One of the most common complaints I hear about virtual worlds is that they’re empty. Visitors either take that as proof there is nothing to do or that there is no reason to stay as being social is the only draw. Being a screenwriter I see the parallels with movies. The problem with most independent movies is that they’re boring; there is nothing driving them. Screenwriters employ various tricks to create a sense of drive, one being the ticking clock. Movies are all about pressure and tension, the more you can keep from letting it dissipate the better. Think of Cinderella.
Add a ticking clock time pressure to the main plot goal and a little ticking clock to each scene if possible – bomb about to go off, meeting, deadline, race, running out of something important.
Unlike most virtual worlds, virtual events are all about the ticking clock. The virtual world an event uses may stay around for days but the virtual event itself is constrained to only a few hours. You’re there or you’re not. It’s more than just bringing people together, virtual events employ a ticking clock to heighten the event, to add a sense of drive.
The ticking clock would also suggest that virtual events not be open ended where time is concerned. Saying that the even goes until everyone has left dissipates the tension. It also wouldn’t hurt to shine the light on the clock every once in a while.
I’ve likened the recent phase of virtual worlds to Web 1.0 – 