Okay, I admit it, I was one of those people who grabbed hold of that early youtube teaser for Blue Mars and did my share of “Ooh-ing” and “Ahh-ing.” It was beautiful and filled with the promise of what we have come to love, custom content creations, shared experiences, social development, entrepreneurial possibilities. A new world, finally, after all these years Second Life was being given a run for it’s money.

Well, I don’t feel that way now. I’ve been to Blue Mars and I couldn’t wait to go back to Second Life. I can’t even begin to fathom how this new platform will compete with something as fully realized as Second Life. Everything seemed like a step back from where we are in virtual evolution; From the minimalist Avatar customization features to the clunky animations. The world itself might be pretty, but it comes at a seriously high cost; That being a super high-end machine that can render all those high resolution textures and seamless structures. It’s simply not made for mainstream virtual citizens.

It’s also not comparable to Second Life in terms of content creation. To have access to their “Sandbox” you have to be a developer. Unlike in Second Life where every residents who can afford the 10 Linden upload cost to create in-world content, in Blue Mars, you have to purchase your own server (They don’t tell you how much it costs unless you sign an NDA first!)  and pay them your very real money in order to make things in their world. And some of the best content creators chosen to “Buy” space as a Blue Mars Developer will be sharing shelf space with the likes of Major Brand names like Coca-Cola and The Smithsonian which have been featured in their most recent trailer.

You can’t create your world as most people will expect to. Blue Mars is pre-terraformed. They have an aesthetic that is theirs and their alone. You can’t create your mountains or streams in the same way you can in Second Life - even on a 4096 plot. It’s a world in a box. The content is a series of games, like golf, for example, designed to show off the outstanding physics implemented. The word in itself is not resident created, rather developer created - those that can afford it.

This is what the company behind Blue Mars has done: They have attempted to seduce content creators, primarily those from Second Life, with the promise of business rewards. So you have all of these “Early adopter” hopefuls who thought they missed out of the formative years of Second Life rushing over there for their Second Chance. Avatar Reality, the company developing Blue Mars, is happy to give that to them, as these pioneers will be the first to start putting cash back into their pockets. Unfortunately, these content creators will be well disappointed when they discover that people don’t want to immerse themselves in a pre-defined world… they want to make their own. It is their hope that by inviting really good content creators in, the rest of us will follow along even though we cannot contribute ourselves.

The primary mistake Blue Mars made was the name and setting. If they had bothered to look into the psychology of any virtual resident (Not online gamer) they will find that they prefer a world more similar to their own in appearance. The immersible qualities of familiar environments lends itself to a fuller, more realistic experience.  A lot of people actually prefer a sense of realism rather than the extraordinary or bizarre because they lose touch, become detached and interest falters. If they want a fantasy “game” they can play World of Warcraft or Warhammer… why would they move themselves in droves to Blue Mars? Does not the Mars reference conjur up all sort of space-like images? Something like an Eve Online of virtual communities, perhaps? No, that’s not what Blue Mars is, but by name alone you sure can’t tell and it’s guaranteed to turn a lot of people off immediately.

So, let me ask you, what can any one of you possibly do in Blue Mars that you can’t already in the resident developed Second Life? Nothing. Now, what can you do in Second Life that you can’t in Blue Mars? The list is endless, but most definitely begins with the ability for ANYONE to be able to upload and implement content of their own without owning a Sim.

Another thing Avatar Reality attempts is establishing their world as a fixture for innovative education and real world marketing. This is where they saw Second Life starting to dabble with some success and thought they would jump on board right out of the gate. On their new trailer alone, their focus is on virtual conference rooms, platforms for colleges and universities and museums. A lot of people complain that Second Life is becoming too saturated by corporate mentality and it’s ruining the Arts and independent, forward thinking foundation that Second Life was literally built upon. While that may be in part very true, that is also essentially what Blue Mars is guilty of from the get-go. They are advertising Blue Mars as an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) Game. A Game. A seriously embellished chat service where you can play a series of games that chosen developers and brand name investors have created in order to market to you. Would you pay to have companies Market their products to you on big flashing neon signs in populated areas?

A quote from their trailer is most disappointing. “As you can see, unlike the other virtual worlds under development, we KNOW where our users will come from…” And that’s true, because they’re hand picking them, the rest of us plebs they’ll just let come along for the ride. We can say goodbye to the watercolor canvas of diversity that makes Second Life such an enriching platform, because Blue Mars is like a trip to an amusement park. You can go on the rides if you’re tall enough and have a look around at all the cool structures… but you can’t build any of it without permission, and without paying them first. Socially it will be a flat, bland world. Because the customization is so profoundly limited - AND the fact that they’ll want to keep their partners like National Geographic, National College Association, and PBS very happy, you can bet you won’t see Furries, or hear the words BDSM, gor, or Xcite ever uttered. It is guaranteed that their reason for hand picking developers and content creators is so they can play moral police. Sorry girls, for the short short skirts and midriff baring tops you’ll have to shop elsewhere. It seems like a process of weeding out the undesirables.

It think it’s safe to say that Blue Mars hopes to create a perfect world… for business and education and that’s about it. For the majority of netizens, like us who enjoy the world of Second Life, it may be pretty but it will never be “ours.” I suspect that Blue Mars has strayed too far from what we as a mainstream demographic have come to expect from a virtual world. Looking at it now in comparison, it appears that Second Life has spoiled us with our freedom to do as we please, create what we want and share that experience with whomever we choose. While it is in our nature to always seek the next big thing, I’ll wager the majority of the populous will find Blue Mars isn’t it, despite the hype and pretty pictures.  One thing Second Life got right was allowing the residents, the people like you and me, to make the world, creating an unending series of vast and unique experiences that we share indiscriminately. No matter what our tastes, our preferences, our affiliations or goals, because the people themselves make Second Life what it is, there is indeed something for everyone. It’s what keeps us here, and is what makes it currently unsurpassed and the only platform of it’s kind.

Sorry Blue Mars. I’ll stay earthbound, at least for now.

*Addendum: I am not currently, nor have I ever been a participant in the Blue Mars Beta. My research consisted of web based material, photographs, documentation, community discussion, witnessing first-hand gameplay from the home of a beta tester, and the trailers, one of which you will see below.

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