you destroy a relationship with another player in the game, you will 'lose' or make the game harder for yourself.

Aleks is now showing us her Facebook wheel, which shows the connections between Aleks and her friends, and Aleks' friends with each other. From this, she is unable to tell the varying levels of relationships with her 'friends'. Only by breaking it down to a person by person level can you truly see the relationship between two 'friends'.

Second Life creates more meaningful relationships. The 3D aspect of the environment enables a more subtle interplay of relationships which is writ large because other users can see this interaction happen in front of them.

What is essential in all of these connected spaces is that how we play in the future will influence how we learn and interact with those around us.

Virtual worlds and social networks are more real in so many ways than sitting on a train with a load of commuters. In these spaces, we have the opportunity to learn, adapt and collaborate - and all of that is through play.