Metaplace Approaching Closed Beta

Metaplace, the platform for building virtual worlds, MMOGs, and more, debuted with fanfare and buzz last fall. With a few exceptions, the team has been pretty quiet since then. An update to the Metaplace blog earlier this week, though, notes that "we are at the point where we are just about ready to move onto our first phase of closed beta, and we are thrilled to let in more of you."  The post recaps some of the last year's developments and also offers a roadmap for the future, including finalizing a new toolset and security system, touching up aesthetic and usability issues, a badge system that serves as a sort of metagame for acheivements across metaplace, and a marketplace for exchanging assets.

"This is a crucial part in our vision of encouraging user generated content and collaborative work," wrote Community Manager Tami "Cuppycake" Baribeau. "The marketplace is going to facilitate these transactions and be a searchable index of all the stylesheets and modules available to help you get started or add on to your world." [via Metaplace]