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Space Navigator

filed under: Gadgets Second Life

Thanks to Time's Gadget of the week, the 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator. This 'mouse' might be the answer to the awkwardness of moving through virtual sites/games like Secondlife. Perhaps some of the hesitation about embracing Secondlife as a legitimate tool is because of how awkward it is for us to move through it?

Posted by James Fadden on January 3, 2007 11:28 AM |

Comments

That is an interesting gadget, but I think it's a real obstacle for virtual worlds to wait for consumers to purchase an add-on peripheral to make the experience work. Part of the appeal of the latest stuff coming out is that there are no obstacles to entry. (Second Life would have no buzz if it weren't free, at least in theory.)

On a related note, I tried Second Life out again, and I had a really tough time navigating. And I play World of Warcraft probably ten hours a week, so it's not like I'm inexperienced at navigating a virtual world. I think the Second Life interface design is just poor. It's too complex. Games like WoW have the right idea. Start with simple back and forward, left and right, and then let the vets customize the interface or write macros to do complicated tasks.

Posted by: Jason | January 4, 2007 8:03 AM

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