New Outspark MMO Fiesta has just announced its open beta following a test launch. It describes itself as a 3D cartoon MMORPG, complete with "hordes of warriors, mages, archers, and clerics."

Judging by the look of things, it takes a page out of cute-styled fantasy RPGs like Ragnarok Online, and features a character class/job system that resembles MapleStory's somewhat, albeit apparently simpler. at least as of yet.

Interestingly, there's an elaborate eight-chapter backstory for the Fiesta world, providing some context for new users considering jumping in. Also up on the site now are user forums and the results of a recent dance contest (dancing's all the rage in online games these days, it seems!)

From the website:

Kids Movie Creator" is a 3D world creation and movie composing platform, which are designed for kids aged 7 to 12. In KidsMovie, children are encouraged to use their imagination to create beautiful and interactive 3D virtual worlds and even 3D cartoon movies.

KidsMovie is one of the first professional 3D content creation platforms which can be quickly mastered by young children. Children can create and play safely in KidsMovie both in its online and standalone editions. Such creative activities will help children develop skills in imagination, story making, expression, and communication, etc.

According to the website, kids can create and share content, play together online, build on each other's work, and add character behaviors to avatars. It assures safety, of course, but for the extra-concerned there's a stand-alone mode. It comes in a free limited-resource download (available on CNET's Download.com), or via a one-time purchase for the full version.

When we talk about the future of online gaming, it's impossible not to think about microtransactions and Web 2.0. And not everyone quite agrees with what that future will look like -- so, when some experienced online gaming folks got together to share future predictions at Austin GDC, some sparks flew, as you'll see in the following feature which originally ran at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.

On the final day of the 2007 Austin Game Developers conference, GoPets' Eric Bethke, Areae's Raph Koster, EA Mythic's Marc Jacobs and Sony Online Entertainment Austin head John Blakely convened to answer a question, in a panel of the same name: What are the biggest online gaming opportunities?

Microtransactions

Jacobs raised issues with microtransactions relating to the value of the items sold, and Bethke chimed in: "Whatever you write in your EULA is your best wish, but we have hundreds of years of English common law about transactions."

"We really really really have to make a distinction between the concept of microtransactions -- which means spending a tiny amount of money -- and the ownership of digital assets," Koster stressed. "They are not the same thing. We cannot equate them." He added, "Betting the farm on business models instead of audiences and consumer needs is always a bad idea."

"Out of the top 10 MMOs in USA and Europe, WoW is probably the only subscription-based [game], and the only one that comes on a CD. Habbo is bigger than WoW in Europe." Koster noted.

"You don't go to The Gap and buy a $99 monthly subscription to clothes," Bethke added.

Jacobs disagreed. "I think RMT doesn't work in a lot of games. I think it's bad for the players and bad for the consumers," he suggested. "I think anyone who says there is 'one model' is wrong. Eric, if you say simply, 'this is bad and there is only way we should be doing it,' then you are engaging in the same thing you accuse me of doing."

So will a big RMT game come? "Yes, it will happen -- of course it's going to happen that someone is going to do a great game that will involve heavy RMT," Jacobs answered. "When it's going to come, God only knows. I don't think it will open the floodgates. I think, like the subscription model, it's just a model and people will try it and, like most MMOs, it will fail."

A possible success route, as Blakely suggested: "Engage your consumers in meaningful ways and give them choices. I'm a consumer, I love choices."

"The thing that is confusing is that RMT is not a model, it's thousands of possible models," clarified Bethke. "I love that, in Nexon's KartRider, if you want to switch [your user interface] you can buy 100 switches for a buck. If you want to be a competitor, you put in 4 cents."

"Think about your life; we are consumers, we thrive as consumers," added Blakely. "Whenever you bring people together, they'll participate in transactions."

"You look at the ecology that's been built up around The Sims, where people have item-based sites -- that is the exact same thing... as somebody selling epic mounts," Koster pointed out.

User-Generated Content

The panelists discussed Web 2.0 and the advent of user-generated content. "It's almost a bizarre question. This feels like two conferences going on at once with two distant branches of the family who don't like each other," Koster said. "To some degree, that used to be the coolest thing about the game industry. Richard Garriott was UGC at one time. We can't be snobbish about UGC. We are all users. There is a category error here."

He continued, "The technical sophistication to make content has gotten too damn high for the typical user. How many of you used to like playing mods? Seen any good ones lately? People can't even make a texture anymore -- it's making eight of them. 50 percent of Americans are creating content on the web... that's only if you count uploading their own photos, writing a blog or contributing to a community site. If you add in [things like rating on eBay] it's 100 percent of users! If you look at something like Facebook... it has levels, it has points, it has items, it has reputation systems, it has kabillions of users... there it is!"

"I hate the distinction between virtual worlds and games," agreed Bethke. "You want directed content to get them started -- they don't know what to do in your world. This is the skeleton? The user-generated content becomes the flesh between the bones. A great game would be a virtual world people could have a full existence on, and enjoy interacting on."

"You mention polish and quality -- which I agree, for seed content, [is] incredibly important, but we need to throw in some words like 'empowerment'." Koster suggested. "From what we see, the huge area [where] user-generated content flourishes is in fansites."

"I think Blizzard should sell gold -- I would buy it," Bethke noted.

Xbox Live Arcade

The topic turned next to Xbox Live Arcade. "Xbox Live is one of the most successful stories in the game industry," Jacobs pointed out. "Look at what Microsoft has done with it, and what people said when they launched it."

"The issue is that on the web, there is such a noise level -- and not just a noise level, a noise level of totally kick-ass product," Koster added.

"I think that the future of gaming will be large virtual worlds with RMT transactions," Bethke suggested. "I think the Web 2.0 guys are failing by not putting in good content," he added, as opposed to content-rich MMOs. "When I'm in the web space, I go 'you web guys, do you not realize you suck at content, you suck at fun?'" Koster agreed -- suggesting MMO guys are missing the boat as well.

"Subscriptions are one big thick chunky tool, it's hard to make them work for that user," Bethke said.

"There is a balancing point with [the value of microtransactions items]," Koster said. "And believe me, your customers will tell you about it."

More tussling over RMTs. The New York Times has run a piece on virtual goods, focusing solely on the buy-sell experience in Second Life, much to the chagrin of Conduit Labs' Nabeel Hyatt:

This is a piece focused on the buying and selling of virtual items, and there is no mention of Maplestory, Habbo, or even Facebook and Hot or Not. For the press to remain ignorant of this being an industry and not simply a single product is now journalistic irresponsibility and they should be ashamed.

This is a member of the mainstream press that has not even managed to type "virtual goods" into Google. If they did, they would see the first three stories currently point to:

1) Sony getting into the game.
2) Susan Wu's article on Techcrunch about Virtual Goods being the next big business model for the web.
3) A link to the friggin' Virtual Goods conference, which would have mentioned all the above companies and many more.

He's got a point. With all the events going on this year discussing the RMT world, frequent venture capital investments in start-up efforts with a virtual goods component, and success stories from major companies like Nexon hitting the news so often these days, it seems like a huge miss for the Times -- especially when, as Hyatt also points out, the Nexon prepaid card is the #2-selling card at Target (where Habbo cards are also sold) behind iTunes.

Global Kids, the nonprofit organization that focuses on using technology to educate and inspire civic responsibility among underserved youth, recently announced a $550,000 MacArthur Foundation grant to use virtual worlds to support discussion and education on philanthropy; now, it has announced more details about its program for the upcoming school year, including the Virtual Video program which the MacArthur grant funds.

This year, Global Kids will conduct programs at more than 20 public schools and its own new headquarters in Manhattan. Among this year's current initiatives, the GlobalKids Online Leadership Program works with students to create online leadership programs:

Global Kids offers a number of programs that give youth the tools to create educational games, work in virtual worlds, construct machinima (digital movies made using interactive three dimensional environments), and take part in online dialogues. Among these programs are the Microsoft-funded Playing 4 Keeps, an after-school program in which young people create educational online games, and the MacArthur Foundation-funded Virtual Video Project, in which youth create digital movies using the virtual world of Second Life.

“We are very excited to begin another academic year with our strongest lineup yet of substantive, enlightening programs,” said Carole Artigiani, founder and executive director of Global Kids. “But the most exciting and rewarding part comes at the end of the school year, when we see how the youth in Global Kids’ programs have grown, developed a more global perspective, taken action on issues they care about, and gained opportunities to pursue higher education.”

Warner Bros. has announced it plans to launch T-Works, a comprehensive online environment based on its animated properties like Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics characters. The ad-supported website will let users watch video, play games, customize avatars and explore a virtual world, which WB says is "tied to a user rewards system."

T-Works will also give fans tools for self-expression and personalization in order to “brand” their digital lives; In its press release, Warner Bros. describes a "grab-and-go" capability which enables fans to incorporate a custom avatar not only into the T-Works world, but into other environments like MySpace and Facebook.

Warner Bros. Animation is in development with Studio 2.0, the original programming digital production arm of the Warner Bros. Television Group, on two projects: an untitled Batman short-form series and an untitled project based on The Wizard of Oz, both of which will debut exclusively on T-Works with more details to be announced in the future.

In addition to the video channel, games channel and portable widgets, WB says the T-Works virtual worlds will let users interact with each other and assume a cartoon identity based on existing characters--they can play, chat and create a personal cartoon home complete with furniture, art, pets and more from Warner Bros. Entertainment’s animation asset library.

“T-Works will offer original entertainment content, social interaction and an intimacy with our beloved and iconic characters like never before in an environment that’s safe and appropriate for all ages,” said Lisa Judson, President, Warner Bros. Animation. “People have literally grown up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, and we’re building an innovative, creative, cutting-edge home where people of all ages can interact and play with our characters in a compelling entertainment environment.”

TechCrunch points out that Paul Twomey, CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers -- better known as ICANN -- told an audience during his keynote address at the 2007 Influence Forum that virtual worlds are the future of global commerce.

Twomey says that all fields, including retail, client services, ads and business-to-business will in the future use an interface like that of The Sims Online, pointing out that Google Earth's "game-like" interface has also been given a real-world application -- and that it's an example of the geolocation services that will continue to play an important role in the next generation of virtual web.

As TechCrunch notes, the head of a major Internet governing body states that this "virtual web" of tomorrow is a certainty, not a speculation. It's interesting, though, how he chose The Sims Online as his example and less the other avatar-populated social worlds we're currently using; a sure sign, perhaps, that while we may be headed somewhere, we're not quite there yet.

[Via TechCrunch]

A new report from Strategy Analytics, titled "Online Games: Global Market Forecast", says the global online games market is already worth $4 billion and is expected to triple in the next five years. In particular, the report says the MMO games market, led by the World of Warcraft franchise, is "blazing the way for electronic sell-through and digital distribution of both PC and console games."

According to the report, the online games category is currently the largest category out of the three main online entertainment markets (music, games and video) in terms of revenue.

Strategy Analytics estimates that the global online games market generated $3.8 billion in 2006 and $5.2 billion in 2007, and projects that the market will grow at a rate of 25.2 percent annually in the forecast period spanning 2007-2011 -- reaching 11.8 billion dollars and representing approximately one third of the total games software market by 2011.

“The rapid growth of the addressable market for digital distribution of both PC and Console games will help clear the way for distribution of mainstream hit titles which has up to now been restricted to the physical retail channel,” comments Martin Olausson, director of digital media research at Strategy Analytics.

“The main driver for sustained growth in the online games market will be the continued uptake of broadband services around the world”, adds David Mercer, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Additionally, the very lucrative revenue opportunity in both the massively multiplayer segment and the electronic sell through market will continue to attract new entrants into the online games market.”

[The preceding article originally ran at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Media Networks' MMO portal, Gametribe, has announced that Softstar's Dream of Mirror Online (DOMO), a free-to-play MMORPG already popular in Asia, has launched a closed beta. Players can choose between four races, six classes and six professions to gain experience through quests and missions.

The press release also says the game emphasizes teamwork through a "human relationship system," and features contemporary-style cel-shaded 3D anime graphics.

Sony Online Entertainment has released a free stand-alone version of the client for Legends of
Norrath, the online trading card game based on the successful EverQuest MMO game franchise. Oathbound, which charges players with earning their freedom from jail by fighting against the forces of Chaos, is the storyline's first release, featuring more than 375 digital cards sold in 55-card starter decks and 15-card booster packs.

Legends of Norrath provides several modes of gameplay -- both for casual and tournament players, and an AI system for single-player mode. Victory can be achieved by completing quests or defeating your opponent's avatar; there's also more than 30 loot items like potions, clothing and spells that can be used by EverQuest I and II players in that world.

It's an interesting way to unite a new community, comprised both of new card game fans and players of the EverQuest world, and demonstrates that miniature games within larger, more complex MMOs may have broader appeal for a more casual audience. It adds bonus content for EverQuest regulars without alienating new players who might just like a round of cards -- a good idea for allowing users to tailor their own involvement without missing out, and a trend we'll probably see more of as a way to make MMOs more accessible to others beyond their base audience.

"When we showed Legends of Norrath at GenCon last month, it was just as big a hit with hobby and strategy gamers as it has been with our EQ and EQII players," said Scott Martins, director of development for SOE-Denver. "We've had a great run so far with the exclusive access we've provided for our existing fans, and can't wait to bring it to a much wider audience with today's release.

With the market for MMO games bigger than ever - and World of Warcraft ensconced firmly as the market's current leader, challengers have begun lurking in the fringes in the hopes of getting a piece of that share. But is the MMO market actually an all-or-nothing game? And if not, what's the impetus that leads a player base to change horses?

Neils Clark addresses this question in his Gamasutra feature, "The Academics Speak: Is There Life After World Of Warcraft?" Those "academics" include Metaversatility's Aaron Delwiche, who weighs in on the major factors which might prompt a move from one game to another:

"I think that the whole concept of player types [Richard] Bartle came up with is crucial to finding out who is likely to migrate and how. Socializers are definitely likely to go. Achievers might be inclined to move with their group, if they’re in a guild that’s good and highly organized. They stand a better chance of achieving if they stay with that kind of a guild. I would imagine explorers would be more likely to go off and explore different worlds on their own. And I guess the killers just go wherever the killing is."

MIT's Henry Jenkins opines on how much attention WoW really deserves:

"WoW deserves attention because it has so captured the imagination of gamers over the past few years. That said, I don't think it is healthy for the field of games studies, which is still emerging, to be so fixated on a single game franchise -- no matter what the franchise. A few years ago, it might have been The Sims or GTA, now it's WoW. But we need to spread out a bit more to encompass the full range of game genres and we need to be attentive to new, experimental, independent, and emerging work in the game space."

You can now read the full feature at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra, which includes extensive input on the MMO issue from these academics as well as Ludium's Edward Castronova and PhD candidates Jeff McNeill and Florence Chee -- who also each share what game they would bring to a desert island, if they could choose only one.

Here's an odd one -- WaterRower, a Rhode Island-based manufacturer of fitness rowing machines, has created a online virtual rowing and racing program, We-Row.com, so that rowers can stay on top of their game during the cold fall and winter months. Users will be able to race other rowers and set their avatar's performance to their own metrics and level of fitness; the idea, it seems, is that they can use the information gleaned from playing head-to-head online to inform their actual training regimens, in conjunction with their home rowing machines.

Kinda a new way to look at "online world with real item tie-in," certainly! The rowing machine actually hooks up to the PC so that rowing fanatics can stroke along against up to five other opponents online. After connecting the WaterRower to a PC, users log in at the site, create a personal profile based on fitness level, weight, height and lifestyle factors, and complete a 2,000 meter row to set a benchmark fitness level. The Web site uses this information to help set personalized workout goals. There's also "online personal training," including customized advice and training programs designed to meet specific goals, such as building strength or increasing stamina and endurance.

We-Row also has all the hot-button community elements of virtual worlds -- users can view each other's profiles to choose opponents for races, and participate in training discussions on a forum. The site's just entered beta -- it also says the software's PC, Mac and Linux compatible-- and there isn't much visible yet, but it could be an interesting idea.

“The colder temperatures of fall and winter mean a lot of people will be bringing their workouts indoors, but not having the shared energy, motivation and support of workout partners can take its toll, even on dedicated exercisers,” said Dominik Kuprecht, director of sales and marketing at WaterRower. “With We-Row.com, WaterRower users get the best of both worlds. They can exercise in the privacy of their own home, but they still can enjoy the benefits that come from working out with others and maintain their racing skills even during the harshest winter months. The excitement of competition makes it an exhilarating way to exercise – whatever the season.”

In a statement on the official NCsoft website, CEO Robert Garriott offered details about the company's recently-announced new relationship with Sony, describing the deal as one which "gives us an unprecedented opportunity to bring our online portfolio of games to a suite of highly popular console gaming systems, including the PlayStation 3."

Acknowledging that many in the industry and the press have asked for further articulation on the partnership and for information on the direction of future titles, Garriott issued the statement in an effort to outline NCsoft's vision for their products in the coming years.

"It has been one of our business strategies to bring customers to a catalog of games where the customer has the choice to play a variety of different products. However, we don’t want to limit ourselves to the PC, especially while the console market continues to grow by leaps and bounds with every new generation...and console makers want to get into the online space," he said.

"The ideal system would be an extremely capable, stable platform, with the best Internet connectivity and greatest freedom of web access and interaction available to the user... we felt like Sony fit the bill," he continued, adding that Sony's vision going forward complements NCsoft's strategy. Nonetheless, he also stated that NCsoft is "far from" plans to stop developing on the PC.

Garriott says the relationship with Sony will allow NCsoft to develop across all of Sony's console hardware platforms, though he specified the PS3 is the focus, "and perhaps the PSP." The crux of the statement was the expression of a desire to build NCsoft's catalog beyond PC MMO titles.

While Garriott says future titles to come are still under wraps, he added, "We are hoping, but can’t promise, to have the first of our products available for the holiday season in 2008."

He acknowledged that this is a short time frame, but stressed, "We won’t just be porting our games over to the PS3," stating the aim of making new products from current IPs that will take advantage of the PS3's user interface, connectivity and play styles.

He admitted, though, that this "tends to take a lot longer" than a simple port. Garriott added that NCsoft is also looking at new and original IPs specifically for the console, specifying that that particular process "will take two to three years at a minimum."

The new console games will be developed via the same distributed model of development currently used for NCsoft's PC titles, Garriott said, though he noted that the idea of starting a new console-specific studio outside of Austin is under consideration, even as the company also looks to other existing studios to house specific projects. "This includes our Austin offices or our other currently existing studios. Console game development won’t just be at one single location," he explained.

The anticipated Sony products will continue to utilize a range of NCsoft's current business model. "There will be the traditional subscription models, micropayment systems and free-to-play games with membership options," Garriott said.

Promising more info to come, he concluded, "It's an exhilarating time for NCsoft."

[The preceding article originally ran at Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

We recently discussed how nonprofit GlobalKids is using its recently-awarded MacArthur grant to use virtual worlds for education -- and how a peek inside their new program reveals a concentration on Second Life, which is surprising, when you consider that there are a variety of models for education-focused environments available out there.

Headway Strategies' Lee Wilson concurs; he's been attending the EdNet2007 educators' conference, and had the following impressions of a panel focusing on education in Second Life:

First off, I find it interesting that Second Life is getting most of the visibility in Education when other virtual worlds (Habbo Hotel, Whyville, etc.) are doing far more with K12 age kids and some have more intentionally educational content on them. Chalk it up to Second Life being a media darling and to good outreach from their Education team. If you are interested in this arena some of these other worlds merit a look.

Second Life is a big investment, but not where you think it will be. The software itself is free and content is inexpensive. It is expensive to train teachers how to use the new tools and it requires a high end machines (this alone is enough to give many schools a pause).

Focus on the interactivity aspects - that is where the power lies. It is a great tool for collaborative interactivity, immersion, visualization, and simulation.

Don’t make 3D PowerPoint sites. This isn’t a good environment for virtual lectures, it isn’t great for media delivery (even with high end machines), and chat is better in RL (real life).

Integrate it into existing practice. It isn’t going to replace what works well, so spend the time to figure out how it can compliment the learning ecosystem.

Lee also points out that Brecht raised some useful alternative platforms to consider for developing in this area; Croquet, Sun's Wonderland, Multiverse and private worlds from Sony and Microsoft; Lee also recommended Muzzy Lane and Numedeon's NICE (on which Whyville operates) as potential options, as they have been built with educational uses in mind.

[Via The Education Business Blog]

Jonas Karlsson, blogger at Xerox's Really blog, fills us in regarding Qwaq, whose Qwaq Forums is a business-oriented virtual world platform. Karlsson explains that OpenCroquet, on which Qwaq Forums is based, is "mostly the back-end of the system", with Qwaq adding in their own features, including interface and asset management.

In his detailed hands-on with Qwaq Forums, Karlsson says:

Rather than being peer-to-peer (as Croquet), Qwaq Forums is a hosted service which provides a virtual world where users can create rooms for different purposes. The system comes with a set of built-in templates for different styles of meeting rooms and project areas, for example. There are some limited tools for creating 3D content in the environment, but the philosophy is to not replicate functionality that is available in other tools, so the expectation is that users will import 3D models created with tools like Maya and SketchUp(!).

Other neat features are application sharing, integrated voice, and communication via https on port 80. The network part of it was actually one of the things that impressed me most, given the trouble I have connecting with Second Life through our client. When I started up Qwaq, it tried a couple of protocols and ports, figured out my proxy settings, and then connected to the server, without any intervention on my part.

Karlsson notes one drawback -- minimal avatar support, without much customization and personalization, which he correctly notes is an essential component of the virtual worlds experience, even if it's for strictly professional uses. "With too primitive avatars, I find myself feeling like I’m looking in on the world rather than being part of it," he says, adding, "Also, while the reliance on outside tools for content creation makes sense, I think it will limit the amount of creation done by users to those who whose job it is, as opposed to something everyone can do."

Another drawback: isolation, which is an issue all stand-alone worlds deal with, and Karlsson concurs that this will be a problem for all such "business-oriented" virtual worlds. "By setting up private environments that are not connected to a larger world, you are limiting users to the content and interactions that they bring in only. There is no way to cross-fertilize with ideas discovered during random explorations of the world. I can’t bring in new presentation tools or fun animations created by some random resident. I can’t hold a post-meeting networking/sky-diving session (unless I build it myself)."

Still, he notes that Qwaq has plenty of potential (and, obviously, ultra-chic hard consonant assonance), being "one of the most usable" of these kinds of worlds he's tried. Let's keep it on our radar, shall we?

[Via Really]

While we're on the subject of so-called 'serious virtual worlds' (I think Entropia Universe users would express they take their world very seriously), it's a good time to point out the latest in-depth coverage by The Guardian's Aleks Krotoski from last month's State of Play conference. She interviewed Coventry University Serious Games Institute's David Wortley on serious virtual worlds (Krotoski's questions in bold):

What do you feel is a particularly good example of a serious use of a virtual world?

One of my favourites is the Wheelies site in Second Life. The reason for this is not the site per se, but the empowering effect the development of this site has had on its owner, Simon Stevens. Simon suffers from cerebral palsy and is a very intelligent young man who has endured discrimination and hardship from birth because of his speech impairment. Developing the Wheelies site (where his avatar is in a wheelchair) has had a marvellous transforming effect on his life.

They're not a global panacea - what are some of the criticisms for using virtual worlds for serious ends?
The main criticism is lack of security and control in environments like Second Life. Just as in real life, the human imagination knows no bounds for good or evil and the insecurity and unpredictability of some environments limited their use for business purposes. In a social context, they can also have a negative effect if they become a substitute for human contact.

Like John Brecht and Lee Wilson in The Education Business Blog's EdNet2007 coverage, which we recently highlighted, Wortley also offers his own suggestions for platform alternatives for serious virtual worlds and education:

Second Life has been grabbing most of the headlines lately, but which future platforms do you see with great promise on the horizon?
At the Serious Games Institute in Coventry, as well as working with Second Life, we are developing a relationship with the Forterra Olive platform which has the attraction of a more open interface to industry standard tools like 3D Studio Max. We also like the drag and drop capabilities of Visual 3D which should provide some very interesting applications and we are working with Giunti Labs in Italy and Cisco to explore augmented reality applications.

Closer to home, Blitz Games and PixeLearning have developed their own platforms and companies such as Caspian Learning in Sunderland and Immersive Education in Oxford have provided good platforms for the education sector.

Farther from home, I expect to see some challenges from the Far East.

[Via The Guardian]

BT is developing services aimed to enable users of virtual worlds to call or text message real-world pals from inside of virtual worlds, reports CNET UK.

It's presently testing the technology from a private Second Life island called "Area 21", based on BT's 21CN network technology, which it's using for the service (as well as the top-secret Area 51). Project manager Matthew Brotherton of BT's Applied Technology Center told silicon.com, "This is about how we integrate BT's communications services that are exposed as part of the Web21C platform, into virtual environments."

The fact that users of Second Life can create the environment around themselves makes it an ideal initial proving ground for the tech, which if successful, could have very useful implications for both business-oriented virtual worlds and social MMOs.

[Via CNET UK]

A new article in MIT Technology review discusses the benefits and challenges of "sharding," the process by which large userbases in online worlds are distributed across smaller copies of the world to evenly distribute server load and prevent overcrowding. This process means that users of the same virtual world aren't always able to play together -- something not all companies feel is the best situation for their users.

One such company is CCP, who strives to keep its entire userbase integrated in EVE Online. CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson told MIT Technology review that, given EVE's sci-fi futuristic setting, keeping everyone together has additional significance. "When you watch a typical sci-fi movie, you have the sense that you're watching a small part of a larger world," he said, adding that a single-shard environment also makes for more cultural diversity within the game, creating a more precise simulation of a large-scale economy. EVE Online in particular has prized a realistic in-world economy, even hiring a real-world economist to manage EVE's transactions this year. Now, according to the article, up to 400 of EVE's 200,000 users can do battle together in a single location; contrast this with World of Warcraft, whose 9 million users max out at 40-on-40 brawls.

It hasn't been easy for CCP to accomplish this; it recently announced it will shift its clusters to IBM blade servers in search of more storage density. CCP has deployed a cluster of more than 420 CPU cores housed in IBM System x and BladeCenter servers to position it for further rapid growth; EVE Online launched in 2003 and has seen that 200,000 user growth only in the period since then. IBM has said CCP's supercomputing cluster manages more than 150 million daily database transactions, and Petursson tells MIT Technology Review that he hopes the company's new supercomputing clusters will add enough capacity for 70,000 concurrent users.

MIT Technology Review elaborates further on this trend of shard-aversion:

But the problem of avoiding shards isn't specific to EVE Online. Wu-chang Feng, an associate professor of computer science at Portland State University, says, "I would say it's something most MMOs will go to, if they can." The challenge, he believes, is to create an elegant experience for users at the front end while constructing and managing servers on the back end that can keep up with the pressure of large numbers of players online at once. Other companies working on the problem include IBM, which works with EVE Online and other MMOs; Australian game developer BigWorld Technology; and Linden Lab, makers of Second Life.

IBM global technical lead for games and interactive entertainment George Dolbier chimes in:

To scale up to support millions of concurrent users, MMOs will need to make use of the technologies behind Visa's database, or those that support the NASDAQ stock market. NASDAQ, he says, can actually be thought of as a very large MMO, supporting very large numbers of "players" performing billions of transactions daily in a graphically intense environment, all within a single shard.

Dolbier says that it's not a one-way street: other industries could learn from the technology that's being developed for MMOs. For example, he says, a common problem for game companies is how to recognize and manage "hot spots": small areas that suddenly attract large numbers of players, such as a battleground. To keep the game running smoothly, the servers need to detect movement toward the hot spot and react in real time, rezoning the area of activity so that more servers are responsible for supporting it. Technologies that solve this problem effectively, Dolbier says, will have applications in any industry that requires spotting and reacting to trends, or "anything where behavior is dynamic and you need to move resources around rapidly."

[Via MIT Technology Review]

Yesterday, as we reviewed Aleks Krotoski's discussion with the Coventry Serious Games Institute (SGI)'s David Wortley noted that the SGI had been "developing a relationship" with Forterra Systems and its OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) software platform, in addition to its Second Life work. Now, the official announcement -- the SGI has bought a license to use OLIVE to support the development and application of virtual world applications, game-based learning and interactive digital media resources.

SGI says OLIVE will enable it to generate 3D Internet solutions for "training, planning, rehearsing and collaborating" in the gaming industry. Forterra adds that SGI will also use OLIVE's open platform to create virtual world content with plug-in functionality to meet a range of simulation needs, including simulation environments.

“We selected Forterra’s OLIVE platform given their market leadership in providing private, secure virtual worlds used for solving real problems such as group collaboration,” said David Wortley, Director of the SGI. “OLIVE provides the opportunity to apply game technologies for all kinds of non-gaming enterprises in the corporate, healthcare, government, and entertainment industries. Virtual worlds, with their online, multiplayer environments, offer unique opportunities to take traditional models of learning, simulation and entertainment to a whole new level of innovation.”

Reloaded Studios, a recently-formed Korean game development company, have announced that they have entered into a licensing agreement with German Crysis developers Crytek for use of the award winning CryEngine 2 middleware to develop their new action-strategy MMORPG.

Reloaded CEO Ki-Yong Cho says the studio is aiming to make its MMORPG stand out in a very competitive market, and decided to rely on CryEngine 2's support for an ambitious vision of "massive" landscapes and dynamic content. Reloaded also plans to emphasize the art style in the upcoming title, which Cho says was also a factor in choosing the middleware.

“Our technology team carefully reviewed and analyzed both the features and limitations of all of the major game engines and middleware solutions which are currently available to license, before making our choice,” explains Ki-Yong Cho, CEO of Reloaded Studios. “No other engine came close to offering the dynamic features, developer friendly tools, or provided anything near the visual quality of the CryEngine 2."

Korea based MMORPG developer XL Games also recently announced it had selected CryEngine 2. XL was founded by Jake Song, creator of NCSoft's Lineage, who had been inspired to choose the middleware after seeing it used in AION, another NCSoft title.

“We are really looking forward to working together with Reloaded Studios on this exciting new game development.” said Faruk Yerli, managing director of Crytek.

[The preceding article originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]