When reviewing Slogbase metrics and use-patterns of our Second Life projects, I'm often reminded of the hilarious Sprint Nextel Commercial "Who's Agitating My Dots?" I find it especially true in this case, because not only do I want to avoid agitating the dots, but I want the dots to stick around, and have a good experience while visiting our projects. It is not unlike the way Randy Pagulayan at Microsoft optimized game play in Halo 3 by using heat maps to understand player movement through each level (Wired).

As an architect working in virtual worlds, I find the idea of real time design measurement and responsiveness very compelling. This is one of those 'Not Possible in Real Life' realities that has so much potential, yet we've barely scratched the surface. At a glance, I can easily discern areas of a design that are popular, as well as areas that are under visited or completely unnoticed. With this data in mind, I can jump back into the design and modify it based on these metrics, then check back a few days later to see if the dots like what I've done. Try doing that with a real life building!

I think of this kind of design responsiveness as asynchronous. The architecture responds to avatar behavior, but it requires my ongoing analysis and modification to continuously improve it. This broad stroke level of measurement and intervention is critical in understanding how your build is being used, and enables you to optimize your design to ensure that it is being fully explored by visitors.

Lately, I've been working on ways to dovetail the asynchronous measurement from Slogbase with more immediate and synchronous methods of architectural responsiveness. I've called it 'Reflexive Architecture (video), and have been working on a series of installations that test out various reflexive concepts.

One example is 'Carvable Architecture.' This installation is made of an array of wall panels that are scripted to move away from an approaching avatar just a tiny bit. Over time, areas that are most frequently visited naturally become larger. Areas that are never visited remain small. In this way, the architecture is carved by avatar movement over time. Another example are floor tiles that dissolve as an avatar walks over them. This concept leaves a visual trace or pattern of where avatars have traveled in the space.

One interesting effect of these installations is the way they address issues of presence in Second Life. There is a lot of controversy and discussion around the issue of Second Life builds being empty. Certainly this may be the case for some builds, but in other instances it is only a matter of visitor timing. A build could easily have 50 visitors during the course of a day without any of them running into each other, yet conclude that the place is 'always empty'. But the truth is, Second Life is a 24/7 global phenomenon and builds are visited at all hours of the day. By installing reflexive and responsive elements that leave a visual trace or indication of asynchronous presence, new visitors could get a better sense that the space isn't always empty and actually see patterns and traces left behind by avatars who have visited before them.

These concepts are currently on display in the Gallery of Reflexive Architecture (SLurl), and most of the scripts are now open source so you can explore them for yourself (find them HERE).

By combining Slogbase metrics with architectural reflexivity, a virtual building can conceivably transcend physical replication, becoming alive, intelligent, and perhaps even as fluid and dynamic as the community it serves.

Either way, these are some fun ideas to explore, and the best part is they're all completely free and open source. So, have fun with it! But whatever you do, don't agitate the dots!