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There Inc - Propagating the Bad of Society?

Posted by simoniker on from the the-baywatch-view dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A former beta tester has written up a negative, but interesting, review of the 'virtual world' MMO title There. While it mainly contains sarcastic remarks directed at the game mechanics (or lack there-of), near the end it also claims that There is 'a mirror of the shallowest possible view of American consumerist society.' It concludes by saying that There is missing anything that would classify it as a game, and that as a chat service it capitalizes on 'our society's tendency to believe that being attractive is a prerequisite for being accepted by others.' Should developers try to be aware of whether their game will reproduce negative trends already present in real life?" We recently ran a story on the official launch of There, a game that has its fans as well as its detractors.

6 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Who Cares by bob65 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Should developers try to be aware of whether their game will reproduce negative trends already present in real life?

    I think they do already. Should they care? Well that's up to them. Should they have to care? No. Should we care? That depends who you are.

  2. I was a beta tester... by Kraken137 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When I first heard about it, I saw the word 'metaverse' bandied around. I was also led to believe that it would be amazing looking. So, I signed up to be a beta tester. Some time later, I got an email inviting me to download and install There. I installed windows on a spare partition, installed the 'game', and cranked it up.

    The disappointment in my apartment was thick enough to cut with a knife. <i>There</i> is like the metaverse in the same way that ENIAC with a few thousand blown tubes is like ASCI White. I agree with all the points outlined in that article - <i>There</i> isn't.

  3. If you want chat...and interaction... by voss · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sims Online is way better...with a heck of a lot more content.

    Alternatively if you want a more adult experience Second Life has better graphics...and more revealing outfits.

    If "there" was free and then charged you 15 cents for buying extra clothing or doodads, you could understand it and it might even kinda cute, but when they want a monthly payment and then nickel and diming you on top...that just gets annoying.

    1. Re:If you want chat...and interaction... by zenintrude · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The author mentioned Second Life on page three, which is also where the crux of the review lies.

      I haven't played Second Life (though I have been accepted into the beta), it seems to offer a lot more gameplay than There does, and looks to be a more innovative title, offering users the ability to edit their world, and create any object they can imagine, given they're adapt and patient enough to work with their rudimentary 3d modeling tools.

      --
      - colin
    2. Re:If you want chat...and interaction... by eggstasy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You were accepted into the beta? When? The beta was over months ago! In June, IIRC.
      There's lots of stuff to do over there even if you dont want to build anything. There's a huge racetrack, free vehicles, a pretty big amusement park, casino games, and the best thing about all of this is that you dont have to keep pumping money into the system.
      Want clothes? You have built-in tools for making your own clothes. Want a car, a hoverboard, a balloon, a rocket, a boat? You can easily make them yourself, or buy them off another player.
      Most content in the game is entirely user-made, including the LindenWorld theme park and the DarkLife RPG, both of which I am a part of.
      There's classes to teach you everything you need to know, and all sorts of events, parties, contests, the works. Everyone is pretty helpful (the game is more collaborative than competitive) and if you decide to try it, look for Eggy Lippmann in there and i'll take you through the basics.

  4. Beta test by chizu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was a beta tester near the very end of the beta. I thought this "game" was really shallow and boring. There was just nothing to do but stand around and talk to people, unless you wanted to pay another $10 to play a game in this "game". "There" was very bad from a technical standpoint, it uses internet explorer as a major engine component and refused to run while Mozilla was my default browser. Then there is the cost of "There". Looks cheap at first, and it is if you were a beta tester (all of the stuff about to be mentioned costs a total of $30 for beta testers). But if your the average player the costs will shoot through the roof before you even play. $20 to start, $30 for sound, $50 for a graphics pack. Then $5 bucks a month. Then the fees to get anything done in there, $5 bucks to buy virtual shoes, $5 more for a shirt, $5 more for a buggy ride. This is all real money. Then your limited to 640x480 res and the poor graphics make a GeForce4 TI 4600 and P4 2.4GHz chug. It's the most lacking and expensive online "game" I've ever seen. Even the notoriously buggy anarchy online played better at launch than There does now.

    If you want a good online gaming experiance stick with everquest, anarchy online or dark age of camelot. Heck, diablo 2 or even just something like UT offer a better online experiance. There just isn't worth it.