Vivaty is still in beta, as are most virtual worlds. And unlike many other Internet services that carry the beta label, virtual worlds tend to hark back to the pre-Google days when beta really meant something. During this beta period Vivaty is continually adding features and improving stability. It's quite a challenge trying to work within a web browser, but it seems to be what most people expect of virtual worlds.

As far as similarities, if we're talking browser based and true 3D virtual worlds, there are only a few out there - ExitReality, Hangout.net, etc. Given this handful, Vivaty is very comparable to Lively.

But if you're here just to rip, rip away.

• 3 weeks ago

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. The difficulty will be striking the right balance between freedom for the player (agency) and the continuity of the story the artist wants to tell. What you're describing is to put as much of the burden for keeping the balance with the NPCs - ignore the little things, stick to the story, etc. Another way might be to literally block the player from taking certain actions.

One thing I completely agree with you on is that striking that balance starts with the NPCs. Though building out NPCs that act as characters and moderaters is not going to be easy.

• 4 weeks ago

I was just alludeing to the recent headlines - Dow plunges 680 points as U.S. recession is decla....

• 4 weeks ago

Gaby,

I like it but as you mention, it fails to come under the 20 second time limit. It might also open up more questions then it answers. This is no easy task and reminds me a lot of aspiring screenwriters trying to pitch their movie in 20 seconds - how do you boil it all down? What do you leave in? What do you leave out? If you can boil it down, you're more likely to sell. "Die Hard on a bus" instantly sells the movie Speed. Sadly the only thing I've seen that describes virtual worlds in a similar way is maybe "3D chat".

• 7 weeks ago