Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Neal Stephenson talks MMORPGs and virtual economies]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/21/neal-stephenson-talks-mmorpgs-and-virtual-economies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/21/neal-stephenson-talks-mmorpgs-and-virtual-economies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/21/neal-stephenson-talks-mmorpgs-and-virtual-economies/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Neal Stephenson
"The virtual reality that we all talked about and that we all imagined 20 years ago didn't happen in the way that we predicted. It happened instead in the form of video games," says Neal Stephenson, nerd icon and noted author of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age.

In a new interview at Forbes, Stephenson talks up his latest sci-fi opus, Reamde, and also offers his opinion on everything from the Metaverse to gamer stereotypes to players converting their in-game labor into real money. "It's undoubtedly happening right now on an informal level all over the place. A huge amount of money is changing hands, and the thing that prevents it from coming out into the open and working the way it's depicted in the novel is a number of legal and regulatory hang ups," Stephenson says.

He also mentions his own gaming experiences as well as his new novel's tendency towards adventure in place of the brainiac speculative fiction he's famous for. Head to Forbes for the full report.

MassivelyNeal Stephenson talks MMORPGs and virtual economies originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avatarsculturecyberpunkepic-beardinterviewsmetaverseneal-stephensonreamdesci-fisnow-crashvirtual-economyvirtual-worldsWed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Cyberpunk MMO based on Tad Williams' Otherland announced]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/cyberpunk-mmo-based-on-tad-williams-otherland-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/cyberpunk-mmo-based-on-tad-williams-otherland-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/cyberpunk-mmo-based-on-tad-williams-otherland-announced/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The German games publisher dtp Entertainment has made the surprising announcement that they'll be transforming sci-fi author Tad Williams' Otherland into a massively multiplayer online game. The title will be a mixture of several different playspaces, riffing on the series concept of competing virtual realities. One area in particular will be geared towards casual gaming and social interaction, a hub area to be called the Lambda Mall. Eurogamer has the story, along with a three-page discussion of dtp's plans and goals for this innovative title.

As you can see from the site's screenshot gallery, plans for the game include several different art styles to exist side by side. At its core the game will make use of an 80s/90s "virtual reality" theme, bringing to mind the Metaverse of Stephenson's Snow Crash or the old-style Matrix of the Shadowrun RPG. dtp plans to make use of the Unreal 3 engine for the project, ensuring that the impressive screenshots are likely to be even more eyebrow-raising in action. The game is currently slated for release to the PC in 2010.

MassivelyCyberpunk MMO based on Tad Williams' Otherland announced originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dtp-entertainmentmatrixmetaversemmootherlandtad-williamsunreal-3Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Sears uses virtual worlds for back-to-school marketing strategy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/sears-uses-virtual-worlds-for-back-to-school-marketing-strategy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/sears-uses-virtual-worlds-for-back-to-school-marketing-strategy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/sears-uses-virtual-worlds-for-back-to-school-marketing-strategy/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Summer vacation is setting fast. Soon school classrooms will fill back up with eager students looking to display their latest duds and focus on buffing their intelligence. Shopping has to ensue before that big first day back, and Sears and coolness don't go together nor is it the likely first shopping choice. That's not preventing their marketing department from attempting to target teens in the back-to-school spending craze. Sears has a new strategy which is to promote their products and brand name through social networks and virtual worlds frequently inhabited by teens and kids.

The new virtual Sears fronts are endless arriving all across the Metaverse. A fashion event will he held in the Sears virtual store in Zwinky's Zwinchester Mall. 3d avatar creator Meez also has Sears B-T-S boutique offering clothing, backgrounds, and animations. Additional promotions will run across Alloy. The Gofish network will be hosting a runway contest in the Cartoon Doll Emporium and also at WeeWorld. Another Sears shop is present in Poptropica and The-N.com. NeoPets has some virtual Sears's goodies in their summer faire event. If that wears you out, Sears wants everyone to lounge around. It's commercial fun for the whole family, well not this blogger. Nonetheless, it's still interesting to see the searing crossover.

[Via Virtual World News]

MassivelySears uses virtual worlds for back-to-school marketing strategy originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advertisingalloyback-to-schoolbrandingcartoon-doll-emporiumcrossovergofishmarketingmarketing-virtual-worldmetaverseneopetsreal-world-virtual-tie-insearssocial-networkingthe-nvirtual-marketsvirtual-worldsvwsweeworldzwinkySun, 20 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/2008-worlds-in-motion-summit-schedule-announced/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.

Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.

Continue reading 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced

Massively2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>areaeaustinbunchballbusiness-modelsconferencedouble-fusionelectric-sheepelectric-sheep-companygame-mechanicsgdcmetaversenbcneopetsnumedeonopportunitiesopportunityraph-kostersecond-lifesocialsocial-gaming-networksulakesummitthree-ringsvirtual-worldswhyvilleworlds-in-motionzwinkySun, 20 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lessons learned in virtual worlds]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/04/lessons-learned-in-virtual-worlds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/04/lessons-learned-in-virtual-worlds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/04/lessons-learned-in-virtual-worlds/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


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.

MassivelyLessons learned in virtual worlds originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blogbrandbrandingbrandsbusinessconsultancyconsultantculturek-zerokzerometaversenic-mithamvirtualvirtual-worldvirtual-worldsworldworldsWed, 04 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Player vs. Everything: What if WoW sold its code base?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/27/player-vs-everything-what-if-wow-sold-its-code-base/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/27/player-vs-everything-what-if-wow-sold-its-code-base/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/27/player-vs-everything-what-if-wow-sold-its-code-base/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


I could bore you all today by starting my article with a lengthy story about the pre-history of your beloved MMORPGs, but I'll cut to the important part: Once upon a time there was a little game called DikuMUD. Similar in nature to the popular Dungeons and Dragons tabletop roleplaying game, it quickly took off with the geek crowd and became something of a phenomenon. In 1991, the source code for the game was made public and it grew into the most popular code base out there for the creation of multi-user dungeons, largely attributed to the ease with which the code could be set up and run. This led to an explosion of rather similar games that eventually gave rise to the more modern virtual fantasy worlds like Ultima Online, EverQuest, and World of Warcraft (each of these have been compared to DikuMUDs at various times). What's the point of rehashing all of this?

Simply this: While many people would probably disagree with me, the proliferation of a popular, established code base that was proven to attract players and was easy to set up "out of the box" allowed enormous innovation and creativity to flourish. At one point, there were so many MUDs available on the web that you could go to a website designed specifically to sort out what features you wanted in yours (and play it free of charge, most of the time). Given the wild popularity of World of Warcraft today, I can't help but wonder what would happen to the online gaming industry if Blizzard decided to start selling their source code to people interested in starting up their own game.

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: What if WoW sold its code base?

MassivelyPlayer vs. Everything: What if WoW sold its code base? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>achaeabig-world-technologiesblizzardbusinessbusiness-modelbusiness-modelsd20dikudikumudeverquestfeaturedhero-engineiron-realms-entertainmentmetaversemudmudsultima-onlinevirtual-worldswizards-of-the-coastworld-of-warcraftSun, 27 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[One Shots: A peaceful day in Caledon]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/15/one-shots-a-peaceful-day-in-caledon/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/15/one-shots-a-peaceful-day-in-caledon/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/15/one-shots-a-peaceful-day-in-caledon/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


One of the things that really impresses us with virtual worlds is all the user-created content. Having spent some time on-grid myself, I can tell you that the array of ideas and designs is just mind-boggling. Today our very own Tateru Nino shares a screenshot she took in Second Life. This area is in Caledon, about two sims north of Tateru's office in Nova Civis. Tateru describes Caledon as "the home of Victorian civility, mad science, and gentleman adventurers in dirigibles where giant steam-powered robots hardly ever attack -- at least not during tea." Having tried (and failed) to build many things in SL myself, I can say that between lining up all of your prims (primitive 'building blocks') and adding textures to them (assuming you didn't have to make your own) you can imagine how much time and care went into all of the many user-generated things that we see in this screenshot. Impressive!

If you have something you've made, dreamed up, or just like to look at, what are you waiting for? Grab a quick screenshot, tell us who you are and what it's about, and pop it into the mail to us at oneshots@massively.com. Your image could be next!

Gallery: One Shots

MassivelyOne Shots: A peaceful day in Caledon originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>caledonfeaturedmetaversenova-civisone-shotsscreenshotsecond-lifesecond-life-placesslvirtual-worldsSat, 15 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[GDC08: Raph Koster gets sentimental about Virtual Worlds]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/gdc08-raph-koster-gets-sentimental-about-virtual-worlds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/gdc08-raph-koster-gets-sentimental-about-virtual-worlds/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/19/gdc08-raph-koster-gets-sentimental-about-virtual-worlds/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

In the program for the Worlds in Motion summit, the description of Raph Koster's address (the kickoff event on Monday) concludes by saying "Industry pioneer Raph Koster ... will discuss why virtual worlds and online spaces are more than a fad-and why you absolutely should care."

That description has absolutely nothing to do with what Raph actually spoke about. In fact, most of Raph's speech was quite depressing. He spoke about the reality that many Virtual Worlds are meaningless 'Castles in the Air", the horror and disconnect from 'metaspace' of places like Darfur, and the failure of the design community to really push the possibility envelope.

That said, the packed-to-overflowing room met Raph's harsh realism warmly; as if some of his unyielding statements were reassuringly brutal to a few choice ideas and sacred cows. Read on for a rundown on how Raph began by looking back at the history of online games with a bitter eye, and ended up offering up a rallying cry for the entire industry.

Gallery: GDC 08: Worlds in Motion summit

Continue reading GDC08: Raph Koster gets sentimental about Virtual Worlds

MassivelyGDC08: Raph Koster gets sentimental about Virtual Worlds originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredgdc08gdc08fanboymetaplacemetaverseraph-kosterTue, 19 Feb 2008 11:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Metaverse U conversation: Raph Koster, Cory Ondrejka, Howard Rheingold]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/metaverse-u-conversation-raph-koster-cory-ondrejka-howard-rhe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/metaverse-u-conversation-raph-koster-cory-ondrejka-howard-rhe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/18/metaverse-u-conversation-raph-koster-cory-ondrejka-howard-rhe/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


We headed to the Metaverse U event at Stanford University this weekend to hear a smorgasboard of prominent thinkers and workers in the fields of virtual worlds and online gaming have a meeting of the minds. Below is a recap (caveat: some paraphrasing involved!) of one of our favorite sessions featuring a conversation with Metaplace's Raph Koster, former Linden Lab CTO Cory Ondrejka, and social media and online community guru Howard Rheingold.

Henrik Bennetsen (moderator): (Introduces 3 panelists and asks Raph to kick off with his thoughts on virtual worlds)

Raph: From the beginning, virtual communities has never been about the "virtual." All the oddities come from the mediation, not from human nature. We build trellises, and communities are plants growing on them... you get to shape them a little bit, and sometimes in very bad ways if you're not careful. We tend to think we have more power than we do when architecting these things. I wince at the title "community manager" ("relations" would be better) because it perpetuates the myth that we have power to control what users do. Mediation gives us a window into things that in the real world can be hard to see. Virtual communities are an opportunity to see how people tick.

Cory: Having spent 7 years building Second Life, the interactions and collisions with the real world are what make it interesting. We had only 400 users at launch and we were ecstatic! Can you imagine that today (especially for companies with big name investors)? I think about virtual worlds as communication technology. I agree there's a need for customer service and arguments about the declaration of avatar rights are important but yet I feel there's something off in these arguments... (he's referring to earlier conversation about declarations of avatar rights)

Gallery: Metaverse U 2008

Continue reading Metaverse U conversation: Raph Koster, Cory Ondrejka, Howard Rheingold

MassivelyMetaverse U conversation: Raph Koster, Cory Ondrejka, Howard Rheingold originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cellphonescory-ondrejkadopplreventsfacebookfeaturedhoward-rheingoldlinden-labmetaplacemetaversemetaverse-umobilesmyspaceraph-kostersecond-lifeslstanfordtwitterUOvirtual-worldsMon, 18 Feb 2008 09:00:00 EST