Weblin’s closing

 Posted by (Visited 5520 times)  Game talk  Tagged with: ,
Aug 082009
 

Layered virtual world Weblin is ceasing operations, according to a company newsletter sent to registered users today. Media reports attribute the closure to a lack of funds. Weblin users are being invited to transition Club Cooee, a site run by the former Weblin principals Jan Andresen and Christine Stumpf.

— Weblin Closes, Users Transitioned to Club Cooee.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the “layered” or “browser overlay” sort of VW space. Weblin seemed like the most visible example of it. Club Cooee is more like an IM client with avatars, I think, than where Weblin was going.

Club Cooee: 3D Avatar Chat & Virtual World Messenger

 Posted by (Visited 10069 times)  Game talk  Tagged with: ,
Apr 232009
 

Club Cooee went open beta today… and it looks like a better-done Lively, but running on your desktop as a widget. Basically, it turns the VW experience into a desktop IM client. Or vice versa, perhaps — they describe themselves first and foremost as a messenger client.

Looks like it’s free, depending entirely on the sale of virtual currency for monetization (they run a two-currency system, like most virtual worlds do today). You can buy items and animations, and build your own rooms to some degree. My favorite feature, though, is drag and drop sharing of music and pictures from your desktop.

There’s gaming pedigree here — the company was founded by the guys who did The Settlers and AquaNox.