I've been telling anyone who would listen for the past 5 years that video games are the "next-big-thing" in Advertising (and that "microtransactions" are the next-big-thing in gaming).  I was a part of the first ever MMO team (Anarchy Online - Funcom) to implement in-game ads- streamed on clickable billboards with rotating content.  This advertising allowed Anarchy Online to become the first major "Free To Play" MMO game ever, a model that has been eagerly copied since. 

Today, over 50% of major Online games are free-to-play, supported by in-game ads and microtransactions (used to purchase premium content, expansions, additional features, and social things such as clothes and props).  The free-to-play model has been best exploited so far by Dungeons and Dragons Online (and soon followed by its sister title Lord of the Rings Online- both by Turbine) which turned a game that was hemorraging users and operating at a loss into a profit generating workhorse that was a major factor in Turbine being purchased by Warner Brothers this year.

We are reaching a point where only 1 or 2 industry-best titles like World of Warcraft will be able to survive using the antiquated subscription model ($14.99/month for WoW).  It is akin to the early days of America Online, where you paid by the hour (and later by the month) for access.  Once real competition developed, their model was no longer feasible and was eventually dropped (but not before America Online became an irrelevant dinosaur and butt of jokes).

For more information on the continuing fusion of Advertising and Gaming, check out this Mashable article "6 Reasons Why Social Gaming is the Next Advertising Frontier".

Among the typical inbox meeting and sales spam today, I got an invite to meet a certain someone under the mistletoe. Might just sound like traditional holiday highjinks— but this “mistletoe” had something special in store. When the time arrived, there we were, side-by-side through the magic of a webcam, McKinney, and OpenTok. Much silliness ensued, with the pictures to prove it.

At Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, a little Eskimo kissing (or any other type you like) is simple. Just invite the object of your desire to meet you at the site at a certain time. Then turn on your webcam, close your eyes and pucker up. Seconds later, you’ll both receive a retro-cool photostrip of your side-by-side smooches just like the ones you remember from the roller rink. Save your pics, share them on Facebook or Tweet them to the world. You can even look at other people’s merry mushiness in the Gallery.

Just FYI— If your smooch-pal doesn’t show, just send an invite to someone else and spread the love!

Me (left) and the McKinney Team

This week I was honored to sit down with the mastermind behind the groundbreaking new band The Role Playaz— representing advertising powerhouse McKinney at this year’s Corporate Battle of the Bands at the American Tobacco Campus, Saturday May 15th @ 7:30 PM.  

I met up with lead rhymesayer HeavyE (aka Ben Eckerson) at local hobby shop The Android’s Dungeon.  Between dice rolls and Kirk/Picard debates, I managed to gain some insight into the Playaz style and inspiration.

JL: What’s a typical day in the life of a Role Playa?
HeavyE: Wake up, get online, check the profile for new posts, a little WoW, work, home for some Ramen and Netflix, late night WoW, sleep, dream the future… wake up and do it again.

JL: Have you ever engaged in Live Action Role Playing / LARP’ing?
HeavyE: Judging by that question YOU have never participated in battle with the great warriors of the Park Royale.

JL: So did The Role Playaz meet LARP’ing?
HeavyE: We formed like Voltron.

JL: How many members are in The Role Playaz and what do they do?
HeavyE: We’ve got Vincent Patterson as our Hype Man, our lovely Lead Singer Teccara Carmack, Hammerin’ Hank Leber on the bass, Ben Blackmer on Keys, John Roelofs laying down the beats, Leslie Riley on Cello, Scott Gaston running the AV, and the wonderful harmonies of our backup singers Aubrey Eckerson, Kelly Quinn, and Grace Tarrant.  And of course myself as lead MC.

JL: How does the cello fit in with The Role Playaz music?
HeavyE: It’s like how the Cool Whip fits with Pumpkin Pie.

JL: What are some of The Role Playaz musical inspirations?
HeavyE: Soul meets Bach says “hi” to Jackie Wilson then shakes hands with Gang Starr sits down next to Whitney Houston waves to Yo-Yo Ma and gives dap to J-Dilla.

JL: You guys have an amazing video show and stage presence.  Is the visual style of The Role Playaz as important as the music?
HeavyE: Our style is all encompassing and includes all aspects of our greatness.

JL: How did you choose the images for your video show?
HeavyE: Scotty G pretty much ran with the genius thoughts he already conjured by listening to our symphony.

JL: What is the inspiration behind The Role Playaz songs?
HeavyE: Everyday of our lives, put to tasty beats and glorious musical arrangements.

JL: Where did you learn your dope dance moves?
HeavyE: Star Search.

JL: Who are your nerd heroes?
HeavyE: Lamar Latrell of Lambda Lambda Lambda fame.

JL: One of your songs is called “Lightning Bolt”.  What is a lightning bolt useful for?
HeavyE: Only the most honorable battle, at the most difficult hour.

JL: You have another song called “Netflix”.  What is in your Netflix queue?
HeavyE: Princess Bride, Willow, Ghostbusters 2, Flight of the Navigator, Neverending Story, Home Alone 2, Sister Act 3.

JL: Do the Role Playaz have a CD?
HeavyE: A 3 track EP at this time, LP to follow.

JL: Do The Role Playaz plan on touring anytime soon?
HeavyE: June 19th Nashville. B.B. Kings. Be there.

JL: What do you think your chances are of winning the Corporate Battle of the Bands?
HeavyE: 110%.

Are you looking for a casual experience?  Apparently 24% of the US and UK population is.  No, I’m not talking about sexting, Grindr, or Craigslist hookups- I’m referring to casual social gaming. 

Popcap Games, the world leader in casual game production, recently released the results of a survey revealing that an estimated 100 million Yanks and Brits play casual games on social networking sites regularly.  

The survey also revealed that the average social casual gamer is 43 years old and female.  I’d put even money on the fact that this user also has 3 or more cats and loves Twilight.

All joking aside, this is serious business.  Popcap estimates that casual social games will bring in an estimated 1 Billion USD in 2010.  Not too shabby for products that are essentially free to play.  

Casual social games have proven to be such a growth area that MySpace is now counting on them to save the aging social site from obscurity.  When all else fails, copy Facebook.

Compared to traditional game development where one title may take 2-4 years and millions of dollars to develop, casual social games are fast and cheap to produce. 

Facebook sensation Farmville was developed in 5 weeks, and eschewed the traditional development process in favor of an agile system that brought developers and designers together on equal footing.   The results speak for themselves.

It’s not only casual game developers and interactive design houses that are pushing the medium forward.  Some of Gaming’s biggest names are hopping on the bandwagon. 

The father of the PC Role Playing Game and Massively Multiplayer Online genres, Richard Garriott (aka Lord British) has honed in on social games as the “next big thing” and is currently partnering with Facebook to launch his next innovation- a high-end social gaming platform called Portalarium. 

But you don’t have to be an official “game god” with a fancy royal title to get in on the Facebook fun as a developer.  Austrian developer Platogo has recently released a Wrapper that will make any game or app Facebook-friendly with no muss or fuss.  Wunderbar!