The Saga of Sion

{ April 1, 2010 @ 8:55 am } · { Uncategorized }
{ Tags: Second Life, sion zaius, sionchickens, SionCorn, Virtual Chickens }

We’re well into the year 2010 now, and Sion Zaius has all but vanished from the virtual world radar. The chicken community shrunk by considerable numbers, and everyone has had time to reflect on the era that was defined by Mr. Zaius himself.

While much has changed in the industry of virtual pets, much remains the same. Sion Zaius remains the dominating influence of all pets that have followed in his footsteps. He is the mind behind the devices we use whether the immediate creator or not. He is responsible for the Chickens, which became the first viral artificially intelligent breeding pet on the virtual plain. He is responsible for influencing the business models (And oftentimes, the product execution) of those who came after. He’s responsible for the derivative creators who made toys, vendors and various paraphernalia. He’s also responsible for success of Land Owners and developers who’ve come to cater explicitly to virtual pet farmers. He’s responsible for creating more than just a chicken, he’s responsible for an entire flourishing industry.

And, he’s all but disappeared.

The introduction of higher end, more cost effective and technologically advanced pets have deeply impacted the once booming business of chickens. And despite numerous ethically questionable decisions and public outbursts, he maintained a long stand against the inevitable public backlash.

Now the chicken industry and their creator, the granddaddy of them all, stand in the shadow of their successors. The money stopped flowing, the updates stopped coming, the introduction of new content came to a halt. Now, after nearly half a year, I’ve decided to revisit the past and find out what happened?

It’s safe to say that, in the beginning, Sion had no idea the life his chicken industry would take on it’s own. It was a game he crated for individuals to play passively, to sell and trade eggs on an open market, and to enjoy the process of a cooperative activity. He did not foresee it becoming one of the most monumental successes of all time, nor could he possibly know how it would evolve in the hands of the community – his customers. He did not know people would become reliant on it for income, or that farmers would rear hundreds of chickens and reap hundreds of eggs per day and consider it a business rather than a hobby. He did not expect that suddenly he would be at the helm of the largest economic tentpoles outside Second Life’s fashion industry, nor did he possess any awareness that thousands upon thousand would hold him personally accountable for their losses or misfortunes be they at the devices of a performance challenged sim or self-professed chicken killers who actively sought to murder the stock of farmers.

When events occurred beyond Sions immediate control- things such as Chickens going off world and returned to inventory, or griefers targeting and attacking a customers farm – when people sought accountability, the went directly to the door of the maker – Even when blame was grossly misplaced. Business owners who placed their entire operations on raising and harvesting chickens and eggs felt that Sion was the one directly responsible for any incurred financial losses they suffered, even in events of server outages. It was Sion who had people pounding on his door for answers.

For a man who had only believed he was creating a modest game for people to play, it became a living, breathing nightmare. As real life money began exchanging hands is startling sums between breeders, when something went wrong, it was Sion they wanted accountability – and refunds from.

Sion Zaius is a young college student whose first language is not english. He’s described as “painfully shy” by those who know him. He was an ordinary young man in extraordinary circumstances, but the burden of what was expected from him alone knew no mercy. In recourse, he tried several tactics: He became emotional, frustrated and once threatened to halt the sale of chicken food, starving chickens all over the grid if one resident refused to apologize for threatening a lawsuit against him for fraud. Ultimately, he never did stop the sale of food. Later, he created an unenforcable EULA which created havoc in the community and the Second Life blogs and left many of his customers outraged by it’s delivery. Suddenly there was a license which they felt left them defenseless against any maligned business practices. It was one-sided and bound the buyer completely. In his efforts for mercy, he was merciless. As a result, people left. They moved on to the new AI pets popping up in the marketplace that promised bigger and better things.

Sion released a statement after the impact on his business was obvious through diminishing sales, announcing the development of a new product under the SionLabs brand, SionLife which would allow customer to create their very own breedable pets. It was one of the last times the residents of Second Life involved in the chicken community heard directly from Sion. While the group was maintained by his two customer service reps, Sion seemed to vanish, and has since rarely been seen or heard from. His chickens have not seen an update or new content in half a year now.

I was one of Sion’s most challenging critics. I wrote, in depth, about some of his most fumbling missteps. I highlighted his lack of communication with his community. I blogged about his quiet tweaking behind the scenes which resulted in hundreds of Ancients being deleted. I felt it necessary that a platform be developed by people to speak freely and without consequence on the actions of a man so many relied on. But I am not afraid to ask myself, and you, if we relied to heavily.

I’m not asking if, in specific incidents, Sion was right or wrong. I’m asking if perhaps it was to much too soon for a single, unassuming young student in college to readily endure success, demands, public scrutiny, public service with complete rationale. I don’t think I would have been able too.  In fact, to be completely honest, I wasn’t either.

At 20 I made the move to Hollywood. I was the toast of my town, an award winning writer, published and produced author. I had an agent. I was from a small town in the middle of nowhere and had achieved an incredible amount in my young years. I made a big move, found myself in a corrupted world of extreme competition, was chased around a poolside by a half naked producer, I was the victim of real life content theft by powerful players, and the pressure was inconceivable. By 23 I ran back home to mother, clearly unprepared, despite my self confidence, in what rough waters one must traverse in the real world of business. Success, to a point, is a massive achievement. The concept, to our nature, sounds so beautiful and validating. When success becomes so intense that is spirals out of your own control and becomes something else altogether, it can be terrifying. And lets face it, Second Life isn’t a world where people are known for their cool heads and rational behavior, as I’m sure any business owner or customer service rep can tell you. What the trifecta of Sion and his two hired helping hands endured at the hands of an immersed community far outnumbering themselves is left only to our imaginations, but you can imagine…

I believe that Sion Zaius has deliberately moved away from his own industry, putting ample space between himself and what had become an incredibly challenging obligation of his own making. Sort of like Doctor Frankenstein and his own Monster. It wasn’t what he expected nor intended, but the consequences were heavy a reached deep into the community of players. While the money was quite possibly glorious, the price paid was steep. When people were happy with him, they were very happy, but when they were angry.. it was one against thousands.

I was curious about the status of SionLife – for those of you wondering why this blog has been so quiet for so long, it was because the chicken industry and sions himself- the reason I began this adventure in study, had also gone quiet. It is never easy being in the court of public opinion. I can say that from fair experience. Some people are overwhelmingly kind, and some people are vicious without remorse. Rarely is there an in-between. When something you do becomes public, when people possess an awareness, they are entitles to that opinion, to share it indiscriminately.  It doesn’t have to be altogether positive as no one is obligated to provide that courtesy. When we willfully place something into public domain for whatever reason, for others to develop an opinion and share it, for them to make statements fair or unfair, is their entitlement. Quite often, those that are the subject find the environment far to difficult to breathe in, and they’re scared away- they withdraw.

It is my hope that Sion will return, in his time, with his lessons learned, bigger, better and proud of his accomplishments. People make mistakes, people learn from them. More often than not, people aren’t asked to repent for those tresspasses to thousands of others holding them to a cross for those mistakes. His case is unique. Considerations are necessary. Regardless of the past, no one can question his innovation, or his accomplishments.

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