North American MapleStory publisher Nexon America has announced a closed beta for Combat Arms, its free-to-play online first-person shooter featuring persistent, customizable characters, for May 30th, with a full release planned for later this summer.

Players will not only be able to personalize their soldiers, they'll be able to modify their guns and equipment, accumulate in-game currency and experience points, and track their performance against others in the Combat Arms community. In addition to its free-to-play model, the game will have low system requirements, furthering its accessibility in a traditionally hardcore space.

The closed beta test will run exclusively at FilePlanet.com for one week beginning May 30th. Once the game is released to the public, Combat Arms will receive regular content updates, including new weapons, gear, maps, and more free game modes.

Said Nexon America's vice president of marketing Min Kim: “Competition in video games among friends is always fun, but Combat Arms takes it to another level by letting gamers frag for free. Combat Arms delivers all the great socialization elements found in other popular Nexon Games and presents them in one of the most popular gaming genres in North America.”

Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia, the media company behind free, kid-targeted financial virtual community MinyanLand, has announced a partnership with AOL kids site KOL.com to feature each other's content.

Launched in February and claiming over 100,000 registered kids, Minyanville's content distribution partners already include Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Marketwatch, and many others. As part of its partnership with KOL.com, MinyanLand's Main Street Theater will run KOL Super Gliders, KOL.com’s original, full-length, cartoon videos.

Holding its end of the deal, KOL.com will host MinyanLand content in its Games and Homework Help section. The two companies plan to share additional original content in the future as part of their agreement.

Said Laurie Petersen, Minyanville's Family Media general manager: “We expect our relationship with KOL to accelerate the growth of the MinyanLand audience. With this partnership, we will also continue to add content to keep kids entertained in MinyanLand’s virtual community.”

Free-to-play MMO Entropia Universe has launched new German, French, and Spanish versions of its software. Developer Mindark seeks to invite a broader international audience to Entropia Universe by making its website, client software, and customer support accessible in the respective languages.

Now boasting over 720,000 registered accounts since its launch in 2003, Entropia Universe offers a unique virtual economy, attaching its in-game PED currency to the U.S. dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 10:1. Another unique feature for the 3D online virtual universe allows players to withdraw in-game funds as real-life cash.

Said Mindark marketing and PR executive Frank Campbell: "Localizing Entropia will facilitate increased market penetration in these language areas by addressing our users' needs and increasing our credibility. The localization work carried out with one of the world's leading companies in the field, Lionbridge, will also be of great benefit to our revenue sharing Affiliates and Partner planet developers in these regions. Together with the Swedish Trade Council, we are increasing our Marketing and PR activities in these areas during 2008."

Virtual worlds are a "powerful and engaging" interactive alternative to more passive activities, such as watching television, potentially enabling children to rehearse useful real-life activities in a virtual space, according to a BBC-sponsored study conducted by the University of Westminster on BBC virtual world Adventure Rock.

The group's research analyzed how children explored and used Adventure Rock, gathering feedback on perceived good and bad aspects. Researcher Professor Gauntlett found that the children often assumed one of eight roles in the world, acting as explorers, social climbers, and power users seeking information on the virtual world's mechanics.

The study noted that children who took part in the study enjoyed the ability to create their own content, such as music, cartoons, and videos. They also enjoyed tools that allowed them to compare their standing in the virtual world with others.

Gauntlett concluded that online worlds are useful rehearsal spaces in which children can use their imaginations and try out actions without having to worry about the consequences often present in the real world. He urged the BBC and developers behind other virtual worlds to involve children early on.

Said Will Davies, a teacher at Peterston Super Ely primary, one of the study's participants,
"The kids know what they are doing and are very good at telling you in a brutally honest and forthright manner about what they want to see." Irene Sutherland, a teacher at Merrylee primary, another school which took part, added, "Children were adamant about the bits they did not play but were full of ideas about how to improve them."

Speaking with media business news site Exchange4Media, Mumbai-based MMO operator discussed the company's future plans and its intentions to exploit India's rapidly growing in-game advertising space with its games.

Said Kreeda Games CEO Quentin Staes-Polet: “Currently, there is no in-game advertising in India... We are in the process of signing up a few [advertisers] in early June. The first campaign will break on in-game advertising around that time.” He added, "This medium is different from other conventional medium, as it is an immersive medium. The ads are totally immersed in the virtual world and are weaved into the game, so it is not intrusive to the viewer."

Funded by IDG Ventures and SoftBank Bodhi Investment, the company plans to release 2-3 online games every year and previously referred to subscriptions, hourly charges, in-game advertising, and in-game item sales as possible revenue sources for its future games.

Polet also discussed marketing plans for Kreeda Games' first release, danceMELA, a free-to-play, Bollywood-themed dance and music online social world: “We have done content integration with Saroj Khan for Nachle Ve on NDTV Imagine, where she promotes our game danceMELA. Gamers who play danceMELA can get a chance to meet the well-known choreographer, who would teach them how to dance like the stars. We [also plan] below-the-line activities, POPs, peer-to-peer activities, web ads on the Internet, and events in colleges.”

Game publisher K2 Network has announced its plans to bring SplashFighters, a casual MMO action-fighting game, to its online gaming portal GamersFirst.

Developed by CyberStep Communications and claiming popularity in Asia, SplashFighters is free to download and free to play. Players can battle each other in several modes, including challenge, deathmatch, capture-the-flag, and soccer. A unique skin edit tool allows users to customize their character's appearance, and the SplashFighters' combat system allows incorporates a variety of fighting styles, accessories, and weapons for over 1.8 million combinations.

Though its games are free to play, the GamersFirst portal offers subscriptions with enhanced content and purchasable G1 Credits for buying in-game items. To promote the launch of SplashFighters' open beta, GamersFirst is giving away special items and in-game currency to all participants.

Said K2 Network's vice president of Marketing and Community Development Patrick Ford: “We are excited to add SplashFighters to the GamersFirst lineup. This is the beginning of many new offerings we will have in the coming year.”

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

This week, our Online World Atlas looks at WeeWorld. WeeWorld is a social network built upon the WeeMee avatars originally created by WeeWorld for use as avatars across chat programs including AIM and Skype, and so WeeWorld is heavily based around the idea of self expression through dressing your WeeMee and their environment.

Name: WeeWorld

Company: WeeWorld

Established: May 2008

How it Works: WeeWorld is experienced on the web through a combination of html and Flash. It requires no installation. Navigation and gameplay are accomplished via mouse and keyboard input.

Overview: WeeWorld has elements of both social worlds and social networks, with the player's homepage similar to MySpace or Facebook, but also featuring a room for the player's avatar, which the player can decorate with objects. Players can take their WeeMee into the WeeWorld and visit locations (largely for chatting with other users) or interact with other users socially via other methods (forums, messaging, etc.) and can also play a variety of games -- most of which star the player's WeeMee.

Payment Method: WeeWorld is free to play, and earns revenue through microtransactions (points are purchased to update the player's look with new items) and licensing.

Key Features:
- Unique avatar with a huge variety of dress-up options
- Full social network (friends, messaging, blogging, etc.)
- Live chat in WeeWorld with avatars and locations
- Games

Useful Links:
WeeWorld - About

At the recent InterPlay Conference devoted to social gaming in San Francisco, Charles Yong and Jing Chen from social networking metrics platform Developer Analytics addressed the engagement for social games since Facebook launched as a platform.

In particular, they discussed in depth monetization of social games, and looked at the feasibility of adding greater and greater depth to online-based social games, even those based around social networks - for which there is a significant venture capital funding surge right now.

The Developer Analytics website already provides a leaderboard of the top Facebook applications - a number of which are game-related, from Speed Racing through Texas Hold 'Em and beyond.

Charles Yong, co-founder of Developer Analytics opened by stating boldly, "Social gaming is where the really great monetization is at. You can prototype with little to no money down. The whole premise of this is that marketing cost is really, really low, compared to a real game, like Grand Theft Auto IV."

But that's not to say that casual gamers aren't "real gamers": "If you have someone playing 25 hours a week on casual games, that's a hardcore gamer. But they're really easy to impress. They haven't seen GTA IV, they haven't seen Half-Life 2, and real money is coming out of virtual goods and currency."

In a move to "revolutionize the way burger fans interact with others online," CKE Restaurants, parent company of fast food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, has partnered with social media platform developer ExitReality to support their browser plug-in with its Carl's Jr. and Hardee's sites. The enhancement will allow users to experience the traditionally 2D sites as 3D spaces with avatars.

Users who've installed the free plug-in can eat at virtual restaurants or invite friends to their burger-themed apartments. Their avatars can ride a mechanical bull, play mini-games, and interact with widgets, such as television and arcade game machines.

The 3D apartments can be installed on MySpace profiles, while the mechanical bull can be posted on MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Friendster, Orkut or HI5 pages. Additional 3D interactivity features are planned for the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's sites when they are re-launched later this summer.

Said Carl's Jr. and Hardees executive vice president of marketing Brad Haley: "We've always tried to stay on the cutting-edge when it comes to the development of our new burgers and advertising, so it made sense for us to associate ourselves with cutting-edge technologies in the digital world as well. Our brands cater to young, hungry guys and gals in the real world and this cool new software from ExitReality will allow them to
experience the Web in a way they've never been able to before, so we were thrilled to be able to help present that to them."

Abandon Interactive Entertainment has launched Miri's Lab, one of several mini-games created to support the late summer release of its upcoming cross-platform MMO game, Freaky Creatures. Abandon hopes to introduce players to the Freaky Creature's storyline by allowing them to play Miri's Lab on its official site for free.

Set in the Freaky Creatures universe, Miri's Lab challenges players to help Miri Soria, an orphan with a powerful affinity with all things living, save her school from a small catastrophe in one of the laboratories. Players will need to develop strategies and a steady hand to help Miri advance.

Freaky Creatures allows users to create and raise personalized monsters to battle each other on their mobile phones and PCs. Players can trade powers and compete in member contests, as well as interact with each other through other community offerings, such as blogs and chat rooms. Purchasable Freaky Creatures toys are also available with USB keys that will unlock creatures, parts, parts, powers, and decor items on their accounts.

'Tween-targeted virtual playland Cartoon Doll Emporium has announced an exclusive partnership with GMG Entertainment to produce, distribute, and market prepaid cards at Target stores across the country.

Claiming 25 million unique visitors in the past year, Cartoon Doll Emporium allows its users to customize a cartoon version of themselves, create photo galleries, play over 1500 original dress-up games, message friends, and adopt virtual pets and babies, all in a highly-moderated and safe environment.

The prepaid cards, which will be sold in two denominations, $7 and $20, can be redeemed at the Cartoon Doll Emporium social network site for online currency and will allow exclusive access to a special virtual room.

Said GMG Entertainment CEO Rob Goldberg: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to join forces with CDE and introduce their exploding brand to millions of consumers around the nation. CDE’s fans will now have an even simpler way of gaining access to the best features of their favorite site.”

With the recent launch of our new Worlds In Motion Job Board as a standalone board complete, complete with its own RSS feed and unique URL, every week, we will be higlighting the latest posted jobs relevant to our readership of professionals creating online worlds.

The listings cover a wide range of companies and open positions, so everyone seeking jobs in the MMO/online/virtual world industry should find the board useful.

- Animax Entertainment (Van Nuys, CA)
JavaScript / C++ / ActionScript Developer
("Animax Entertainment is a leading digital production studio. Founded in 2001, Animax Entertainment focuses on creating character driven content for all screens. Winner of the first ever broadband Emmy Award.")

- Club Penguin Entertainment (Kelowna, Canada)
Director, Production
(Director will "create and maintain company wide content and launch schedules," as well as manage projects and production resources, including web, graphic, illustrator, game development, QA, editorial, translation, creative, and technical teams.)

- Disney Interactive Studios (Glendale, CA)
Producers
("Disney Interactive Studios is the interactive entertainment affiliate of the Walt Disney Company. Disney Interactive Studios develops, publishes, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of video games on multiple platforms for audiences of all ages.")

- Metaversum GmbH (Berlin, Germany)
Producer
("Metaversum develops and operates the 3D online world Twinity. This visionary endeavor mashes up the real with the virtual world.")

ProductCore, Inc. (San Francisco, CA)
Quest designer, writer
("ProductCore is a San Francisco-based, venture-funded stealth startup building a next-generation MMO for kids. We are seeking a creative writer with game design experience to help shape the backstory and quest designs for our forthcoming service.")

As a reminder, once you've paid to post your job on Gamasutra, it's absolutely free to cross-post that job to any of Gamasutra's sister sites - including WorldsInMotion.biz!

Worlds In Motion will continue to highlight the online worlds-related jobs posted at our new standalone Worlds In Motion Job Board, every week.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Originally created for use as avatars in chat programs including AIM and Skype, WeeMees have graduated to their own social site with WeeWorld, an example of a new generation of MMOs that use aspects of social networks such as Facebook and MySpace to (hopefully) create a one stop location for all of a user's online social needs.

In this session from the San Francisco-based InterPlay Conference, particularly focused on 'social gaming' for networks such as Facebook, a panel including the founding CEOs of Kongregate and Zynga debated the different strategies and business models of their social gaming channels -- floating the possibility that their channels would be interconnected in future.

"Right now, all the attention is on Facebook," opened Martin Green, VP of business development at Meebo. But "things could get better for game developers working on social platforms over the next few years as more platforms like Meebo compete for developer attention. We started out really restrictive for developers, but we've opened up their platform much more since then."

Mark Pincus; CEO and founder of Zynga disagreed: "I believe that's the wrong approach... Facebook did it right, by having lots of freedom for developers at first, and then regulating."

"I think we're saying the same thing," responded Green. "You have to open the floodgates to get attention. We opened up months ago, but were very restrictive. We'll open up more in the months to come."

In turn, Shervin Pishevar; CEO and Co-founder, SGN argued that the "first generation" of Facebook apps were "too viral," with "not enough actual emphasis on fun and longevity."

"I look at Facebook and I see a social operating system. The profile is essentially the desktop. The more the desktop is cluttered, the less utility it has. The idea of challenging developers to create really high-quality experience is the next phase of social game development," he continued, hoping that the future was a move away from creating a high quantity of overly-simplistic games with no depth.

AOL has announced a year-long agreement between its online kids site, KOL.com, and 'tween and teen-targeted virtual world Planet Cazmo to feature and cross promote content on each other's sites.

Earlier this week, KOL.com announced a similar content sharing deal with Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia. With the agreement's initial terms, Minyanville's financial virtual community, MinyanLand, will run KOL Super Gliders, KOL.com’s original, full-length, cartoon videos, in the online world's Main Street Theater. In return, KOL.com will host MinyanLand content in its Games and Homework Help section.

With its KOL.com partnership, Planet Cazmo, a persistent browser-based virtual world that integrates games and media in 3d environments, will feature KOL.com content in the form of virtual goods, and a new racing game incorporating KOL.com characters and branding. KOL.com will also have the game and other content available as embedded widgets for its own users.

Said KOL.com programming director Stephanie Cohen: "Planet Cazmo is a great experience, and we're delighted to have the opportunity to partner with them. This partnership is about more than just linking to each others sites. By working with Planet Cazmo, we have the opportunity to improve the experiences on both sites for our young Internet users. It's also a great way for us to extend the reach of KOL properties."

Reykjavik, Iceland-based MMOG developer CCP has announced Empyrean Age, an EVE Online expansion promising new content and features, available for free to subscribers starting June 10.

The expansion's announcement comes at the heels of EVE Online's fifth anniversary since it first launched and the recently announced formation of the Council of Stellar Management, a democratically-elected committee of nine delegates chosen by EVE Online players to represent their interests and exchange ideas for the game's evolution with its developer.

EVE Online: Empyrean Age will introduce a faction ranking system, new militias, and a dynamic new structure of system occupancy to the sci-fi MMO. The summer expansion will also debut a new region in space, "Black Rise."

The expansion incorporates elements of fiction introduced in a novel by the same name by author Tony Gonzales. Scheduled to release on June 19th, the novel covers New Eden's transition from a somewhat harmonious setting to a world of broken alliances on the bring of war.

Teen and adult residents in virtual worlds There.com, Whyville, Second Life, and Teen Second Life, all took part in a unique collaboration in which a combined reported audience of over 10 million users watched a live video stream from the Waldorf Astoria on March 20. At the event, which was coordinated by Global Kids, Inc., former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan received the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s first award for international justice.

During what was reported as the largest massively multiworld simulcast to date, audiences in the four virtual world communities engaged in discussion and debate over the event, with support from the Global kids staff. Global Kids hosted a similar event in April with a simulcast of a presentation by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Said Linden Lab founder and chairman Philip Rosedale: “This is exactly the type of use I envisioned when we developed what would become Second Life almost nine years ago. I believe virtual worlds have a responsibility to not just enhance the lives of its users but make a tangible difference in their communities and the larger society. Global Kids’ innovative work in Second Life, and this event in particular, serves to demonstrate how virtual worlds can be used to address real world concerns.”

Global Kids online leadership director Barry Joseph added, “This unique collaboration among some of the largest teen-oriented virtual worlds emphasizes the importance of using virtual worlds for education and civic engagement. It was inspiring to be part of such a unique collaboration with such amazing partners.”

MMO publisher NCsoft's North American arm has announced the promotion of Lisa Bell Cabrera as the company's vice president of sales. Her new responsibilities include overseeing strategic sales initiatives across multiple sales channels in North and South America.

Bell-Cabrera has worked at NCsoft since 2005 as the publisher's national sales manager. Previous to NCSoft, she served as vice president of sales at Atari, director of sales at GT Interactive, and director of market development at Go Daddy.

The appointment follows NCSoft's Q1 2008 financial results announced earlier this month, in which the publisher saw its profits fall 43% compared to the same period in the previous year, blaming the termination of its publishing agreement with Austin-based Spacetime Studios for Blackstar for the drop.

Said NCsoft North America president Chris Chung: “I couldn’t be more pleased with Lisa’s performance here at NCsoft. She has a great track record in strengthening our relationships with our retail partners. Also, I’m confident in her ability to lead the effort to grow digital distribution, international sales and affiliate label business within our organization. With her experience in the gaming industry and her long-standing relationships with key partners, this is a perfect match for NCsoft.”

With the 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference coming this September 15-17 and registrations now open for the Austin, Texas event - which includes both 'Online Gaming' tracks and a special Worlds In Motion Summit for businesspeople and brands looking to get into virtual worlds, it's time to continue highlighting a few of the already-announced lectures:

- Nexon America's director of game operations, Min Kim, will share his experience from working with immensely popular MMO MapleStory and other games in a session titled From Development to Launch: the Keys to Building a Successful Free-to-Play MMO. The 101 discussion will cover everything from useful tips on making games to how to work with publishers - professionals working in the free-to-play MMO environment shouldn't miss this one.

- BioWare Austin lead combat designer Damion Schubert is inviting mid and high-level designers to attend his session on "elder gameplay," Endgame: How to Build High-End Gameplay for Your Most Devoted Players. This informative session will focus not only on the importance of "elder gaming mechanics," but also on the subtleties that should be considered when designing them and the dangers of overthinking them - hopefully with some tangential references to BioWare Austin's yet-to-be revealed MMO.

- Cryptic Studios director of publishing Grant Wei plans to evaluate the customer’s relationship with creators in Engaging Customer Service – an MMO perspective, a session on the many channels through which customers interact with MMOG developers - and how companies can take each interaction as an "opportunity to provide a flawless and enjoyable customer experience." With experience from the relatively successful City Of Heroes, and looking forward to Champions Online, this should be an intriguing perspective.

For more information, including a number of other key already debuted lectures that we'll be highlighting weekly here on WorldsInMotion.biz, alongside further new Worlds In Motion Summit/online keynote specifics as they happen, check out the official Austin GDC 2008 website.

American retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop has announced that for a limited time, it will allow its guests to create and purchase Tropical Hello Kitty stuffed animals at its store locations. Customers who've purchased a Tropical Hello Kitty will be able to bring a virtual version to life at the Build-A-Bearville online world and receive free gifts.

Users who've created a virtual version of the Tropical Hello Kitty will be rewarded in Build-A-Bearville with an extra room, Hello Kitty wallpaper for their Cub Condo house, a virtual Hello Kitty shirt, and 3,000 Bear Bills, Build-A-Bearville's in-game currency. As an added bonus, Build-A-Bear Workshop is also offering a free mini Charmmy Kitty plush and a virtual Hello Kitty purse to anyone who purchases a Tropical Hello Kitty from May 30th to June 1st, while quantities last.

Said Build-A-Bear Workshop founder Maxine Clark, "The introduction of the new Tropical Hello Kitty is beary exciting for us. Many of our Guests are big fans of Hello Kitty, and we think that this new friend will be the perfect, adorable addition to their collections."

NASA Learning Technologies has extended its deadline for developers to submit proposals for a NASA MMO to July 21, according to tech news site Slashdot. The group attributed the extension to recent confusion over the project's budget after a Request For Proposal briefing in April.

The NASA "Massively Multiplayer Online Educational Game" aims to potentially teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to students in middle school through college with a virtual world that also provides a challenging gameplay experience.

Questions were initially raised after NASA Learning Technologies discussed establishing "a non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement" for the project, which many mistakenly equated to the group terminating its announced $3M budget. Reports later clarified that while NASA will not be directly funding the MMO’s eventual developer, its $3M budget will be used for its contributions to the project, including access to media assets, data, archives, and NASA “subject matter experts,” such as engineers and scientists.

NASA intends to offer a licensing agreement in which the contracted developer would still make money from the MMO’s release. NASA Learning Technologies has launched an official site with more information on the project, as well as a Questions and Answers section which will presumably offer further clarification on its budget in the near future.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape. You can view Part 1 of our investigation here, and Part 2 here.]

WeeMees have had a long and successful life already as avatars in chat programs such as AIM and Skype, so the question is if the upgrade to having their own WeeWorld, a social site that uses aspects of Facebook and MySpace and MMOs has been worth it. Our feelings?