{"title":"Wagner James Au","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the insightful world of Wagner James Au, exploring virtual communities, gaming culture, and the evolving digital landscape. Perfect for tech enthusiasts and anyone curious about the metaverse.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"game-design-secrets-book-wagner-james-au-9781118337745","title":"Game Design Secrets","description":"Design great Facebook, iOS, and Web games and learn from the experts what makes a game a hit!    This invaluable resource shows how to put into action the proven design and marketing techniques from the industry's best game designers, who all started on a small scale.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49626216661265,"sku":"GOR011813813","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50329462472977,"sku":"CIN1118337743G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1118337743.jpg?v=1751367403"},{"product_id":"making-of-second-life-book-wagner-james-au-9780061353208","title":"The Making of Second Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe wholly virtual world known as Second Life has attracted more than a million active users, millions of dollars, and created its own--very real--economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Making of Second Life\u003c\/em\u003e is the behind-the-scenes story of the Web 2.0 revolution's most improbable enterprise: the creation of a virtual 3-D world with its own industries, culture, and social systems. Now the toast of the Internet economy, and the subject of countless news articles, profiles, and television shows, Second Life is usually known for the wealth of real-world companies (Reuters, Pontiac, IBM) that have created virtual offices within it, and the number of users (avatars) who have become wealthy through their user-created content.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat sets Second Life apart from other online worlds, and what has made it such a success (one million-plus monthly users and growing) is its simple user-centered philosophy. Instead of attempting to control the activities of those who enter it, the creators of Second Life turned them loose: users (also known as Residents) own the rights to the intellectual content they create in-world, and the in-world currency of Linden Dollars is freely exchangeable for U.S. currency. Residents have responded by generating millions of dollars of economic activity through their in-world designs and purchases--currently, the Second Life economy averages more than one million U.S. dollars in transactions every day, while dozens of real-world companies and projects have evolved and developed around content originated in Second Life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWagner James Au explores the long, implausible road behind that success, and looks at the road ahead, where many believe that user-created worlds like Second Life will become the Net's next generation and the fulcrum for a revolution in the way we shop, work, and interact. Au's story is narrated from both within the corporate offices of Linden Lab, Second Life's creator, and from within Second Life itself, revealing all the fascinating, outrageous, brilliant, and aggravating personalities who make Second Life a very real place---and an illuminating mirror on the real (physical) world. Au writes about the wars they fought (sometimes literally), the transformations they underwent, the empires of land and commerce they developed, and above all, the collaborative creativity that makes their society an imperfect utopia, better in some ways than the one beyond their computer screens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49633530216721,"sku":"GOR005895041","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50343121158417,"sku":"CIN0061353205G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51282645123345,"sku":"GOR005176124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52814941946129,"sku":"CIN0061353205VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061353205.jpg?v=1751429627"},{"product_id":"making-a-metaverse-that-matters-book-wagner-james-au-9781394155811","title":"Making a Metaverse That Matters","description":"An up-close account from the world’s first metaverse-embedded reporter   In Making a Metaverse That Matters: From Snow Crash \u0026amp; Second Life to A Virtual World Worth Fighting For, the celebrated author of The Making of Second Life and Game Design Secrets, Wagner James Au, delivers an engrossing exploration of how nascent metaverse platforms have already captured the imagination of millions. Featuring powerful stories and dozens of incisive interviews with insiders including Metaverse creator Neal Stephenson himself, the author uses his unique, grassroots-level perspective as the first reporter embedded in a metaverse platform. Readers will learn about:     How to understand and define the Metaverse and cut through the many myths and misconceptions around it. A behind-the-scenes account of launching Second Life, the first metaverse platform to achieve mainstream awareness, and what its many controversies teach us. Where current platforms Meta, Roblox, Fortnite, VRChat, and Lamina1, Neal Stephenson’s own metaverse startup, fit in the ecosystem. How to address the many dangers inherent in the Metaverse before it becomes central to the Internet.   Perfect for XR industry members and indie creatives, Making a Metaverse That Matters is also for tech professionals, virtual world communities, and anyone interested in the future of culture and commerce.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49742665777425,"sku":"NGR9781394155811","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51326052401425,"sku":"CIN1394155816VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51767234494737,"sku":"CIN1394155816G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1394155816.jpg?v=1751304480"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-wagner-james-au.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}