Virtual Worlds News

Metaplace Debuts to the Public

Raph Koster and the Metaplace crew took their world-building platform out for a spin tonight, showing off the world in a public developer's chat to anyone who cared to drop by. The environment was simple, just an embedded chat menu, but Koster said to expect more demos in the soon future. And, while it's relatively simple, the chat app worked great. After updating my Flash plug-in to the latest version, the environment loaded immediately in Firefox and continued smoothly. I noticed a solid crew of just about 100 chatters throughout most of the session. More impressively, Metaplace demoed a full 2.5D space with characters and all, seamlessly loading it from the chat client into the graphical space. A lot of the information was a re-hash of old news bits and then some more detailed looks at the guts of Metaplace, but hit the jump for a rundown of the important  facts.   

Interview: Still Farther to Go Down the Trough of Disillusionment

2007 brought both a wave of adulation and a pummeling backlash from the media to virtual worlds. In other words, we rode out parts two and three of the Gartner Hype Cycle. Used to model adoption and application of new technologies, the Gartner Hype Cycle predicts five basic steps: The Technology Trigger, Peak of Inflated Expectations,  Trough of Disillusionment, Slope of Enlightenment, and Plateau of Productivity. The middle and end of 2007 was almost certainly the Trough, but with more praise (and adoption) coming in for kids' worlds, some spectators are looking forward to the upwards Slope. "I think we're being a little optimistic there," counters Gartner Research VP Steve Prentice.

Christian Renaud on Traveling Virtually to Live Eco-Friendly

Last October, Christian Renaud, Chief Architect for Networked Virtual Environments at Cisco Systems, publicly promised to cut down on his carbon footprint by avoiding flying for business for the rest of the year and substituting virtual meetings instead. Each time he flew, he'd donate $1000 to The Nature Conservancy. He made it for all but one event, mostly relying on virtual worlds and video-conferencing to get by. He's written about the experience for The Nature Conservancy and detailed few best practices: make the expectation clear that you won't be traveling in person, always have a follow-up plan, and pick the best technology for that particular job. For more insight and to continue the conversation, he's opened up his blog comments with the possibility for a virtual conferencing wiki down the line. There's been plenty of interest in using virtual worlds to fight carbon emissions, of course there's plenty of evidence for the argument that the server farms and computers  necessary for virtual worlds aren't really a blessing to Mother Nature either. Soooo, maybe we should get to work on filling up that wiki with better ideas for improvement.

Sony Shows Off Updates for Home

After being delayed (from a rumored earlier launch) until the Spring of 2008 due to executive-level concerns over quality, Home for the Sony Playstation3 is getting shown off at Imagina 08. GamesIndustry.biz reports a series of tweaks based on the ongoing beta version of Home--shortened distances, more recognizable signs, and an entry point set outdoors instead of inside--but it also gives a look at what some of the economic options might be. No pricing options have been announced, but there will be "eight or nine" apartments available at launch. One premium room, The Norwegian Lodge, was shown off. Also, while Home has so far seem focused largely on realism (only allowing human avatars, for example), the company announced that if users wanted it, more fantasy elements, at least a room in the clouds, could be made available. [via GamesIndustry.biz]

Zwinky Partners with Zazzle for Real-World Avatar Merchandise

Zwinky has announced a partnership with Zazzle, a custom clothing and tchotchke company, to allow its users to export their Zwinky avatars to real-world gear. The in-world Zazzle kiosk users to buy customized t-shirts, mugs, posters, postage stamps, and more featuring their avatars, which can be created and shipped to the buyer within 24 hours. Users can select from a display of their avatar on various options and switch between previously created and saved avatar outfits.  Zazzle is also selling a line of merchandise featuring Zwinktopia and avatars of the company's bloggers. "The success of Zwinky is largely attributed to the user's ability to express themselves online,"  John Park, President of IAC Consumer Applications and Portals, the parent company of Zwinky, said in a statement. "Now we're giving our users the ability to take their online persona into the real world."

Video: Second Skin Trailer Debuts

If you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet, here's the trailer, released yesterday, for the upcoming documentary Second Skin. The film from Pure West Documentaries takes a look at the lives of people who have been affected by virtual worlds and online games. It seems to focus on games, but takes a look at Second Life as well, exploring relationships, economies, and the interplay between the virtual world and the real. The makers hope to debut on the film festival circuit at SXSW this year. So while it may not affect the way the whole world sees virtual worlds, it's worth taking a look at how some of the major trendsetters will soon see the space.

FAO Schwarz Worried About Safety in Virtual Worlds

Normally we report on who's new to virtual worlds, not who's avoiding them. But like Yahoo, it' just odd to see FAO Schwarz without a virtual worlds play. With toy companies like MGA Entertainment, Mattel, Ty, and Hasbro making pushes for toy-based tie-ins, not to mention the recently successful Build-a-Bearville, you'd expect one of the largest toy brands in the world to be leading the pack. However, Internet Retailer reports that while FAO is big on expanding its website, "[CEO Edward] Schmults says he has considered community features for kids, including adding a virtual world feature, but is concerned about the potential for abuse by predators." He says, though, that he has plans to meet with an interactive marketing firm to hash out community features, so the concerns might be only a temporary delay. [via Internet Retailer via Virtual Economic Forum]

Zwinky Adds Pre-Paid ZBucks Cards in Target

On February 5, Zwinky will begin distributing pre-paid cards at Target for 1500 ZBucks ($10), 2500 ZBucks ($15), or 5000 ZBucks ($25). ZBucks can be used in Zwinky's economy for avatar customization items. Since introducing a virtual goods marketplace in September,  the world has gone on to add items tied to celebrity appearances, real-world clothing purchases, and more third-party services. Zwinky boasts 13.3 million registered users, but the move to Target has helped other strong worlds as well. Habbo Hotel and Kaneva each have pre-paid cards in Target, and Nexon has done a booming business in cards at Target and beyond, distributing over $1 million worth last year. In addition to providing in-game currency, each card adds its own collectibility with one of four superpowers for the Zwinky avatar.

MTV Adds New World with Makena forTwo Shows

MTV Networks, host to a stable of virtual worlds, has added a virtual skate park to promote  "Rob and Big" and "Life of Ryan," two reality shows based on the lives of pro skaters. The skate park, as are the rest of MTV's virtual worlds,  is built on Makena's technology platform. "Building on the success of our current virtual offerings, our work with Makena continues to allow us to create immersive environments to deeply engage viewers with our television programming,"  Matt Bostwick, senior vice president of business development for MTV Networks' Music and Logo Group, said in a statement.

Interview: Media Grid to Take Education Across the Virtual World--and the XO

Media Grid recently announced its plans to roll out a cross-platform, immersive world for education for academics, students, and trainers everywhere. After experimenting with VRML, the Unreal Engine, and other tools since 2001, the organization realized that it needed to begin looking beyond simply one platform. It formed the Immersive Education Initiative and looked for options. "That marked the opening of international standards in the space," said Media Grid Director Aaron Walsh. "It began the platform ecosystem. That says that the technology has reached such a stage and was useful in enough programs that it merited having a set of international standards and best practices built around it. It didn't belong in just one 3D virtual reality environment. It needed to be broadened and any 3D environment should be able to provide a 3D educational perspective."