For those of you who don't know what Blue Mars is, because you spend all your SL time logging in a zillion alts, or watching your avatar dance at some tacky club like a noob that has yet to get a SecondLife, it is a new video game that is supposedly scheduled to come online sometime this year. It is the product of a company called Avatar Reality, based in Hawaii. The game was supposed to come online earlier this year, but as of yet it is still not available, which doesn't promote much confidence.

I have been asked if I will become a builder in Blue Mars. My reaction is mostly negative, so I am interested in talking to other people about their opinions on this new virtual world. I am not sure if I am being closed minded, or if my opinions are valid.

The main drawback to this world, in my eyes, is something that the creators are touting as a benefit. In order to create content, you have to apply to be an approved builder. People who want to sell land have to be approved real estate professionals, as well. A few people have said this is a great idea, because it will prevent content theft, as well as land barons with questionable business practices. I can just imagine how wonderful this game is going to be: you buy your professionally designed and built home from an approved builder, buy your perfectly terraformed land from a professional land dealer, furnish your home with your perfectly designed and built furniture, and then can't upload a texture of a picture you want for your wall, or even rez a prim to put it on, because you are not an approved content creator. There will not even be any building tools in Blue Mars, so everything will have to be constructed with something like Maya or Blender, and then imported into Blue Mars.

As a builder, the idea of building a building in Maya or Blender and then importing it into its final location, is not something I think is a good idea. The beauty of a custom build is that it is specifically designed for the location: maximizing desirable views, shielding things that aren't so desirable, an exterior appearance that compliments its surroundings. Also, the idea of having to build things twice--once in whatever building program you use, and then another in the game--promises to be very time consuming and labor intensive. For all this skill and dedication, what are the rewards? Will it really be possible to earn the real life money to compensate a builder for the real life time it takes to produce this work?

The nice thing about Blue Mars is the graphics quality. Some people say it will take very powerful, state-of-the-art computers to run the program, while others say that a decent contemporary computer with a good Nvidia graphics card will suffice.

Please click on the link to learn more, and check out some of the videos on Youtube. I am interested in hearing some feedback about this, so don't be afraid to comment.