virtual-world posts

The Daily Grind: Do you use PlayStation Home?

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 30th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Consoles, Virtual worlds, Home

Now here's an odd question that could only be thought up at 8 in the morning. If you own a PS3, are you an avid user of PlayStation Home, or do you avoid the console's virtual world like the plague?

We ask because the world seems to present two very different versions of itself. On one hand, some of the mini-games are kinda interesting, the virtual environment does take full advantage of the PS3's graphical capabilities, and the virtual spaces for the different PS3 games are kinda cool.

However, on the flip side, you get to deal with the worst of the PlayStation Network community while you can't completely remove them from your screen. If you make a female avatar, get ready to get swamped by every guy in a 30 virtual mile radius no matter how you're dressed.

So tell us why or why not you use Home, and don't be afraid to give us all of the gritty details. Go readers, go!

Tags: game-discussion, gamer-discussion, home, opinion, playstation-home, playstation-network, playstation3, ps3, psn, sony, the-daily-grind, virtual-world

Rumor: Blue Mars to go into open beta on September 2nd?

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 28th 2009 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Blue Mars, Casual, Virtual worlds, Rumors

According to an anonymous source, the new virtual world game on the block, Blue Mars, might be entering into open beta on September 2nd. What does this mean for you? Well, it means that another CryEngine 2 MMO might be making an appearance soon to do battle with Planet Calypso.

Currently we are unable to confirm the exact time of the opening of the Blue Mars open beta, but we can confirm that the game has been shut down and is being prepared for the "public beta" according to posts on the forums.

Blue Mars is the middle ground between Second Life and Planet Calypso. Where Planet Calypso acts as a game with a real money economy and Second Life allows all users to create content and change the world to their preferences, Blue Mars signs up and approves select developers to create content for their world. Standard users will have the ability to open up small shops and/or purchase living quarters (at the developer's preference) as well as interact with the games and events the ruling developer sets up for their players.

Tags: avatar-reality, blue-mars, breaking, city, cryengine-2, cryengine2, open-beta, planet-calypso, public-beta, second-life, virtual-world

Massively Exclusive Interview: MindFuse's Isa Anne Stamos on Gatheryn

by Krystalle Voecks Jun 30th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Historical, Sci-fi, Interviews, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, Gatheryn

With the oversaturation of fantasy in the MMO genre, we've been patiently waiting to get our hands on the steampunk victorian coolness of Gatheryn. An indie title currently under development by Mindfuse, Gatheryn seems to be part virtual world and part mini-game laden MMO, much like Free Realms. Considering how wildly popular Free Realms has become in a short period, many eyes are now turning to Gatheryn to see if the combination of casual minigames in a fun, unique MMO/VW setting can strike gold again. Massively's very own Managing Editor, Shawn Schuster sat down recently with Isa Anne Stamos, Game Studio Director for MindFuse, to find out some more about the future of this retro-feel title.

Massively: We first took a look at Gatheryn at GDC earlier this year, and liked what we saw so far. Can you describe some of the major feature changes or updates to the game since then?

Isa Anne Stamos, MindFuse: Generally, we've been focusing on building out the early stages of the Gatheryn experience – adjusting the layout of the city, adding variations to character customization, and creating a deep casual gaming experience that players can enjoy the minute they enter Gatheryn. Specifically, we just added a Player Health feature that measures your avatar's fatigue and gives us some creative options for healing items and quests. We're also filling in a lot of the quests and minigames – we've probably added a few since you saw us at GDC. We're also working hard to build up the community tools because we rely heavily on them to communicate with our beta users - they're crucial to getting player feedback in these early stages of development.

Tags: featured, gatheryn, interview, interviews, massively-exclusive-interviews, mindfuse, mindfuse-games, minigames, mmo, sci-fi, steampunk, victorian, virtual-world

MetaPlace open beta is on

by Krystalle Voecks May 17th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, New titles, News items, MetaPlace, Browser, Virtual worlds

Are you fond of world or story building? Maybe you're thrilled about trying your hand at creating items. Do you have an idea for a great game, but no place - or way - to design it? Are you fascinated by the concept of in-browser-only (not browser/spawn another app like FusionFall or Free Realms) games. Or maybe you're just the type of person who loves to check out new and interesting things created by other people. If any of the above sounds interesting to you then you'll likely want to pop over to the MetaPlace site and check out their shiny new open beta test!

MetaPlace, designed to be a place full of infinite possibility where players can meet, game together, and socialize, has been in closed beta for quite some time. We're curious to see how this world evolves, considering Raph Koster's view on avatar rights to their own created property versus other virtual world platforms like Linden Lab's Second Life. Between that and the basic concept for MetaPlace, we suspect virtual world and MMO afficinados alike will be keeping an eye on this.

Tags: browser-based, build-your-own, metaplace, open-beta, user-generated-content, virtual-world

Did LucasArts invent the avatar-based virtual world in 1985?

by Shawn Schuster Jan 22nd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Education, Virtual worlds

The computer gaming industry of the 1980s was akin to the automotive industry in the 1950s: experimental and courageous. LucasArts (through a branch known then as Lucasfilm Games) had the money to throw around in game development at the time. As we can read in a new book, one of their experiments was at least a decade ahead of its time.

This book, entitled Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, chronicles the history of George Lucas' vision through more than just his films. A project entitled Habitat enabled Commodore 64 users to create an avatar and chat with other players in a simple virtual world via a modem. Despite the fact that this game never got off the ground, its ideas were still brand new to everyone. Why didn't the project ever see the light of day? There were several reasons, but mainly the fact that C64 users were paying CompuServe $12 an hour for network access back then. This innovation also pushed Commodore to invest in a new company called Quantum Computer Services to undercut CompuServe with rates "as low as" $3.60 an hour. Quantum Computer Services eventually changed their name to America Online. Sound interesting? There's much more to the story, as you can read over at GameSetWatch, or the book itself, found at Amazon.

Tags: 1985, aol, avatar, commodore-64, compuserve, lucasarts, virtual-world

Anti-Aliased: See the griefing, taste the griefing

by Seraphina Brennan Jan 14th 2009 at 1:30PM

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Virtual worlds, PlayStation Home, Anti-Aliased

If home is where the heart is, then PlayStation 3 users have some pretty cold, racist, and sexually demeaning hearts. Hearts that make Halo 3 players look like cute puppies in comparison. Now I'm not saying that PlayStation Home is not a great idea -- in theory it's a brilliant idea. Play in a world like Second Life, meet other users, play mini games, launch into full PS3 games, what's not to love about any of that?

Well, it seems Sony forgot about the precedents of other virtual worlds. Second Life, while nice, can have the uncanny ability to resemble slums in certain areas thanks to the scary nature of some of the creators. Xbox Live sports some of the most offensive users (NSFW) around. So how exactly was Home suppose to avoid the travesties that affect other worlds?

Sony has already stated that "user behavior and feedback" will shape where they go with the Home beta. If that's the case, where are they going to go? Totalitarian state, anyone?

Tags: anti-aliased, bannings, censorship, chat-filtering, community, content, featured, home, joystiqfeatures, playstation-home, playstation3, quincy, racist, second-life, sexist, virtual-world, xbox-live, xbox360

Kotaku outlines differences between PlayStation Home and Second Life

by Alexis Kassan Jan 3rd 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Business models, Second Life, Consoles, Virtual worlds, PlayStation Home

There has been plenty of speculation on PlayStation Home and how it compares and contrasts with Second Life as a virtual world. Heck, the creative director spoke about it months ago stating that Second Life players would probably not find much of interest in PS Home. Well, Kotaku has stepped in to explore just that subject.

For those not wanting to get too down and dirty with the full tale, Second Life has much more personal customization. Everything from outfits to dance moves to land masses can be user-generated and added to the world. On the other hand, PlayStation Home allows for minimal add-ons, focusing on creating rich, stable environments - even if that means sacrificing little things like avatar diversity. But with much more content promised, PS Home may well become a better contender for virtual world time.

Tags: avatar, avatars, comparison, kotaku, playstation-home, ps-home, second-life, virtual-world, virtual-worlds

One Shots: Overlooking New Switzerland

by Krystalle Voecks Aug 20th 2008 at 2:05PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Entropia Universe, Free-to-play, One Shots

For today's One Shots, we're bringing you a treat. This is a screenshot from a virtual universe we don't see very often at all, but is absolutely gorgeous. What title is this, you might ask? It's Entropia Universe, developed and published by MindArk. While the graphics are somewhat stylized, nobody can dispute that they're not lovely to look at. What else can we tell you? Well, according to Mike S. who sent this screenshot in, this is prior to the upgraded CryEngine2 graphics -- so it looks even better now, if you can imagine that! With lovely graphics, a free-to-play model, and the ability to cash out items you find into real-world funds, we're surprised we don't see this title more often.

Do you have a screenshot from a world we haven't seen recently? Would you like to brag on your favorite game or world? We'd love to see your screenshots. All you have to do is email them to us here at oneshots AT massively.com along with a note telling us a bit about what's going on in the screenshot, your name and the name of the game. Then relax and enjoy the limelight!

Gallery: One Shots

Tags: cryEngine2, entropia-universe, free-to-play, mike-s, mindark, one-shots, screenshot, screenshots, virtual-world

KotORO it ain't: There's a third Star Wars MMO out there

by Samuel Axon Aug 15th 2008 at 1:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Humor

Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Online (or more likely, Star Wars: The Old Republic) apparently aren't the only two Star Wars MMOs out there. We didn't originally mention this because lacking the Star Wars bit it was under the radar of our normal coverage, but McDonald's is including keys to virtual worlds for kids in its Happy Meals.

Among the worlds: a Sci-Fi environment based on the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which hits theaters across the United States and the United Kingdom today. The environment is some kind of space station, and be there Yoda will. (You see what we did there?) So if you're really, really desperate to wander around a Star Wars-based virtual world other than SWG, well ... this is your chance, right?

Yeah, okay, it's probably best to wait for KotoRO. We just thought you should know in case you're really hardcore.

[Via Raph Koster]

Tags: children, clone-wars, happy-meal, kids, kotoro, lucasfilm, mcdonalds, promotion, star-wars, star-wars-the-clone-wars, swtor, the-clon-wars, virtual-world

Animax Entertainment appoints new CTO for undisclosed projects

by James Egan Jun 14th 2008 at 7:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Virtual worlds, Kids

Animax Entertainment is a full-service creative studio that specializes in character-driven digital content. Animax is the company behind TyGirlz.com and Beanie Babies 2.0, virtual worlds that accompany lines of plush toys, and has new ventures in the pipeline for the virtual space. In preparation for its new projects, Animax has appointed Sabri Sansoy to the position of Chief Technology Officer, where he will spearhead Animax's expansion into MMOs and virtual worlds.

Sansoy, formerly the vice president of interactive entertainment technology at GSN (Game Show Network), was chosen by Animax for his past experience with convergent media. (And presumably not for his attempt to fly around the world in a hot air balloon!) "Animax is a leader in building cutting edge interactive applications with a robust portfolio of innovation, exceptional talent, and exciting business opportunities in the pipeline. I am very honored and excited to contribute to the growth and success of this company," Sansoy said of his appointment. If the new offerings from Animax Entertainment are anything like what they've produced in the past, we're likely to see 'play' with more lines of toys extending into the virtual realm through interactive narratives, that place where toys and games meet.

Tags: animax, animax-entertainment, browser, casual, children, flash, free-to-play, gamasutra, game-show-network, kids, mmo-industry, sabri-sansoy, toy, toys, virtual-world, virtual-worlds

One billion people will flock to virtual worlds by 2017

by James Egan Jun 6th 2008 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Business models, News items, Virtual worlds

Market research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics has forecasted a surge in virtual world registrations over roughly the next decade. The firm's study is titled 'Market Forecasts for Virtual World Experiences - from Habbo Hotel to Second Life and Beyond - 2008 to 2017.' It posits that roughly 22 percent of global broadband users will participate in one or more virtual worlds on some level. The end result will be a global virtual world market with one billion registrants. That throng of virtual world residents will provide an estimated eight billion USD in service opportunities for companies that learn how to do business effectively in these spaces.

Strategy Analytics has been keeping a close eye on virtual worlds of late. The firm released another report on the growing market in May, as well as a presentation seemingly geared towards fledgling companies wishing to capitalize on what might seem to them an abstract, if not bizarre, new market. Adrian Bowles, Executive Director of Virtual World Strategies at Strategy Analytics, writes, "For this generation it is as natural to interact with a friend represented by a flying cat as it is for real world senior citizens to gather in a town center and reminisce," for his 'Finding Business Value in Virtual Worlds' presentation. The Strategy Analytics next-decade projections are specifically for non-gaming virtual worlds. Were they to include the massively multiplayer online market, the global figures would likely be drastically higher.

Tags: business, habbo-hotel, market, second-life, services, strategy-analytics, virtual-world, virtual-worlds

Lessons learned in virtual worlds

by James Egan Jun 4th 2008 at 10:30AM

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Virtual worlds

Nic Mitham from K Zero is going to offer up the key things he's learned about virtual worlds in the last 18 months. But who is Nic Mitham, you wonder, and what is K Zero? Mitham describes himself as a "one time corporate strategist, ad man and analyst. Now spreading the metaverse word." K Zero describes itself as a virtual worlds consultancy, 'specialists in connecting real world brands and companies with the residents and environments of virtual worlds.'

Mitham's most recent blog post, '50 lessons I've learned in virtual worlds' is an introduction to his upcoming series of reflections on the unpredictable nature of the metaverse. The series of posts will be a look back at what Mitham's seen in the 18 months he's been immersed in the virtual. It's chiefly aimed at those interested in doing business in virtual worlds. Mitham writes,"The point to getting my 50 lessons 'out there' is to attempt to ensure mistakes made by companies along the way are not repeated by others and also to hopefully assist new companies in this space get traction as quickly as possible, because that's in the interest of everyone."

That's not to say that only biz types will get something from his blog; the series of insights is likely to have some significance to the people who populate the virtual worlds already in existence, and those who will flock to the birth of new worlds in the future.

Tags: blog, brand, branding, brands, business, consultancy, consultant, culture, k-zero, kzero, metaverse, nic-mitham, virtual, virtual-world, virtual-worlds, world, worlds

Dizzywood mapped by Worlds in Motion Atlas

by James Egan May 26th 2008 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds, Kids

Dizzywood is a Flash-based virtual world for kids, with a wide variety of environments to explore, ranging from Mayan-themed jungles to skateparks. Worlds in Motion took at in-depth look at Dizzywood and weighed in on how Dizzywood innovates, and how it flounders. The game is developed by Rocket Paper Scissors, who have been getting some love by the media in recent weeks. It's clear to see why; the relatively new company has a simple, compelling vision:

Our aim is to create a website for kids that inspires a sense of imagination, discovery, exploration, and most of all, fun. Frankly, when we took a good look at what was already out there, we felt that kids deserved a lot better. Our hope is that through a commitment to quality storytelling, creative vision, and technological innovation, Dizzywood will deliver an outstanding entertainment experience for young people that inspires the imagination in a safe environment. Our goal is to be the most popular web destination for kids in the 8-12 age range. It's a lofty goal, to be sure, but we're all about dreaming big.

Dizzywood runs in a web browser, with no additional install beyond Flash required. Rocket Paper Scissors has billed the title as free-to-play, but there are pay options to unlock new clothing, items, emotes and powers, as well as avatar customization. The games in Dizzywood are solo-friendly, but encourage cooperative play and socializing in order to solve mysteries. The excellent Online World Atlas over at Worlds in Motion put Dizzywood through its paces, ultimately finding some flaws in the virtual world, yet praising it as one of the 'tween worlds to watch.

Via Gamasutra

Tags: avatar, customization, dizzywood, flash, free-to-play, gamasutra, micropayment, microtransaction, parents, rocket-paper-scissors, virtual-world, worlds-in-motion

Cinemassively: SocioTown gameplay

by Moo Money Apr 10th 2008 at 12:30PM

Filed under: At a glance, Betas, Real life, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, Free-to-play, Browser, Cinemassively, Machinima, Virtual worlds

Yesterday, Outside the Box released a gameplay footage video of their virtual world, SocioTown, which recently entered open beta. Described as a cross between The Sims and Animal Crossing, players are able to experience this social space right from their browser. As a member, you can socialize, level up, play games with other players, take missions, own an apartment, and even get a job!

Being a machinimator, this blogger was interested in the cinematic abilities of Sociotown, so we put it to the test. While the camera isn't as easy to manipulate as is Second Life, you can use the up and down arrow keys to change your views from front to back, or use the left and right arrow keys to move the camera horizontally in increments. However, it doesn't look like you can turn off the user interface. For a closer look at the gameplay, check out the high quality version of the video!

[Thanks, Chris!]

If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.

Tags: cinemassively, machinima, mmowg, new-title, open-beta, outside-the-box, social-space, sociotown, st, virtual-world

Lawsuit claims IGE dug too greedily and too deep

by Andrew Russo Apr 8th 2008 at 10:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Economy, Events, real-world, Exploits, MMO industry, News items, Legal, Academic, Virtual worlds

Out of sunny Florida comes a storm ready to rain on the parade of gold sellers everywhere. Gold seller IGE has found itself sinking deeper into a stack of complaints thanks to one concerned gamer. Antonio Hernandez is fed up with the spam, inflation, and annoyance that stems from gold selling and has decided to do something about it. He has filed for a class action lawsuit that claims inflation in the virtual economy, thanks to gold sellers, forces players to spend more time behind their keyboard in an attempt to makes virtual ends meet, thus costing them more money. "This loss of time, conservatively, amounts to hundreds of thousands of hours of subscriber time and causes the irreparable harm of driving subscribers away from World of Warcraft."

Since the announcement was made, Antonio has already been flooded with letters of support from the WoW community. The reason for the support is not only because Antonio is trying to end gold selling, but because he is an active member of the virtual community he feels has been wronged. "The lawsuit," says case consultant and professor Greg Lastowka, "has more of a feel of a community trying to enforce its rules rather than a game company trying to enforce its power over the participants." The community is a strong one, and to add to the power players wield, the game companies are taking a stand with them. Blizzard has announced that they support the lawsuit and stated that gold selling is a very serious concern of theirs.

The case dives headfirst into a world with no clearly defined boundaries. The Florida justice system, having issued a subpoena to IGE demanding their transaction details, accepts that the subject of virtual law is real enough for concern. This is a good sign for players since their rights are also what are at stake. As Hernandez's lawyer, C. Richard Newsome, asks, "what are the rights of the [virtual world] community members when they go online?" The community members supporting Antonio have made one thing crystal clear concerning that question. They desire a fair game and hope to collapse IGE's virtual gold mine right on top of IGE's head.

Tags: antonio-hernandez, blizzard, gold-farming, gold-selling, greg-lastowka, hernandez-vs-ige, ige, ige-lawsuit, legal, virtual-economy, virtual-world, world-of-warcraft