[ExI] idea for empty warehouses

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of crw at crw.io
Subject: Re: [ExI] idea for empty warehouses

On 10/13, spike wrote:
 
>>... Here's the idea: we use google glass to create something like a 
> meat-world quasi-real version of the virtual reality game Second Life...

>...Sounds like fun, but could turn into this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEexx5BR5eY

Their point is well taken: we are ever more often playing together alone.
My father-in-law who doesn't use the internet, is definitely feeling lonely
these days.  Where kids used to play outdoors, they are now all home with
their noses in the computer.

I doubt the above YouTube scenario, because it makes too little money.  You
want to run several proles in your sim simultaneously to increase profits.


>>... Big multi-floor office buildings could be arranged so that floors have

> common themes and interacting players...

>...Wonder how much insurance would cost to run an operation like this?

This is an interesting paradigm which has become second nature to Americans:
any time you run any business or venture, you must insure yourself against
lawsuits.  So here's the idea: the company with the empty warehouse or
office building does not buy insurance, the participants do.  That is the
admission ticket.  The insurance company charges whatever it deems
appropriate, with non-standardized rates.  Profit from the insurance pays
the company with the office building.

>...And how are laser tag arenas and roller rinks faring?

We might be able to convert those low-profit ventures into something like
this.  The beauty of it is the building doesn't supply the decorations, the
VR does.  All the empty office building does is supply a comfortable
environment, warm and dry.  All the cool stuff is in the participants'
goggles or VR helmet.

>...The joy of virtual reality is that you can connect and play from
anywhere...

Ja.  It would enhance those games to be able to walk around, kind of like a
meat-ish version of Duke Nukem perhaps, or a Leisure Suit Larry with actual
carnal rewards for the successful.

>... Why not tear down and scrap the warehouses, bust up the concrete and
start rehabilitating the soil underneath?
-c._____________________________________________

Tearing down a building costs a lot of money.  Something like the above
would make money using capital already invested with very little additional
cost.  In some areas, such as this county, tearing down an existing
structure can cause the assessed value of the land to go way up, which has
adverse tax consequences.  So, unless a developer wants to come in, the
owner is often better off leaving the unused structure as is, which is why
we have so many empty shells and see-throughs in an area where office space
is still crazy expensive.

spike