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Latest Gaia Online News Updates and Reviews Updated daily
Gaia Online : News From the Wider MMO World: September 16, 2008By: Akela Talamasca
Sep 16, 2008 07:00:00 PM News Item: 5270
Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Sports, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Massively meta
The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.
World of Kung Fu opens screenshot contest From September 15th to the 30th, VestGame Entertainment has partnered with zownder.com to create the first World of Kung Fu screenshot contest. "This contest really gives us the chance to showcase the awesome graphics and spectacular artwork that forms such an integral part of the game", says David Clarke, World of Kung Fu's North American Producer. The Grand Prize includes a permanent Xuan Wu mount and over a hundred rare items such as high level Forging Vouchers, Advanced Craftsman Charms, Sky Pearls, and much more. For more information, visit either founder's website.
Gaia Online brings Snoop Dogg and the Incredible Hulk to the virtual mall Each month, residents of the virtual world Gaia Online have a chance to vote for their favorite real-world celebrities as part of the Celebrity Snare section of the website. As an example, the latest items to have been made available are Snoop Dogg's hairstyle, and the Hulk's torn-up purple pants. "Gaia Online is truly an extension of our users' real life interests and passions and Celebrity Snare is just another way we're enabling Gaians to customize their online persona and express themselves to the community," said Craig Sherman, CEO of Gaia Online. "The same way fans hang a poster on their bedroom wall or wear a t-shirt with their favorite band on it, we're enabling our users to establish a connection with the celebrities they admire." Further celebrities to go virtual will include Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake, Tila Tequila, Paris Hilton, Raven Symone and Marvel's She-Hulk.Continue reading News From the Wider MMO World: September 16, 2008 Comments
Gaia Online : Gaia Online's MMO is actually called zOMG! (and it's in beta now)By: Samuel Axon
Jul 29, 2008 08:00:00 PM News Item: 4438
Filed under: Betas, New titles, News items, Browser, Casual, Gaia Online
The closed beta test of Gaia Online's much-anticipated MMO has officially begun. Here's the kicker: it has a name! And that name is zOMG!. No, really. The name of the MMO is actually zOMG!. Previously, it was called Gaia Battle. That was rather generic, so this is probably a step up.
The name was chosen out of hundreds of submissions from Gaia regulars. Said Senior Producer Dave Georgeson to Wired: "it captures the spirit of our users." Those users are mostly teens. Until now, Gaia Online has simply been a casual games portal and forum community. zOMG! is an MMO built on that foundation.
If you're not familiar with Gaia Battle -- err, we mean zOMG! -- it's a browser-based game that will run on any computer that plays nice with Flash. Gameplay involves combat -- which centers around upgradable magic ring items -- and minigames. Social networking type stuff is laced in as well. %Gallery-27139% Comments
Gaia Online : Gaia Online brings home the gold with the Rejected OlympicsBy: Akela Talamasca
Jul 16, 2008 11:00:00 AM News Item: 4437
Filed under: Sports, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online
Players of Gaia Online will get the chance to live out their sublimated fantasies of being Olympians starting July 21st, the start date of the Rejected Olympics. Unlike the traditional games, the Rejected Olympics will feature such whimsical events as Connect the Dots and Watermelon Chopping, competing in teams to win the gold medal. Fourth place players will take home stale bread. Seriously.
The week-long festivities end on July 27th. For more information, go check out Gaia Online's event site.
[Thanks, Kristen!] Comments
Gaia Online : First screenshots from Gaia Online's MMOBy: Akela Talamasca
Jul 09, 2008 10:00:00 AM News Item: 4436
Filed under: At a glance, Galleries, Screenshots, New titles, Previews, Free-to-play, Browser, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online
We had the opportunity to take a look at Gaia Online's upcoming MMO, and it looks like some serious fun! Take a look through the Gallery embedded below -- some of these come directly from the studio, others were screenshots of the quick tour we took; it should be obvious which are which.
A couple of tidbits: the entire game is Flash based, much like Dofus; they've done away with the need for wearable armor; and there's an intriguing methodology in place for dealing with player overcrowding that can be summed up in one word: landshark. All this and more once the game launches near the end of Summer. We'll keep you apprised!
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Gaia Online : Gaia Online tees up its massively multiplayer online gameBy: Brenda Holloway
Jul 03, 2008 05:00:00 PM News Item: 4435
Filed under: Expansions, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online, Kids As we reported last April, popular teen hang-out site Gaia Online is making the leap from virtual world to full-blown MMO, further blurring the lines between the two genres. It will still have movies, malls and minigames ... just with a few more monsters. Gaia Online was a separated series of rooms, but now its filling in the lands between those rooms with impromptu games around fountains and battles with psychotic garden gnomes.
VentureBeat talks with CEO Craig Sherman and senior producer Dabid Georgeson about the new MMO world and the challenges of turning a fabulously successful social space with millions of users, into a succesful MMO. Is the world ready for another Runescape? Look for Gaia Online -- the MMO -- when it launches this summer to find out. Comments
Gaia Online : The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive WorldsBy: Akela Talamasca
Jun 18, 2008 03:00:00 PM News Item: 4538
Filed under: MapleStory, Business models, MMO industry, Club Penguin, Casual, Academic, Virtual worlds, Massively Event Coverage, Kids
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.
A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.Continue reading The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds Comments
Gaia Online : Virtual Greats to sell celebrity likenessesBy: Tateru Nino
Jun 16, 2008 11:00:00 PM News Item: 4434
Filed under: Business models, Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Second Life, Habbo Hotel, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online And not just likenesses. Metaverse developer Millions of Us intends to market likenesses, hair-styles, catchphrases, dance moves, signature moves, clothing lines, furniture collections -- you name it -- based on well-known celebs all under the banner business name of Virtual Greats. These appearances and digital accessories would be sold in dozens of virtual worlds, though you'll probably see them in Gaia Online, Habbo and Second Life first.
Deals have already been done with Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Raven Symone, Marvel (for The Incredible Hulk), and Tila Tequila, and more are in the works. Continue reading Virtual Greats to sell celebrity likenesses Comments
Gaia Online : The Daily Grind: Should MMOGs and virtual worlds be separate?By: Akela Talamasca
Jun 14, 2008 08:00:00 AM News Item: 4433
Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, The Daily Grind, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online Friday held the Social Gaming Summit, a meeting of the luminaries of the various virtual worlds -- Gaia Online, Neopets, and IMVU to name a very few -- in San Francisco. This blogger was on hand for several of the panels, and came away with a deeper understanding of where the demarcation between massively multiplayer online game and virtual world was drawn. On the virtual world side, developers are beginning to incorporate more and more elements of what would normally be considered MMO-only features, like quests and leveling up.
However, similar integration of virtual world-like elements in MMOs has so far remained off-spec. Chat aside, games like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and City of Heroes don't have features like profiles with integrated blogs for players, or spaces in which one could post photos and media for others to enjoy. Is this something that might change as the Web 2.0 landscape evolves? Are MMOs better off remaining "pure"? Comments
Gaia Online : Relive prom night with Gaia OnlineBy: Akela Talamasca
May 15, 2008 06:30:00 PM News Item: 4432
Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Culture, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Gaia Online The wily developers at Gaia Online have decided to heal the wounds of high school prom by holding one of their own. From May 16th to the 18th, players will have the opportunity to crash the prom and win a real-life outfit designed by Project Runway winner Christian Siriano. Christian has also designed outfits for your avatar, available in the Gaia Store.
And if you like to dance -- and by 'dance', we mean 'dance in front of your webcam for the delight and derision of all' -- then submit your video to Gaia and you might be chosen for Internet fame! If you have lingering memories of your prom that keep you up at night, wash those horrors away with Gaia Online! Comments
More Gaia Online News
(Click to read)
May 14, 2008 09:30:00 AMGaia Online : ION 08: Virtual worlds for the masses Apr 30, 2008 01:30:00 PMGaia Online : From Virtual World to MMO: Gaia Online Apr 18, 2008 03:00:00 PMGaia Online : The 2008 Social Gaming Summit Apr 17, 2008 11:30:00 AMGaia Online : Gaia Online borrows a trick from Willy Wonka Mar 16, 2008 01:00:00 PMGaia Online : Gaia Online costs $25 million a year to run Mar 02, 2008 12:56:00 PMGaia Online : GDC08 Highlights: The future of Virtual Worlds and the end of GDC08 Feb 19, 2008 08:42:00 PMGaia Online : GDC08: Gaia Online launching casual MMO Feb 19, 2008 08:30:00 AMGaia Online : GDC 08: Entertainment content convergence in online worlds
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