Seoul-based online game developer T-Entertainment has announced that it has licensed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 for its upcoming PC MMORPG project, L2, scheduled for a worldwide release in 2010.

T-Entertainment describes L2 as "futuristic fantasy with a taste of space opera," drawing elements from both role-playing and real-time strategy games. Despite its varied sources of inspiration, L2 will be a massively multiplayer online role-playing game much like studio's previous titles, Laghaim and Last Chaos.

T-Entertainment hopes to take advantage of Unreal Engine 3's latest enhancements for L2's development, including advanced character lighting, ambient occlusion, and dynamic fluid surfaces.

In addition to L2, T-Entertainment is currently developing BonoBono Online, an online casual game based on popular Japanese animation character BonoBono. The company also operates Second Life in Korea with its own brand through SLGGP (Second Life Grid Global Provider) contract with Linden Lab.

Said T-Entertainment CTO John Hong: "We have a team of seasoned professionals devoted to L2 project, and we are confident that by integrating our expertise and Unreal Engine 3's excellent performance, L2 will be a top-tier MMORPG that fascinates gamers all around the world."

Epic Games vice president Jay Wilbur added, "T-Entertainment is a well-diversified entertainment company that is poised to launch yet another successful MMORPG worldwide. We are constantly improving the Unreal Engine, and look forward to providing them with cutting-edge game development tools and technology for many months to come."

UK-based studio Near has launched Near London to the business community, a 3D virtual world modeled after the city of London’s retail district and built on middleware developer Qube Software’s Q platform.

Advertised for its flexibility and potential for customization, Q is not only a universal client for the 3D internet, but also a games engine compatible with all the main consoles and operating systems. As a universal client, Q enables users to access different virtual worlds without having to download new software every time.

Near aims to present cities as virtual gateways, targeting retailers and other businesses who want to develop their online presence. Near London allows users to access virtual worlds for shops from London’s retail district by clicking their doors.

Because Near London is built on Q’s extensible framework, third parties can add applications to any part of the 3D world and even transport users to separate worlds. The client's flexible architecture means it can also potentially adapt for future needs through new plug-ins.

Near specializes in modeling city destinations and turning them into virtual environments for business, socializing and exploration. The company plans to eventually expand Near London to cover the City of London and West London, as well as support additional platforms, including Mac, Linux, Wii, Xbox360, PS3 and Mobile.

Said Qube Software CEO and co-founder Servan Keondjian: “For newcomers to real-time 3D it should be stressed that building interactive 3D sites is more challenging than building 2D websites. Q is a serious technical solution, designed for studios that have deep experience of building cutting-edge worlds and games. For this reason we chose Near as our partner to develop a custom platform based on Q for real cities. Near allows less specialised developers access the power of Q for real city 3D applications.”

He continued: “We believe that Q can do for the 3D internet what Netscape did for the old 2D web; make it a seamless experience. It’s a big claim but we don’t make it lightly. It’s taken us 10 years of hard work to get this technology right.”

Consumer electronics and online game publisher Joytoto USA, a subsidiary of Korea-based Joytoto Co., Ltd, has announced that it will distribute Joyon Entertainment's Korean online game The Great Merchant in the U.S.

Rated by South Korean web portal and search engine Daum as the fourth most popular online title played in Korea, The Great Merchant is an online economy simulation game. Joytoto USA plans to launch a closed beta in Q4 2008 after the title has been localized.

The Great Merchant's release comes as part of a recent deal Joytota secured to exclusively distribute titles from Joyon's library of 24 online games, including casual games, first-person shooter games, and MMORPGs. Joyon's library of games currently operating in Asian markets have generated over $100 million so far.

Said Joytoto USA CEO Michael Cho when the deal was first announced: "We believe our games will enjoy similar or better success here in the United States, and, as the majority of development costs have already been incurred bringing the games to market in Asia, the cost savings will undoubtedly give us a significant competitive advantage."

[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 Fresbo World from Fresbo. Fresbo World is an online world currently in public beta that is intended to be embedded in social networks (such as Facebook and MySpace) but which is also to offer full MMO functionality within that -- with a customizable avatar, home, and public areas to shop and socialize in real time.

Name: Fresbo World

Company: Fresbo

Established: January 2008

How it Works: Fresbo World is experienced on the web through a combination of html and Flash. It requires no installation, other than of the technology (if you don't have it installed already.) Navigation and gameplay are accomplished via mouse and keyboard input.

Overview: Fresbo World is a socially orientated online world like most others, offering a customizable avatar, a home to decorate and areas in which players can meet and socialize. Players can also arrange events and auction unwanted items, and games are available to play. The world has also been designed to allow users the ability to embed the client on social network pages.

Payment Method: Fresbo World is free to play, and earns revenue through microtransactions -- users can buy "Fresbo Credits", used to purchase items and clothes, via a variety of different payment methods, including Cherry Credits.

Key Features:
- Browser MMO embeddable on social networks
- Customizable avatar and home, with clothes and items to buy
- Interact with other users in real time in social spaces such as the mall or the park

Useful Links:
Official Forum

Seeking to expand its presence in online gaming and virtual worlds, MTV Networks' Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group revealed that it will be creating two new divisions around those efforts, according to a report from digital content business site PaidContent.

Following a two-year $100 million investment in the casual games space, Nickelodeon plans to add 1,600 new games to its library of 5,000 titles currently available. Dave Williams, former senior vice president and general manager of MTVN's Shockwave and Addicting Games, will lead the company's online gaming strategy as senior vice president and general manager of the newly formed games group.

Williams' responsibilities will include adding subscription game services, licensing, and self-publishing businesses. He will also work with game developers and publishers, as well as partner with Nickelodeon's consumer products division to develop titles around popular properties, such as SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly, and original properties, such as Shockwave’s Carrie the Caregiver.

Former NickJr.com head and current NeoPets senior vice president and general manager Kyra Reppen will lead Nickelodeon's virtual worlds initiative under similar SVP and GM titles, working on the Neopets virtual world, a SpongeBob environment, and another project tentatively titled Monkey World. As part of its virtual worlds strategy, NeoStudios has been renamed Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group Virtual World Studios.

San Jose-based online game publisher Gamescampus.com has appointed David Chang as its executive vice president of marketing and business development. In his new role, Chang manage the company's marketing, business development, and public relations departments.

Prior to Gamescampus.com, Chang served as vice president of business development at PlaySpan, a publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network. Previous to that, he worked at video game site IGN as managing director of international business leading owner Fox Interactive Media's international content strategy, corporate development, and operational expansion into Europe and Asia.

Run by OnNet USA, Gamescapus.com is an online portal for free-to-play, item-based MMOGs, such as golf game Shot Online and upcoming Square Enix MMORPG Concerto Gate.

Said OnNet CEO Kevin Kim: "We are delighted to welcome a seasoned industry professional of David's caliber to Gamescampus.com. His extensive experience in driving both the growth of organization and its marketing and communication efforts will be a tremendous asset as we take advantage of the market opportunities in 2008 and beyond."

3D virtual worlds creator Icarus Studios has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement to license its Icarus platform with The Venue Network, an on-demand virtual venue provider which shares content and customizes experiences for online attendees.

Currently under private beta testing as the company readies a public release for Q3 2008, The Venue Network allows presenters and educators to meet with online attendees and share documents and media through a browser-based 3D experience. Using avatars and point-and-click templates, the company enables users to create interactive learning, collaborative, social, and entertaining experiences without worrying about distance, time, or impractical costs.

The announcement follows Icarus Studios' recent update of its virtual worlds and MMOG platform to game engine improvements and new social features, such as a mail system with a cash on delivery option, an auction system, a guild/club system, and raids.

Said Icarus Studios CEO Jim Hettinger: “We are very excited to partner with The Venue Network. Serious games and distance learning have become core uses for our virtual world technology platform, and The Venue Network’s 3D virtual venues is a great example.”

Ottawa-based developer Fuel Industries has launched a AllGirlArcade.com, an online entertainment portal targeted at young girls, providing casual games, user memberships, a point and rewards systems, an online mall, and the ability to play cooperatively with other girls. The studio also plans to release an accompanying MMOG in fall.

Along with feature articles and interviews with females in the game development industry, the site features a team of intergalactic female video game champions, The All Girl Star Squad. A series of animated "webisodes" set the tone for All Girl Arcade and serve as inspiration for the set of availabl web games. The planned MMOG will revolve around the All Girl Arcade universe, featuring characters and locations from the story.

Third party games will also eventually be hosted on the network in order to add to All Girl Arcade's offerings. Fuel Industries hopes to one day expand on the concept with a cross-media venture, involving movies, merchandise, and television.

Is there an easy way to explain what makes games fun? Is it even possible to explain what fun is? At the Social Gaming Summit, a panel including Ian Bogost (Persuasive Games) and Nicole Lazzaro (XEODesign) discussed what fun is in the context of social gaming, looking at Facebook gaming to argue that social context is key.

Nicole Lazzaro, president of XEODesign began the panel by stating that "The most important quadrant for this conference is what we call social fun - people will play games they hate just to hang out with their friends. In social games, amusement and social bonding are the emotions that you are going for."

Facebook And Social Gaming

"Parking Wars is definitely the best game on Facebook," offered Persuasive Games' Ian Bogost. "Why is that? You're playing as yourself, but a different version of yourself. When we play as ourselves in a game like Parking Wars, it's us, but it's also slightly not us. We get to suspend the normal roles of our social life and try new roles. Also, it's about something. The something is parking, which sounds boring, but it's meaningful - it's a context."

He continued, "By taking advantage of knowledge you pull from Facebook, like other's schedule, you're leveraging your knowledge of your network of friends and exploiting it in ways you might not usually do. I know there's a great obsession to hook people and get them back as soon as possible, but it can reduce the meaning of a game to ask for that kind of regularity. You want a meaning behind the time between each session, which Parking Wars has. Another example of that is Animal Crossing."

Fulfilling a long-demanded request from its users, animated avatar site Meez has launched Meeznation, a new virtual world made specifically for its custom avatars, according to a report from social networking news site Mashable.

Meeznation's debut follows the company's virtual rooms application on Faceboook released earlier this year. The new online world allows users to host games, customize rooms, and embed applications, such as YouTube videos, into the environment.

Though the new online world isn't connected to the Facebook application, Meeznation rooms are accessible through the application. The virtual rooms can be branded with interactive marketing as part of Meez's advertising. This is in addition to companies such Nike, Panasonic, and Sears providing accessories and backgrounds for Meez avatar customization.

Malaysian online game operator Cubinet has entered into a new agreement with China-based operator Perfect World to license 3D MMORPG Chi Bi for Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Developed by Perfect World and based on the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, Chi Bi will be introduced in several different languages for local markets by Cubinet, including Chinese, English, Vietnamese, and Thai.

The game is the fourth 3D MMORPG Cubinet has licensed from Perfect World, the previous three being Perfect World II, Legend of Martial Arts, and Zhu Xian. Perfect World II has already received a commercial launch in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, while Legend of Martial Arts has so far debuted in Malasia and Singapore.

Said Perfect World chairman and CEO Michael Chi: "Cubinet is one of Perfect World's major overseas partners. I believe the response we have seen from Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore for our previously licensed games can be largely attributed to Cubinet's strong operating capabilities. Given that Chi Bi has been well-received in China's online game market and that Cubinet has extensive experience in operating games in South East Asia, I believe this agreement will be another success."

In a guest article at Terra Nova, The Digital Space Commons president and CEO Bruce Damer has speculated that we may already be seeing early signs of a virtual worlds downturn that could be as severe as the "winter" experienced in 2000-2003.

Damer poses several questions which he feels are important to consider when following adoption and business curve trends for virtual worlds platforms: "Is the fact that our business treats as normal the building top to bottom custom browsers and servers a clear sign of an immature industry? Would the continuous beefing up of Flash or Adobe's new AIR platform 'eat the virtual worlds medium' by creating a single ubiquitous front end?"

In addition to hinting at stalled growth for Second Life and emerging virtual worlds platform balkanizing an already limited usership, he predicts that failing venture-funded online world enterprises could deflate expectations and pull down the whole medium, similar to the effect housing foreclosures have on a neighborhood: "The media will capitalize as easily on the stories of the failures on the way down as they did with the stories of the successes on the way up."

Damer plans to continue his forecast and the discussion in a second, upcoming piece covering how to head off or reduce the slope of this potential new downturn: Ways to Cross the Chasm While Avoiding the Big Belly Flop.

Disney is planning a summer launch for DisneyFamily.com, an ad-supported, parent-focused social network with avatars, and other community features, according to a report from digital content business site PaidContent.

Based on its research of competitors and observations of its current family site, Disney hopes to target mothers by making the the experience more "intimate" than rivals MySpace.com and Facebook. Targeted at mothers but open to both mothers and fathers, DisneyFamily.com will allow users to relate to others in the community by "expressing themselves in creative ways."

DisneyFamily.com users will be able to create avatars not just to represent themselves, but to represent their entire family, from children to pets. They'll also be able to upload photos, share user-created "stickers," post Twitter-type updates, and complete quizzes modeled after quizzes typically found in women's magazines.

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.

- Funtactix Ltd. (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Lead Artist
("The Funtactix Lead Artist will define the look and style of entire social gaming universes – multiple connected games presented in a compelling web experience, with rich character customization and development. This is a unique opportunity to provide broad artistic direction to a unique game experience at the exciting intersection of games and social networks. We are looking for an individual who wants to work in a fast-paced, rapid-iteration environment where their contribution will influence the company's success and where their efforts will ultimately rally a large, connected community of gamers.")

- Interplay Entertainment Corp (Irvine, CA)
Technical Director
("Interplay Entertainment is looking for a qualified, motivated Technical Director to join our team working on a next generation MMORPG. We are looking for a team player who can accurately anticipate the project’s needs; someone who can constructively contribute to the quality of the game as a whole and share in its vision; someone who is an accomplished manager, serving the needs of all of the Lead Programmers.")

- Multiverse (Mountain View, CA)
Game Programmer
("In July 2004, a team of Netscape veterans founded The Multiverse Network, Inc., a company aiming to become the world’s leading network of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) and 3D virtual worlds. Multiverse has pioneered a new technology platform designed to change the economics of virtual world development by providing independent game developers with the resources they need to enter and compete in the $2 billion online game market.")

- Realtime Worlds Ltd. (Boulder, CO)
Vice President of Online Operations, Marketing Manager, Director of Development
("We are developing revolutionary new software technology, which will have widespread applications throughout many industries. As avid game players, we believe the future of video games lies in massively multiplayer on-line gaming. Constantly evolving worlds with real players and communities offer an unrivalled experience that many players have yet to enjoy. We have an innovative concept and unique technology that will deliver new possibilities to massively multiplayer on-line gaming.")

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.]

An online world intended to be embedded in social networks, Fresbo World is in public beta, and we take a look in-depth after the jump.

Ndoors Interactive, a U.S. subsidiary of Korea-based massively multiplayer online games developer and publisher Ndoors Corp, have announced that it will launch a closed beta for its turn-based, strategy MMOG, Atlantica, this July.

Specifically designed to set itself apart from other MMOs with its unique combat, mercenary, and city/country management systems, Atlantica takes players through ancient settings and civilizations, such as Hanyang (Korea), Indus Valley (India and Pakistan), Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria and Turkey), and Egypt.

The turn-based combat system allows players to plot the movements and strategies of nine characters in their group. Players can form teams of three to bring 27 controllable characters into combat.

Atlantica's mercenary system gives players the chance to manage multiple characters’ development simultaneously. In addition to their main character, players can hire eight mercenaries each with a different class and skills.

The city/country management system agoes beyond typical party level interaction, enabling guilds to control cities and go to war with each other. Players will need to plan everything from culture, commerce , industry, and even building placement.

Said Ndoors Interactive CEO Peter Kang: “We really strived to create a game that gave players something new. Atlantica was designed to bring the gameplay that RPG and strategy fans love the most to the MMO world. Atlantica takes smarts, requiring planning and strategy at every step.”

MMOG publisher Gamigo has announced that it has acquired exclusive publishing rights for English, German, French, and Spanish versions of free-to-play MMO Fiesta Online in Europe.

Originally developed and released in Korea by Ons On Soft and operated by OutSpark in the States, Fiesta Online features cartoonish 3D graphics, customizable characters over four different classes, and hundreds of quests, some of which can be tackled by groups of up to 30 players.

Gamigo plans to make the game available in Europe this summer starting with German and English (reworked) versions and following up with French and Spanish versions later this year. Players can pre-register for upcoming beta tests by signing up at the official site.

Said Gamigo CEO Sven Ossenbrüggen: “Fiesta Online is our biggest game so far and has already proven successful in the US and Asia. Improving the international versions with a completely reworked translation and storyline, we are offering players a high quality game to enjoy for free!”

Speaking with Digital World Tokyo, Japanese developer Eitarosoft has revealed that a Java version of Lamity, its 3D virtual world also under development for Google's Android smartphone platform, will come pre-installed with Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo's 9061i handset series.

Eitarosoft's previous community-targeted mobile title, Mobage-Town, a mobile social network site created for web specialist DeNA, boasts 10 million active users and upwards of 500 million page views per day. Eitrasoft representative Eri Tokita explained, "That’s more than Yahoo’s social networking sites combined."

In addition to its plans to add in-game marketing and advertisements to Lamity, Eitarosoft has also included purchasable currency, City Coins. Online shops are available available for users to purchase items at with City Coins -- buying the City Coins themselves will shop up on the user's bill the following month.

Tokita also hinted that it is working towards using Lamity to catch the interest of companies like IBM and U.S. mobile carrier T-Mobile, the latter of which will have handsets supporting Android by the end of the year.

With YouTube disruptive to the movie and TV industries, a panel at the recent Social Gaming Summit, including Daniel James (Puzzle Pirates) and Cary Rosenzweig (IMVU) looked at the idea that that the games industry should understand user generated content before it's too late, with the intriguing proposition that game developers should think virtual "spaces" not virtual "worlds."

"The more tools that you provide can lead to richer behavior, but often it's the simpler things that people enjoy most," began Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings. "As designing games constraints can lead you to designing better games, constrained environments can lead to more fun."

"The simplest games are the ones everybody can join in and play," expanded Ted Rheingold, founder of Dogster and Catster.

Cary Rosenzwieg, the president and CEO of IMVU, described their take on user-generated content. "Almost 100% of the content in IMVU is user-generated. They have collectively created the world's largest catalog of virtual items."

"Much like eBay, we introduced buyers and sellers within the game, and last year we estimate our top developer made $1 million in income, and our top 10 made over $100,000 each. We've never issued a press release in our history and people have come primarily through word-of-mouth."

Rosenzweig continued, "Of most people who create items, most of them create one or two items. People do what they do mostly for affirmation; because being a creator is cool and they like the status -- it's their choice if they want to turn the credits to cash."

Nexon America has begun a closed beta for Sugar Rush, its first MMOG developed by a western studio and targeted specifically for North American audiences. The title will allow players to fight against each other while trying to collect virtual coins.

Nexon's previous MMO titles - MapleStory, Mabinogi, and Combat Arms - have all so far been developed by studios based in South Korea. The company's titles are free to play without subscriptions, but typically offer customizations and virtual goods purchasable with real money. According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, Nexon's U.S. 2007 revenue more than tripled to $29.3 million from $8.5 million the prior year.

The development team working on Sugar Rush is based in Vancouver, Canada and includes former Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios Group vice president and creative director Steve Rechtschaffner, as well as studio Klei Entertainment.

Headed by Jamie Cheng, Klei Entertainment previously developed and published Eets, a 2D puzzle game for PCs which was later revamped for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

Developer and publisher Codemasters has revealed a free expansion for MMORPG ArchLord titled Episode 3: Spirits Awakening. The update, which is scheduled to go live in "the coming weeks," is expected to overhaul the title with up to 30% new game content.

ArchLord challenges it players with raising an army to compete to become an all-ruling ArchLord on their servers. Spirits Awakening will add three new game zones, skills, ruling ArchLord skill and abilities, armor, items, and monsters.

Codemasters Online announced in May that ArchLord had attracted over 500,000 subscribers following the company's decision to switch to a free-to-play model with its August 2007 expansion, Season of Siege.

Said Codemasters Online director of marketing Ed Relf: "We are pleased to be able to set out our exciting new expansion plans for ArchLord. As recently announced ArchLord is now more popular than ever with thousands of new players taking up the challenge every day to compete to become the games all-ruling leader! Episode 3 adds a significant amount of new content to what is already a leading free MMORPG and we look forward to delivering this free expansion to our players in the coming weeks."

[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.]

Fresbo World is an online world in public beta that's intended to be embedded in social networks, and last time we left it we noted that it was a "small MMO with a small community" but is that a problem? We conclude after the jump.

Social gaming and dating community Human Pets has launched HumanPets.com, expanding its online hangout from a Facebook application to an independent site.

Targeted at both teens and young adults, Human Pets offers a virtual world based on the concept of having humans as pets, their nicknames determined by their owners. All users are animals who can be fed, groomed, nicknamed, and even sold and bought as pets. Players can also earn virtual currency by participating in games, forums, chat rooms, and auctions.

Human Pets also offers adult content and activities to its 18-plus-years-old users in the form of optional paid memberships, allowing subscribers to exchange erotic items and join adult herds (herds being Human Pets' equivalent of groups). A portion of the paid membership proceeds are donated to the World Wildlife Fund.

According to Human Pets, the community has grown to 2 million users since first launching as a Facebook application in summer 2007. 15,000 people have reportedly signed up for the independent site since its beta release last week. Human Pets claims that its users spend over 30 minutes per day on average at the community.

Linden Lab has announced that it will celebrate Second Life's 5th Birthday by holding a two-week long Virtual World Fair, which will feature roundtable discussions, parties and exhibits showcasing the creativity of its users and innovative uses of the Second Life platform.

The fair will kick off with founder and former CEO Philip Rosedale and current CEO Mark Kindom each delivering an opening address. Lotus Development Corporation founder and Linden Lab board member Mitch Kapor will offer closing remarks.

The Virtual World Fair, which will take place in several Second Life regions from June 23 to July 7, will be open to Second Life users, Linden Lab employees, and industry thought leaders. The event will explore topics such as Second Life's evolving culture, the role of virtual worlds in business, and the platform's opportunities for areas such as health care and education.

Said Rosedale: “It’s amazing to look back and reflect on everything that we’ve accomplished in such a short time. From our initial launch, to the decision to allow Residents to retain their IP, to opening up the Platform to third parties, most of the decisions we’ve made have gone against the grain of conventional wisdom and that’s made all the difference."

He continued: “While we’ve come a long way in our first five years and have surmounted significant challenges, there’s still plenty of work left as we continue to advance the medium. With Mark’s leadership and the passion and creativity of our Residents we are extremely excited about what the future holds and the evolving role that Second Life will play in business, arts, education and communication in general.”