Massively

Eerie comparisons between MMOs and real life surface

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, EVE Online, Culture, MMO Industry, Second Life, Miscellaneous

We all joke about how unrealistic MMOs are to our mundane, tax-filled lives, but Redcentric did a little digging to compare how virtual worlds and the real one stack up in various ways. Some of the results proved astounding.

With World of Warcraft, Redcentric noted that the population in both the game and the US military have about the same percentage of males (84% to 83%), while EVE Online's male population (96%) is more similar to that of the astronaut crowd (90%). The agency also noted how Second Life has 10 real-world embassies in it and that a previous ban of real-money trading in the game caused a very real financial crisis for a bank that wiped out $750,000.

So how do these three titles compare to real-world cities in regards to population? World of Warcraft at its peak was close to Moscow's population (11.5 million), while Second Life almost hit the levels of San Fransisco (825K) and EVE Online barely surpassed Edinburgh's 495,000.

Eerie comparisons between MMOs and real life surface originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Mar 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life CEO Rod Humble leaves Linden Lab

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Free-to-Play, Virtual Worlds, Miscellaneous

Rod Humble, CEO of Linden Lab for the past three years, officially announced via Facebook that he has left the company. Humble has worked on both The Sims and EverQuest, pretty much exactly the two games that you would think could be mashed together into Second Life. Linden Lab has not issued a statement about Humble's replacement at this time.

In a statement on the move, Humble wished his former coworkers and customers the best of fortunes, stating that he was moving on to form a startup company to make "art, entertainment, and unusual things." Whether or not this will be another startup in the online gaming space or something entirely different remains to be seen.

Second Life CEO Rod Humble leaves Linden Lab originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond

MJ Guthrie — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game Mechanics, Miscellaneous, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox

Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games.

But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.

Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond

Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Colbert cracks ancient Second Life joke, picks on NSA

Jef Reahard — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Humor, Sandbox

I guess we'll forgive Stephen Colbert for not realizing that the Second-Life-users-don't-have-a-first-life joke is older than he is. Mainly because the rest of his segment on Linden Labs' virtual world and its NSA-powered avatars is pretty funny.

Colbert follows up Comedy Central colleague Jon Stewart's riff on the NSA in World of Warcraft with a segment heavy on Second Life secret agents. Kotaku has the full story as well as a video embed.

Colbert cracks ancient Second Life joke, picks on NSA originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NSA spies infiltrate MMOs to weed out terrorism

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Miscellaneous

News of our government spying on us is not actually news at this point, but recent reports suggest that governments are also spying on us in our online games. The reason? Suspected terrorism, of course!

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward J. Snowden, ProPublica, The Guardian, and The New York Times report today that American and British intelligence agencies have infiltrated Second Life, World of Warcraft, and Xbox Live to weed out militants that may use the games to communicate, move money, or plot attacks under fake identities.

So that noob in your PUG last night who just wouldn't heal the tank may have been a CIA agent getting paid ungodly amounts of money to level his Priest at the taxpayers' expense.

Most interestingly, Blizzard denies any knowledge of such activities: "We are unaware of any surveillance taking place," said a spokesman for Blizzard Entertainment. "If it was, it would have been done without our knowledge or permission."

[Source: ProPublica press release]

NSA spies infiltrate MMOs to weed out terrorism originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 17 - 30, 2013

MJ Guthrie — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO

One thing gamers can definitely be thankful for this year is crowdfunding! Thanks to this phenomenon, we have many more options opening to us than ever before. And there are definitely some good gaming prospects on the horizon, even if news about all but one is seeming a bit scarce lately.

While it's true that a few funded projects tossed out a news morsel or two, two new campaigns replaced two unsuccessful ones (neither The Zodiac Project nor Omuni Online made their goals), newcomer The Mandate already made its goal, and another hopeful -- Ever, Jane -- has secured three-quarters of its goal with only a couple of days left, the majority of the spotlight has been stolen the upcoming space sim Star Citizen, which continues to blast the crowdfunding record to smithereens. If you missed any of the news, you can catch up on it all right here in Make My MMO.

Continue reading Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 17 - 30, 2013

Make My MMO: Crowdfunding November 17 - 30, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life's Linden Lab expands with digital distribution service

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Second Life, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous

Second Life's Linden Lab has announced this week that it has acquired the digital distribution service Desura.

What's Desura? Think of it as a lesser-known version of Steam, yet without the DRM headaches and more focused on player mods. So, not really like Steam.

Linden Lab's CEO, Rod Humble, is optimistic about Desura's offering to the 14-year-old virtual world company: "This acquisition gives us a global platform for serving creative developers of all kinds, and we're looking forward to growing both Desura's global community of gamers and its fantastic portfolio of thousands of games, mods, and other content. Our aim is to invest and support the Desura team in making it the most open and developer-friendly platform in the world."

Second Life's Linden Lab expands with digital distribution service originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Jul 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life readies for 10th anniversary, celebrates a million active users per month

Jef Reahard — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Real-Life, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Sandbox, Anniversaries

Second Life hasn't gotten much respect in MMO circles since the genre went mainstream (yes, yes, get a first life, aren't you clever!). Still, Linden Lab's virtual world is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary on June 23rd, and it boasts user numbers that most MMOs can only dream about.

An anniversary infographic says that Second Life has amassed 36 million registered users as well as more than 400,000 new accounts per month. Oh, and don't forget "a million monthly active users," according to Linden CEO Rod Humble. Those users typically rack up 1.2 million virtual goods transactions per day and have accounted for $3.2 billion worth of transactions over the life of the game.

You can find more nifty stats like those on the the graphic after the break.

Continue reading Second Life readies for 10th anniversary, celebrates a million active users per month

Second Life readies for 10th anniversary, celebrates a million active users per month originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Stream Team: Bleepity bleep edition, April 8 - 14, 2013

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team

It's definitely not a new thing. Throughout the ages, when intense frustration strikes, a colorful epithet can slip past the lips of even the most soft-spoken. Heck, at particularly annoying times, a full string of them has been known fly forth from the most unexpected sources. And we all know that there are plenty of frustration-inducing situations in gaming. So it's not hard to equate swearing with gaming, right?

Of course, we at Massively TV advocate a responsible use of language during our adventures. While there could be a time or a place for the universally known curses, we prefer bursts of creative language skills. And if there's one thing The Stream Team has, it's an abundance of creativity! We've learned it is possible to express frustration while avoiding the censors because censors are mean and carry big, painful sticks! Ouch.

Need proof? Pop into any of the shows scheduled this week or the reruns from last; watch how deftly (or not) our intrepid streamers react to curse-creating incidents. Hope as they might, nothing can go smoothly all the time... or for the very unlucky, at all! A perfect demonstration of this is highlighted in our newest section, a place devoted to showcasing a stream of the week. Catch MJ's colorful repurposing of the English language first-hand in Highlight Reels, then offer your most creative expression in the Outtakes.

Continue reading The Stream Team: Bleepity bleep edition, April 8 - 14, 2013

The Stream Team: Bleepity bleep edition, April 8 - 14, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Stream Team: Fools vs. floppy ears edition, April 1 - 7, 2013

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team

Though infrequent, it does happen: Once in a while two holidays go toe to toe on the calendar. This year, it just so happens that April Fools' Day rides in on the tail of the Easter Bunny. So what do you do when these very different holidays bump up against each other? You do what any self-respecting Stream Team fan does: You watch more Massively TV! Of course, that's pretty much the answer to everything, isn't it?

Some day these two holidays might actually overlap. If that were the case, who do you think would come out on top in a brawl over celebration rights -- that floppy-eared frolicking rabbit known for leaving chocolate or the fool (with or without a bell-tipped hat) who delights in pranking and tricking? After watching Rise of the Guardians, I think my money is on the bunny. Worst case scenario is they team up together and we end up with trick chocolate.

While contemplating this match-up, join us for a week of intense livestreams with your favorite hosts, playing such classics as Fruit Ninja and Fruity Loops Studio.

Continue reading The Stream Team: Fools vs. floppy ears edition, April 1 - 7, 2013

The Stream Team: Fools vs. floppy ears edition, April 1 - 7, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Female avatars are likely to be more exposed than their male counterparts

Elisabeth Cardy — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Humor, Miscellaneous

You really needed to be told this, right? You may not have been sure whether a lady-type avatar was more likely to be closer to naked than a manly-type avatar. If you were dying to know and really had no idea, there's an actual study now to get you all informed.

Anna M. Lomanowska and Matthieu J. Guitton went into Second Life and examined 404 (192 male and 212 female) avatars of the humanoid-but-not-furry type. They found that 57% of lady-type avatars had less than half of their skin covered, compared to only 10% of masculine-type avatars being similarly exposed. Lomanowska and Guitton were not privy to the actual sex of the folks controlling the avatars.

Do you feel enlightened?

Female avatars are likely to be more exposed than their male counterparts originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Dec 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linden Lab preps four releases for November

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: New Titles, Second Life, Browser, Mobile, Miscellaneous

The boys and girls of Linden Lab are expanding their operation. Rapidly expanding, as it turns out. The Second Life studio announced that it has not one, not two, not three, but four titles scheduled for release in November.

We've already heard about the first, which is the Minecraft-wannabe Patterns, but the others are just now being revealed. The second is the iPad-only (for now) Creatorverse, which allows users to draw shapes, have them interact via physics, and then share them on the cloud. The final two are Dio, a room creator, and Versu, a storytelling toolset.

Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble affirmed that Second Life will remain important to the studio, but it will need to make room for all of the new children coming into the family.

Linden Lab preps four releases for November originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iran blocks Guild Wars, World of Warcraft

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Dofus, Entropia Universe, Guild Wars, MMO Industry, Second Life, RuneScape, Guild Wars 2, Legal, Miscellaneous

Reports are coming in that Iran is moving to block access to several MMOs, including World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. This comes following a conference by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance earlier this month. At the conference, the Islamic Revolution Game Designers Community was formed and decided to ban games that promote superstition, mythology, violence, and revealing clothing.

Following the decision, the government started cracking down on various services and MMOs, such as Battle.net's library and ArenaNet's Guild Wars series. Other games targeted include RuneScape, Second Life, Dofus, Evony, and Entropia Universe.

It's unclear to what extent the government is attempting to enforce these bans, and Iranian players are looking into workaround solutions to access their MMOs. It's interesting to note that Blizzard does not authorize downloads of its products or services in Iran.

Iran blocks Guild Wars, World of Warcraft originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life used to teach relaxation techniques

Jef Reahard — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Miscellaneous

Who says Second Life's best days are behind it? Not Medical News Today, which reports that the long-running virtual world from Linden Lab has been successfully used to teach relaxation techniques. Massachusetts General Hospital researchers recently conducted a study that concluded that online worlds like Second Life can be useful in "teaching a mind/body approach that includes the relaxation response."

The study found that by doing away with the limitations of face-to-face meetings (and easing the minds of participants who are uncomfortable in real-world group settings), virtual worlds can foster more relaxing and healthy experiences. The study featured 24 individuals who were divided into three groups and subjected to eight weeks of online sessions in Second Life.

Researchers found that participants "showed reductions in depression- and anxiety-related symptoms," though it's also important to note that participants had prior experiences with virtual worlds.

Second Life used to teach relaxation techniques originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: I got the Second Life inventory management blues

Beau Hindman — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real-Life, Culture, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-Play, Casual, Virtual Worlds, Free for All

Every year I attempt to go through my Second Life inventory in the hope that it actually works out for me. I really do want to get rid of the 7,000+ items I have after eight years in the game (my game-birthday is on May 26th!), but it's such a daunting task. Where do you start? Is organization really even needed? Well, yes it is, from what I have heard. Everyone is running in-world carrying endless pockets filled with everything possible, and that's going to cause some lag and effort on the server's part.

Also, I have an obsession with minimizing my life. I hate physical stuff. It takes up room, collects dust, and just sits there. Sure, I maintain all of my art if I can and some other important items like pictures and cute little knick-knacks, but otherwise, if I don't use it, it gets tossed, sold, or set on the curb for the junk-people to grab.

I feel the same way about Second Life. There's a mental burden that years of junk presses onto someone, digital representation or not. It's no wonder those people in that Hoarders show look so down; it's a hard life to lose the ability to throw anything away, ever.

I am making a stand, slowly. I am going to get this inventory under control by coming up with some ideas to help me along.

Continue reading Free for All: I got the Second Life inventory management blues

Free for All: I got the Second Life inventory management blues originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Previously On MVTV: The week of March 17th

Beau Hindman — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, Humor, Livestream, Miscellaneous, Previously on MV TV

Ah, livestreaming: the greatest thing we do here at Massively. Well, in my opinion at least. Playing video games live for others to watch is not just about virtual glory or showing off just how tough our rigs are (Jeremy wins, anyway), but they can act as instructional guides, introductions to new games, and special glimpses of content that has never before been seen. It's sort of a sad fact that some of these livestreams can do the work of entire columns. Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but animated pictures are worth much more.

This week we have a lot of variety as well as some old favorites for you. Be sure to check out and bookmark our MVTV Guide so that you know what is coming up and when to set your alarm clock. Once you're in the chat room, you can ask questions, point out errors (we love that), and jump into the game with the streamers!

In this week's roundup, Blake starts off with some Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Richie follows up with a bit of Guild Wars action. Next we have Mike returning to EVE Online and then popping into RIFT for some more exploration of the initial free 20 levels. I then take the time to add some animations to my otherwise-bland character in Second Life and then show off a bit of Parallel Kingdom, a browser-based MMO that is layered on top of the real-world map! Jeremy rounds things out with more Atlantica Online, showing off the Tactical Battle System that acts a lot like a boardgame within the game.

Continue reading Previously On MVTV: The week of March 17th

Previously On MVTV: The week of March 17th originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linden Lab's Second Life 'extremely profitable,' company looking to expand

Jef Reahard — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Miscellaneous

Second Life has dropped out of the limelight in recent years, but if a new piece at GamesIndustry.biz is on the mark, the long-running virtual world may be primed for something of a renaissance.

Former Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon vacated the throne in June 2010, and veteran developer Rod Humble took over at the beginning of 2011. Since then, the EverQuest and The Sims veteran has been working hard to bring a bit of structure to Second Life's virtual sprawl, and in the process, reinvigorate what was one of the first MMORPG media darlings.

"I was taken aback by just how big Second Life was," Humble says. "To be honest, it had fallen off my radar until I got the call offering me the position. And I looked at their numbers; this is a world that has got 1 million people logging in every month, generating well in excess of $75 million a year -- it's extremely profitable."

Humble spent much of 2011 refining the product, and everything from the sign-up process to the UI to world transportation received some attention. The result was a 40 percent uptick in new users, and now Humble is bent on expanding Linden Lab's offerings beyond Second Life. "Linden Lab has been very successful with one innovative product, but I want to stretch the company out again, to make it a really exciting place where people can't wait to find out about the next unusual title we're going to release," he said.

Linden Lab's Second Life 'extremely profitable,' company looking to expand originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life's Rod Humble on accessibility, new tech, and the future

Jef Reahard — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real-Life, Culture, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds, Miscellaneous

Second Life doesn't get a ton of press anymore, partly because of its age and party because -- even after nearly eight years -- people still don't know what to make of it. Is it a game? Is it a virtual world? Is it a melting pot for anyone who has ever thought to themselves: "I know! Let's code, model, and distribute some giant free-standing genitalia!"

Luckily, Rock, Paper Shotgun has stepped up to interview new Linden Lab boss Rod Humble and shed some light on the matter. Humble recently left EA after six years overseeing the second and third entries in the long running Sims franchise, and speaks about trading the relatively insulated world of virtual suburbia for the wild and incredibly untamed frontiers of Second Life.

"What makes Second Life so intriguing to me is its hard to define nature. I have heard people call it a virtual world, a game, the 3D internet, a social media platform, the list goes on. I like that kind of unresolved ambiguity, I think it shows something that is not yet fully evolved and has exciting new roads to discover," Humble says. He goes on to outline plans to revamp Second Life's performance, ease-of-use, and service aspects in order to counter the recent decline in user hours.

Second Life's Rod Humble on accessibility, new tech, and the future originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linden Lab CEO steps down

Jef Reahard — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Real-Life, MMO Industry, News Items, Second Life, Virtual Worlds

TechCrunch has announced more changes in the works for Linden Lab's troubled Second Life virtual world. On the heels of a move that laid off 30 percent of its workforce, the company has announced that CEO Mark Kingdon will be stepping down and giving way to Linden founder Philip Rosedale in an interim capacity. Additionally, CFO Bob Komin has taken on the role of COO.

Linden has yet to announce a definitive reason for the upper-management restructuring, but many are speculating that the company will be looking to add a CEO with experience in the burgeoning social networking scene.

Rosedale, posting on the Linden blog, had the following to say regarding the moves: "Our thinking as a team is that my returning to the CEO job now can bring a product and technology focus that will help rapidly improve Second Life. We need to simplify and focus our product priorities - concentrating all our capabilities on making Second Life easier to use and better for the core experiences that it is delivering today. I think that I can be a great help and a strong leader in that process."

Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Linden Lab CEO steps down originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Motu Teya panorama

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Second Life, One Shots, Casual

Today's One Shots comes to us courtesy of a person that many Second Life folks know and love -- Torley! Originally he contacted us to tell us he really enjoyed looking at the One Shots gallery, but he also linked in his own awesome gallery of panoramic Second Life shots in the mail. We couldn't resist featuring some of his gorgeous panoramic screenshots here! Of this one (which you really should see full-size to appreciate) Torley said, "Bruce Patton is so nice, he came up with this project and... it made a dream of Philip's come true in Second Life -- golf!"

Do you have some great panoramic screenshots that you made from your favorite game or virtual world? Perhaps you caught a fantastic sunset that just made everything look fantastic. Whatever your story or screen, we want to see them! Send them to us here at oneshots AT massively.com, along with whatever information you'd like to give us about them.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Motu Teya panorama originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 May 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kids are the focus at VW08

Brenda Holloway — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Virtual Worlds

Businesses have tried marketing to adults in Second Life. It's not working out for them. Instead, adults are gravitating toward casual games, while it's children who have shown themselves to be most receptive to marketing in virtual worlds. Such is the feeling at the Virtual Worlds 2008 conference in New York City, where aside from a single booth promoting Linden Lab's Second Life Grid, the place seemed like a toy fair. Barbie Girls Online, Nickelodeon, Neopets and Dino Kids are getting the big buzz at VW08. Teen-oriented sites like MTV's vLES are mature by comparison.

Electric Sheep's Giff Constable says over the last three years, while he feels more people know what avatars are, he doesn't know any people over the time who have gotten one of their own. Part of that may be just what your definition of avatar is -- if it's meant to be an avatar on Second Life, that's one thing. An avatar in a social space like Facebook, perhaps something else.

Continue reading Kids are the focus at VW08

Kids are the focus at VW08 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cry "havoc" and let slip the squirrels of war!

Elizabeth Harper — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:55:00 EST

Filed under: Patches, Second Life, Virtual Worlds

Only in our case it is not "havoc" but "Havok" and most people don't wander Second Life's islands in in squirrel avatars. Apparently this weekend's RC3 update went well and Havok will be hitting the grid today -- albeit a bit late in the day. From the official blog we have the report that the server previously known as the Havok 4 Beta Server (now Second Life Simulator v1.20.0.83683), after some bug fixes this morning, has started rolling out to the live grid. Tonight it will only be implemented for early adopters, welcome areas, orientation islands, and 1200 randomly selected Second Life regions -- but by tomorrow Havok will hit the rest of the grid.

Though no one around the Massively office actually remembers how long it has been since Second Life's residents were promised an upgrade from the Havok 1 engine the simulator has been using since pre-beta, but we're fairly certain it was at least 2003. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we're breaking out the champaign and party hats: Havok 4 has arrived!

Cry "havoc" and let slip the squirrels of war! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebrating Easter in Second Life

Elizabeth Harper — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Galleries, Events (In-Game), Second Life, Virtual Worlds

While many of you may have spent yesterday coloring eggs or biting the ears off chocolate bunnies, many people celebrated the holiday virtually in Second Life. For those of you too busy in real life to enjoy virtual life, we've captured some of Second Life's Easter celebration in pictures. Visit giant bunnies, hunt for eggs, join in an Easter parade, and color eggs of our very own all without leaving the safe confines of your browser! So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

Gallery: Easter 2008 in Second Life

Celebrating Easter in Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Sunday and the Second Life grid is behaving badly [Updated]

Eloise Pasteur — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Bugs, News Items, Second Life

We shouldn't be surprised really, but after a few good weeks of shopping, rezzing, teleporting, sending money, group IMs and the rest, many of Second Life's In World Services are acting up. There are about 57,500 people online at the moment (depending on exactly when you try to log in and get the numbers) which is a slight increase in the peak concurrency from last week, and it appears just enough to make the asset cluster scream in agony for the first time in a few months.

No word on the official blog as yet, but be warned your Second Life experience may be rather poor at the moment.

Update: The official blog has been updated to say they're experiencing a temporary interruption of In World Services and, "Please refrain from land and L$ transactions until we give an all clear."

Update #2: Though Linden recently gave the all clear, they're now reporting there are still some functionality issues. We don't have any specifics, only, "We are looking into this and will update you as soon as we have information."

Update #3: As of 5:19 PM EST (2:19 SLT), "In world services are beginning to resume. Some transactions were delayed and are catching up."

Update #4: As of 2:47 SL Time the problem is re-opened. Do not conduct land or L$ transactions.

Update#5: As of 3:15 SLT it is meant to be fixed again. Some caution might be in order, but back in the pool everyone!

It's Sunday and the Second Life grid is behaving badly [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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