I'm speaking mostly to the design of our virtual worlds. New tech is certainly interesting, but I feel we're trying to build a roof before the walls.
For example, compared to commercial worlds from 2005 (or text muds from 1995 for that matter), modern virtual worlds are largely the same or worse at helping players form meaningful relationships with eachother. The same goes for their proficiency at helping players connect to the world itself, or at moderating their playerbases.
These are all things that could be more rapidly iterated on in a healthy indy scene, producing new trends and patterns that would lead to more fulfilling interactions with virtual worlds.
For example, compared to commercial worlds from 2005 (or text muds from 1995 for that matter), modern virtual worlds are largely the same or worse at helping players form meaningful relationships with eachother. The same goes for their proficiency at helping players connect to the world itself, or at moderating their playerbases.
These are all things that could be more rapidly iterated on in a healthy indy scene, producing new trends and patterns that would lead to more fulfilling interactions with virtual worlds.