by Pollywog Gardenvale

What happens when a TV show with 23 million viewers invites them all to log in to Second Life?

Concern was great enough to prompt the show’s producers to arrange for hundreds of mirrored servers to be on standby, ready to handle the load. According to Danny Odell, a producer with The Electric Sheep Company, “CSI is the biggest project ever done, with four base regions (islands); two for orientation and two for gameplay. We are expecting lots of traffic, merging the media of virtual worlds and television.”

“We replicated 416 CSI islands (multiply 4 base regions by 104) and are working directly with Linden Lab. We plan on scaling it, depending on how much traffic we get. It’s very exciting. We have quite a few greeters and a revolutionary HUD that will take a lot of time out of learning SL and throw new users directly into the game.”

And so it was with considerable fanfare and anticipation, mixed with a sense of apprehension on the part of some, that CSI made its entry into Second Life. Although the initial number of people who actually logged in was less than anticipated, and aside from a few opening night glitches, it was a start in what promises to be a long-term strategic direction for the CW Network. For an exhausting discussion of the CSI metrics, see: www.wayneporter.com/2007/10/25/second-life-metrics-post-csi-ny-and-analysis/

I think I’ll leave it to the bean counters and pundits to figure out the meaning of all these numbers. Meanwhile, I’m going to play the game.

I decided to start at the very beginning so I can see what the experience is like for a first-time user. So I went to the CSI site (http://alpha.cbs.com/primetime/csi_ny/) and clicked “Get all the details now” on the CSI Virtual NY ad. Then I clicked Join Now!

First I was prompted to choose my avatar’s gender and appearance. I filled out the registration form and waited to receive a confirmation e-mail with my password. Then I downloaded the OnRez viewer, which is a customized front end to Second Life developed by The Electric Sheep Company. Although the launch of the viewer was timed to coincide with CSI, it really is a separate product.

During the installation, I took a moment to read the License Agreement and discovered that the OnRez viewer is connected to a new eCommerce site on the 2D web (which is another article altogether, but is worth noting).

After the software was installed, I logged in with my new avatar name and password, and found myself standing naked in New York. (Woops! My clothes haven’t rezzed yet.)

There are three crime-solving games to choose from: MURDER BY ZUIKER, where you match wits with the creator of CSI, the Mystery Game, and the Venus Game.

The toolbar provides quick and easy access to everything you need to solve the crime and keep track of your progress. I’ve chosen to solve the High Flying Case and have received my Rookie Detective badge.

Here’s what we know so far:

“The vic is wearing badly charred wings. Who caused this Icarus-like death? Collect evidence and interview suspects to solve the virtual crime. Raise your investigator rank when you catch the killer!”

Before I know it, I’m off to collect evidence. I visit the scene of the crime and follow the trail of markers. My progress is tracked in the toolbar as I gather each piece of evidence. There are also videos that provide background information about each clue.

I spend some time looking around on my own—because I’m not one to simply follow the steps blindly—and I find some things worth noting.

After I gather all four clues, it’s time to return to the Crime Lab to process the evidence. So I followed the instructions and learned additional information about each piece of evidence that I had gathered from the scene of the crime.

It’s down to three suspects and I listen to a video interview with each one. By this time, I’m feeling good because I know who did it.

Now it’s off to the Cisco Telepresence Center to solve the crime. Wait a minute! Where’s the Cisco Telepresence Center, anyway? I don’t have a clue! It doesn’t seem to be listed on any of the Teleport hubs and there is no signage for it whatsoever. Is it deliberately hidden so people won’t skip ahead to the end, or is this perhaps just an oversight? I can see that this will require all my powers of deductive reasoning and intuition. I see a guy over there who looks like he knows what he’s doing, so I’ll follow him.

Behold! The Cicso Telepresence Center where I will receive a reward for solving this crime. There’s a video of each suspect, but this guy is ahead of me, so I have to wait my turn. (But I can see that he also knows who did it.) While I’m waiting, I might as well see what else there is to do... hmm... I wonder what these other videos have to say...

Grrrrr. All that hard work down the drain and now my reputation as a crime solver is ruined. Not to mention how this will skew their data, because undoubtedly everyone’s behavior is being tracked and analyzed.

I should have known better than to click the wrong video, because the instructions are painted right there on the floor—but I was standing right on top of them. Besides, I’ve been clicking videos all morning. I don’t read instructions, I write instructions.

But it sure would have been nice if there had been some kind of error trapping mechanism, such as a warning that says, “Are you sure that you want to identify this suspect as the perpetrator of the crime? Click Yes to proceed and No to cancel.” I think that I’ll file this experience under “Error Prevention” in my User Heuristics list.

Now when I click the Rank button in the toolbar, it says that I’m a Detective Grade 5 and that I’ve completed one crime. So that’s nice. But it doesn’t say that I solved the crime and there’s a difference.

So I logged off with a heavy heart, but I did come back a few days later to try again. While I was poking around, I struck up a conversation with another avatar who happened by. He asked if I’d like to attend a newbie training session. I told him that I’ve been around for awhile, but that I was having trouble finishing this game. He suggested that I create a new account and start over, but I don’t really want to do that.

I noticed that he had the label “CSI Maniac” above his head and I asked what that was about. He told me that he’s a member of a self-help group called “Cricketts Irish Moon” that was created by a group of CSI fans who banded together for mutual support. So here's a genuine newbie—a CSI fan who experienced Second Life for the first time after watching the show. I asked him what his impression is so far and he replied, “it’s pretty neat, found out i need more memory in my computer to help with the loading.”

When I asked him what kind of problem people seem to have the most, he said that people have trouble understanding where to go with the evidence. He also told me that his wife is more of a CSI fan than he is, but that for some reason she doesn’t want to come into Second Life.

“She is obsessed with the show and I am obsessed with this game.” Then he offered, “dont forget to call if u need help with the 2nd crime!”

“OK thanks,” I said, “but I’d really rather figure it out on my own!”

According to market research, much of the time people spend in virtual worlds is taken away from the time they might otherwise have spent watching TV. Although I realize that I don’t fit the demographic of the typical TV viewer, (which may be due—at least in part—to the fact that I don’t really watch TV). Nevertheless, here’s something interesting: That evening I actually did turn on my TV and watched the entire episode of CSI. Then I went into Second Life and explored Virtual CSI:NY. I went in, mind you, only to evaluate the environment from a user experience perspective. Yes, it’s true that I have gone back a few times since, but strictly from a professional standpoint, of course.

Not to brag, but you might be surprised to know that I have actually solved a crime or two. And now that I’ve earned my Detective badge... Oh, you noticed. Yes, I was wearing it the other day, but I really just forgot to take it off. But I confess that I wouldn’t entirely mind going back for more. Well yes, it is probably more like the third or fourth time now, but who’s counting? Would you excuse me just one moment?”

“Anthony, while you’re in the kitchen, would you be a dear and put a little extra scoop of that nice, fresh crime on there for me?”

* * *