SmallWorlds
| SmallWorlds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Outsmart Games. |
| Publisher(s) | Outsmart Games |
| Distributor(s) | Outsmart Games |
| Series | SmallWorlds Virtual Worlds/Outsmart Products |
| Engine | SmallWorlds World Server (Created by Outsmart LTD. in-house.) |
| Platform(s) | Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista/7/8, Mac OS X v10.1+ and variations of Linux |
| Release date(s) |
December 1, 2007 (Alpha), June 1, 2008 (Open Beta), December 1, 2008 (Version 1.0) |
| Genre(s) | 3D Virtual Reality, MMO, Casual Social Gaming, Virtual World |
SmallWorlds is a virtual world by Outsmart Games, a privately owned company based in Auckland, New Zealand.[1][2] The virtual world runs inside a web browser and integrates with YouTube, Flickr, SoundCloud, and a number of other Web 2.0 services. SmallWorlds is aimed at the teen markets, and is designed to be more casual than Second Life.[3]
SmallWorlds entered Beta in June 2008 after 18 months in development, and was released on 1 December 2008. Several software updates have been released since that time.[4]
In October 2009, SmallWorlds was voted top prize in the Social Computing category of the Adobe MAX Awards 2009.[5][6][7]
Partnerships and integration with social media
In February 2009, SmallWorlds launched embeddable versions of its application that integrate with Facebook, MySpace, Hi5 and Bebo.
In Education
SmallWorlds was one of the tools for learning used in the development of the New Zealand Virtual School project.[8][9] The project was scheduled to open in 2011, but with offices in central Christchurch the Christchurch Earthquake saw several changes that led to the termination of the project.
Levelling
Players in SmallWorlds have seven skill paths: arena, artist, crafting, explorer, farming, gamer and social, each with their own level. A player can level up by playing missions, doing PVP shooting games, sowing plants or crafting up items. There are many different widgets, but only one or two that work at any given time.
Business Model
SmallWorlds is based on the freemium model of sales, where one may play the game free, but can pay for extras, such as VIP membership, granting them access to various places around the site, and have the ability to buy items other players do not have access to, as well as gold, the main virtual currency of the game.
Updates
SmallWorlds launched version 1.0 in December 1, 2008. This involved performance enhancement, retexturing, and other various technical changes. The world was not reset as was planned by the developers.
The site later on had seen a major update as of April 5, 2013. The new update includes a brand new layout for both the site and the forums. Also, there was a new reward programme called Kudos in which players receive a special item after completing the weekly challenge. Smallworlds replaced the gold payout that players paid for as a bonus with only XP rewards now.
Sites
| Country | URL | Opening Date |
|---|---|---|
| USA | https://smallworlds.com | June 2008 |
| Brazil | https://www.minimundos.com.br | May 2012 |
References
- ↑ Crunchbase Web Directory
- ↑ Outsmart Website
- ↑ TechCrunch, May 21 2008
- ↑ SmallWorlds Media Resources
- ↑ Adobe Max Awards 2009 Finalists: Social Computing Archived November 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Reuters: 2009 Adobe MAX Awards Winners Announced. Wed Oct 7, 2009
- ↑ Dreamweaver Extensions Blog. October 12, 2009
- ↑ "Learning in a Virtual World for Real Life". doi:10.13140/rg.2.1.5029.3602.
- ↑ "Bid to launch online school | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News". www.odt.co.nz. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
- Krynsky, Mark. "Small Worlds Brings Innovative Lifestreaming to the Virtual World", Lifestream Blog, April 23, 2009.
- Scoble, Robert. "Small Worlds' virtual world blows away Second Life limitations", Scobleizer TV, March 4, 2009.
- Scoble, Jason. "SmallWorlds Brings a Third Dimension to Web 2.0", TechCrunch, May 21, 2008.