Today we are graced by the presence of guest writer Kevin Sotherby, who happened to be quiet lucky in attending the media launch of virtual world Next Island in Los Angeles. Here we get to hear his thoughts on the upcoming free-to-play MMO, as well as his experience at the event as a whole.
I had the opportunity to attend the media launch of new Entropia virtual world Next Island here in LA, where I saw the game, met the team members, and listened to Neverdie talk about his vision for the game. Amid dozens of free-to-play MMOS, Next Island stands out by offering a real cash economy, based on the familiar microtransaction model, but offering players the opportunity to speculate in virtual goods, earn from their kills and crafting, and then cash out real money. While this is a fascinating new addition to virtual gameplay, I was even more interested in the personal side of this new virtual world.
New Entropia planet Next Island is home to a ghost avatar. Studio head and virtual celeb Jon ‘Neverdie’ Jacobs has recreated the avatar of Tina Leiu, Jacobs’ fiance who passed away in 2005. Leiu’s avatar will be an NPC, living out one of the real Leiu’s dreams, making her home in the exotic Samoan spa area and reviving players. As Neverdie spoke about his lost love and his attempts to recreate her avatar, it became clear to everyone at Next Island’s launch that is not just more of Jacobs’ neverdie theme, but a love story in pixels.
Game creator and major financial backer David Post referred to new options for virtual dating for players. He was deliberately vague on specifics, but promised that virtual dating will be interactive without falling prey to Second Life’s pornographic problems. The developers seem to really understand the MMO gamespace. Since any active MMO leads to goldfarming, and any good online guild leads to online dating, why not incorporate them into the gameplay?
Next Island itself was demonstrated at length by Neverdie Studio’s developer Michael Ray, who answered journalists’ questions and showed character highlights, when he wasn’t bantering with Next Island’s social media consultant, Meg Stivison. Although Next Island doesn’t open for the mainstream audience until next month, the dedicated game forums and popular Facebook page are filled with advance players talking about the game.
The game is currently in open beta at NextIsland.com, and Post expects a full consumer launch in early 2011. Next Island is free-to-play, and has no plans to ever charge a fee at signup or a monthly subscription.
