Rod Humble’s name may not be spoken with the same reverance as Will Wright or Sid Meier, but the man has been a key figure in some of the most important PC franchises of all time. Now, Humble is moving on to something new, taking on Chief Executive Officer duties at Linden Lab, creators of Second Life.
In a press release by Linden Labs, Mr. Humble had this to say about his new venture: “I have a long standing interest in how the boundaries of society and economics change as communications evolve in new ways. Second Life is unique: it sits at the intersection of virtual worlds, avatars, and human contact. The Residents and developers of Second Life have built something very special, I am honored to join the talented team at Linden Lab to help expand this new frontier.”
No stranger to the MMO space, Humble worked on Everquest before moving on to the Sims series. In a way, Second Life seems like a perfect fit for Humble, as it marries a semi-real-life, Sims-ish backdrop with an MMO. On the other hand, Second Life has lost a lot of relevance over the years, and it’s probably most well known as “that game they made fun of on The Office.” Still, it’d be nice to see a visionary like Humble breathe new life into the game.
