The City of Sinners & Saints is a virtual world, developed by Telos Productions, built with casual gaming and social networking in mind. Players can make friends, share photos, stand around dancing, or participate in games at various game rooms scattered across the world.

Honestly the most intriguing aspect of City of Sinners & Saints is the cel-shaded animation, which gives it a unique if slightly hideous look. Still, it might be fun if you're looking for a virtual world where everyone isn't just trying to sleep with everyone else.

Escaping into a virtual world was just what I needed after filing an insurance claim in a San Francisco parking lot. I began the process by walking through quite possibly the most badass office setup I’ve ever seen. Three Rings calls their establishment “Nautilus” and actually has a submarine hatch built into one of the corners of the spacious office, right next to the bookcase with a hidden door behind it. After perching on a carved wooden chair – the plainest thing in the whole room as far as I could see – I leaned over Designer & CEO Daniel James' shoulder to watch him boot up Whirled.

The best way to describe all that Whirled is – and it’s a lot of things – is virtual environment/online community/games portal. Players (Three Rings hates calling them “users”) log onto Whirled and start their virtual life with a little tofu avatar. They can evolve their avatar into just about anything they want (emperor penguin, giant whale, nearly-naked man) by playing games and earning coins to buy themselves stuff and upgrades.

Aside from avatars, players also have their own room to decorate and remake into a reflection of their inner-self. Or not – they could just make it into a pixilated strip joint/opium den, if they so choose. The point is freedom of expression and Whirled gives players the power to do that by encouraging them to create their own stuff and upload it for other players to use.

Most of that stuff is player-made games. Three Rings has always adored online multiplayer games – sort of like the Korean go-kart gaming fad – and multiplayer flash mages make up the core of Whirled’s experience. Some of the games Three Rings makes themselves, but they’re hoping the vast majority of Whirled’s games will be player-made masterpieces that encourage gamers to be creative and business savvy.

For example, James showed me talked about Corpse Craft – a primitive RPG made up of dungeons created by users. The graphics are old school; it’s kind of nice you have the option to change your avatar’s appearance to fit in because I think a giant emperor penguin would kind of stick out in a semi-goth setting.

ETA: My bad. He was walking about Corpse Craft while showing me Wyvern and I got confused.

“Penny Arcade described it as ‘fucking banging,’” James bragged.

And it was, but for more reasons than the setting and the decent gameplay. Corpse Craft is set up such that it’s free to play – but to get the most out of the experience players have to spend real-life money to buy Whirled gold bars. The gold bars go for 10 cents apiece and can be used to purchase content for the game; in this case, monsters for the dungeons.

Player-creators can choose not to require gold bars of their audience – the alternative currency in Whirled is “coins” which are earned entirely through in-game actions. But the incentive for gamers to be enterprising is high: the more gold bars a player-creator can get his audience to buy, the more opportunity he has to cash out gold bars into real money. You know, to use in real life.

So, if you made the most awesome game ever that so happened to require the purchase of gold bars here and there, you could make some money from Whirled. Not mention a name for yourself as a game developer.

“We’re hoping that developers will take advantage of Whirled as well,” said James.

There certainly is plenty of opportunity. Whirled launched its beta in March of 2008 and has grown to a base of nearly 20000 players since then.

The beta tag stays only because Three Rings isn’t quite done fiddling with the world here and there. Among the changes the developer is hoping to make is more group/guild management functionality. Currently, Whirled has friends lists and chat just like Facebook – but since the emphasis is more on gaming together than on just hanging out together, a guild system would be nice.

Whirled is something I feel that I can’t quite be put into words. It’s more than just a virtual space like Home and more than a networking system like Xbox Live. Go check it out for yourself if you want the full idea. Like with Puzzle Pirates, there's a lot of stuff going on under the shiny, entertaining hood.

Me, I’ve got some more insurance stuff to deal with.

Muxlim Pal is a rather Habbo Hotel-like shared world open to all Muxlim members. Although superficially just a shared virtual space, Muxlim Pal does look as though it has at least nominal game elements as each avatar has "happiness, fitness, knowledge and spirituality" ratings that can change according to what the user does in the virtual space.

"We are not a religious site, we are a site that is focused on the lifestyle," said Muxlim.com founder Mohamed El-Fatatry, "From what we have seen from our market research is that most Muslims have a lifestyle that is not so different from everybody else. They all share the core values which are from Islam then beyond that they actually have made identities, they have many interests."

Virtual world for Muslims debuts [BBC]

It's strictly for Windows users at this point and will likely remain that way for a long time. Virtual World will go into a public alpha testing next week, incorporate existing Square-Enix Member avatars and feature prominent ads for Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon for the Wii.

Virtual World [Square-Enix via NeoGAF]

By next year, you'll probably know more about why I'm up here.

[Timing is] definitely a concern...But I think we've got a good understanding now of the landscape, we have a strategic plan in mind ... if a year from now we don't have anything, then we probably won't have anything.

Is Microsoft headed toward a virtual world? [via maxconsole]

GDI announces beginning of AWOMO Beta Test and hits the 20,000 registrant mark

More details announced on updated website for full Beta over 70 Free Games now signed for test phase

London, UK, 16th August 2007: Game Domain International Ltd (GDI), a company providing services to deliver games online using proprietary super-fast digital distribution technology, today announced it has now passed the 20,000 registrant mark for the AWOMO Beta Test program, coinciding with an extensive revamp of its website.

GDI has begun low level testing with a select group of Beta "Trainers" testing the basic download functionality. AWOMO ('A World Of My Own'), the revolutionary game digital delivery service embedded within a 3D "virtual world" island paradise for gamers, will be tested later in the summer.

Meanwhile, 20,000 gamers have now signed up for the Beta test. The AWOMO website has been revamped in preparation, with extensive material about the Beta test service including a full FAQ section, a feedback bulletin board and for the first time, a list of some of the publishers and now 70+ games supported in the Beta.

"We're really pleased with the response to our call for AWOMO testers," said Roger Walkden, CEO of GDI Ltd. "We're in the low-level technical test stage right now, but we're excited about rolling this out to a much larger test audience in the near future. Anyone can now visit our updated AWOMO site, and browse to get a much more in depth idea of what the Beta and AWOMO are all about."

There are still around 10,000 vacancies in the Beta Test to fill on a first come, first served basis, with no charges to gamers who sign up for the trial. The first gamers to set foot within AWOMO will also have access to a number of custom virtual items that will forever identify them as founder members of the community.

There will also be AWOMO subscriptions to be won, and introductory offers for the final service when it goes live. And for those who take their gaming super-seriously, there is the chance to become a member of the elite tester unit - a group of Beta testers chosen as permanent members of the GDI test team.

To sign up for the AWOMO Test or find out more, head to www.awomo.com.

Journal of Electronic Commerce Research (JECR): Special Issue on Virtual Worlds

CALL FOR PAPERS
Special Issue on Virtual Worlds
Submissions due: November 1, 2007
Scheduled Publication date: August 2008

Overview:
The emergence of virtual worlds and Web 3.D change the way of doing business. Web 3.D is the synonym for Internet-based virtual worlds, where people can create own 3-D *virtual* personalities. Virtual Worlds such as Second Life and others are undergoing an evolution similar to that of the Internet in the mid nineties and might impact profoundly the way people cooperate, communicate, collaborate, and conduct business. The recent entering of companies such as Toyota, American Apparel, Nissan, or Adidas indicate the upcoming role of this platform for the next generation of conducting electronic business. This call for papers is intended to cover a wide range of business and research topics that fall within the broad description of activities, challenges, opportunities, applications, innovations and implications associated with Virtual Worlds as the emerging new online business landscape.

Purpose of the Special Issue:
The purpose of this special issue is to encourage discussion and communication of important research issues that underpin Virtual Worlds as an important aspect of e-commerce and to showcase interesting and significant research work in this critical area. Specifically this issues is focusing on business and legal issues of doing business in Virtual Worlds. Of particular relevance to the described focus are papers about business models, marketing, promotion, pricing, customer integration, consumer behavior, legal, cultural and cross-cultural research. The issue, however, will not be restricted to these topics; rather, it welcomes reports of theoretical or empirical research that examines pertinent business issues related to Virtual Worlds e-commerce. This special issue will be of interest to researchers, governments, small and large businesses, marketing and PR companies among others.

List of possible topics are:
* Product Development and Testing in Virtual Worlds
* Image, Branding, Advertising in Virtual Worlds
* Marketing in Virtual World
* Avatar-based Marketing
* Promotion of Virtual Goods in Virtual Worlds
* Pricing of Virtual Goods in Virtual Worlds
* Selling, Cross-Selling Real and Virtual Worlds
* Business Planning for Non-profits in Virtual Worlds
* Fundraising and Virtual Worlds
* Convergence of Real and Virtual Worlds
* Customer Integration and Virtual Worlds
* Technology, Business, Strategy in Virtual Worlds
* Financial Systems, Investments, Currency Exchange Real and Virtual Worlds
* Emerging Media Presence in Virtual Worlds
* Consumer Behavior, Consumer Acceptance and Virtual Worlds
* Trust, Cross-Cultural Studies and Virtual Worlds
* Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademarks and Virtual Worlds

Submission of Manustcript:
JECR publishes original empirical research, theoretical and methodological articles, evaluative and integrative reviews, field research, business surveys, and application papers of interest to a general readership. A submission based on a paper appearing elsewhere (such as conference proceedings or newsletters) must have major value-added extensions to the earlier version. For conference papers, it should have at least 30% new material. The submitted manuscripts should follow the format as suggested in the Submission Guideline found in the journal website: http://www.csulb.edu/journals/jecr/s_guide.htm. Of particular note is that the manuscript should be prepared in Microsoft Word format. The names, affiliations, and contact information (i.e., phone, fax, email addresses) of all authors should be provided only on the cover page. The submitted paper will undergo a double-blind review. Contributing authors may be asked to serve as reviewers for the special issue. Authors may submit completed manuscripts electronically at any time prior to November 1st 2007 deadline. Manuscripts and questions send to mfetscherin@rollins.edu.

Guest Editor
Marc Fetscherin, Ph.D.
Rollins College
International Business Department
Winter Park, 32789, FL, USA
e-mail: mfetscherin@rollins.edu
Tel: +1 407 691 1759
Fax: +1 407 646 1566

Important Dates:
Deadline for Submission: November 1, 2007
Paper acceptance/rejection: January 15, 2008
Revised paper submission: March 15, 2008
Final acceptance following revisions: May 15, 2008
Publication Date: August 2008

To download the CFP, please visit this website:
http://www.csulb.edu/web/journals/jecr/issues/20083/cfp.pdf

I don't know if it's a sustainable industry, but there's definitely money in it. There's many ways you can link gaming and interactive entertainment outside because portable devices are getting pretty powerful and so is the network. I can see it growing."

Like I don't already have a hard enough time not hitting geocachers who have wandered out into the middle of the street with my car. My insurance is going to go way up. Kim Phu

Want Drama? Enter Virtual Soap Opera [MSNBC]

Ed Wood and Second Life go together like chocolate and peanut butter. After all, Ed was a director of inspired incompetence; Second Life is an entire virtual world filled with that incompetence.

So we were pleased to get a note from Kotakuite Ben B. telling us that the second annual Ed Wood Machinima Festival is taking place this weekend in Second Life. As he explains:

Ed Wood made films so bad, they were good. This weekend, Second Life residents have 48 hours to make a movie in the spirit of Ed Wood. Halloween Night, 7pm SL time, we will screen these movies IN Second Life at our theatre in Lukanida. Last year, the Ed Wood Festival was Alt-Zoom's first ever machinima festival, and so we are celebrating our first birthday as well by giving out L$60,000 in prize money for Worst Film, Worst Story, Worst Acting, Worst Costumes, and Most Disturbing Film!

You can check out last year's winners over at the official site. And, you know, I may very well finally dust off my furry avatar with the excreting phallus-nipples to make a dashing appearance. Maybe Eliza will deign to be my date. Florian Eckhardt

Ed Wood Machinima Festival [Official Site]

I tried it out, but it just seemed like The Sims Online in 3D, all these blinged-out club rats just standing around chatting. Like, WTF?

That s pretty much the reaction I get from most gamers on Second Life, the user-created online world in which I ve been an embedded journalist for the last 3 years. I can t blame them. Though it s been featured at E3 and sometimes gets blurbed by the gaming press as an MMORPG, SL is really a world that s architected to be all things to all people. Start a free account, and you re liable to wind up in the Welcome Area with a few exiles from TSO and There looking for a new place to socialize and, yes, cyber on poseballs but just as easily, academics checking out the schizophrenic hallucination simulator, or government contractors with US Homeland Security, or even the odd Japanese sex worker who wants to virtually recreate Hiroshima after the nuke hit. Absent specific goals or mobs to kick the crap out of, you re liable to fly around aimlessly before deciding that it s just a weird cross between a 3D development platform and a chat program, AutoCAD meets the Sims.

Which it sort of is, but then, also not. It s definitely not for every gamer, but for those willing to recalibrate their expectations of what an online world is supposed to be or just want a break from leveling in WoW here s some of the SL tips I usually give to gamers still stuck at WTF.

Avoid the Popular Places

This might sound counter-intuitive, but like Yogi Berra used to say, "No one goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded!" Popular Places (a category under SL's Find command) is a raw data listing of sites based on nothing more than foot traffic. And much like a gleefully deranged amalgam of Vegas, Miami, and Amsterdam, what brings customers is the promise of gambling, dancing, and naked fun. None of this is a bad thing, of course, but it does mean Popular Places tend to be the haven of casual and social gamers, and scarce with folks with Kotaku in their bookmark.

Plus if your Mom is into SL, she's probably hanging out in one of these Popular Places right now, and you don't really want to see what she's wearing or what kind of animated moves she's busting in there. Seriously.

Find the Sandboxes

If you insist on thinking of Second Life as a game, then think of it as a game the same way playing with Lego is. This comes out most clearly in the Sandboxes , regions in Second Life that have been reserved for temporary free-form, no-cost building. Generally the area is wiped of all objects created within it every 24 hours. For my money, these are consistently the coolest areas in SL, a kind of massively multiplayer building blocks land. Unsurprisingly, this is where a lot of gamers hang out, whether it s to make giant dreadnought starships, or build tributes to Counterstrike or Mario, or play a round of Bearhammer .

To reach the sandboxes: Click Map , then in the Find Region slot, type in Sandbox or Combat (where p v. p battles are permitted along with building), then Teleport.

Befriend a Furry Today!

Once the bane of gamer-dominated sites like Something Awful, the furry subculture has found its place in SL. Come across a game or an amazing game-like area, and there's maybe a 50-50 chance it s the proud work of someone with a large bushy tail. Furries took Taco, for example, and converted the entire island into a cel-shaded cartoon land of wonder; furries not only created the Lusk community, but are building a whole software development kit for making puzzles. Unsurprisingly, many are also members of the game industry. Tiger Cotton, creator of many popular SL games, works on those titles as a break from his day job: working on Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

Visiting Taco or Lusk. Click Map , then in the Find Region , type Taco or Lusk , then Teleport. Contact Arito Cotton for Lusk s SDK.

Get with a Group

With such a large community of Residents (over 160,000 now) and a high concurrency (nearly 6000 online at peak), one of the best ways for gamers to find their way is join a Group of like-minded folks to share resources, tips, and communicate live in group IM messages. There s hundreds of groups for every conceivable interest, a lot of which are game related. SL has become a kind of 3D forum for gamers who want to meet up outside their favorite titles. The famed girl gamer PMS clan recently started a chapter in SL, while the popular Penny Arcade site has a group nearly a hundred strong. Gamers looking to try their hand at SL development should check out the Game Developer Association, while WoW fans can join World of Warcraft Players.

Speaking of which, one of those famous WoW players out there, Internet guru Joi Ito, is planning to buy and island in SL, and devote to activities associated with his WoW clan and other activities. Go here to get involved.

To join a group. Click Find, the Groups, then enter the title of the group in the search slot. The groups listed above are all open to the public.

The games are in there

That Second Life isn't a game doesn't mean the world isn't rife with games— there are dozens, of every variety and genre, so much so that there's a wiki devoted to them. Even better, the 2006 Game Development Contest launched on the 20th, and it's a showcase of eight games, including a mini-MMORPG, an RTS, and an in-world Magic-style card game. (Full disclosure: when still a staffer, I helped Linden Lab put this contest together.) At its best, SL is a platform for games, and gamers looking for a world where they bring just as much to a game as is expected of them.

Wagner James Au still covers Second Life at New World Notes.