- Google Lively
Infobox VG
title = Lively
caption =
developer = Google Inc.
publisher = Google Inc.
designer =
engine =
version =
released = start date|2008|7|8
genre =Virtual world
modes =Multiplayer (online)
platforms = Windows
media =Download
requirements =Broadband Internet access
input = Keyboard, MouseGoogle Lively is a web-based virtual environment produced by Google Inc. currently in its beta stage. On the opening download page, users are invited to "Create an avatar and chat with" their "friends in rooms you design."
Lively is currently only supported on
Internet Explorer orMozilla Firefox , usingWindows XP orWindows Vista . It requires a special download as well as Flash. The program is designed to be integrated with the currentWeb and provide a new way to access information. This is enabled through the embedding of Lively 'rooms' into any HTML webpage- which means content can be provided in a two dimensional format, and communication surrounding the topic of that content can be made in the three dimensional 'room' without the need to enter a separate program.cite web |url=http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9984909-2.html |title=With Lively, Google tries its own 'Second Life' |publisher= webware.com |accessdate=2008-07-08 ] According to Google, aMac OS X andLinux version are on the way as well. [ [http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/gamesinc/archives/2008/07/live_from_livel.html Vella, Matt. "Live from Lively, Google's New 3D Virtual World," "Business Week", July 9, 2008.] ]Engineering manager Niniane Wang supervised this Google project, described in "
The New York Times " by Brad Stone::Up to 20 people can occupy a room and chat with one another. (Text appears as cartoon-style bubbles atop the avatars.) Users can design their own virtual environments, hanging on the walls videos fromYouTube and photos fromPicasa , Google’s photo service, as if they were pieces of art. Inside Google, the product was headed by Niniane Wang, an engineering manager. Students atArizona State University have been testing Lively for several months. Ms. Wang wrote in the blog post that she started Lively as a “20 percent project,” referring to Google’s philosophy that employees should spend one day a week working on projects outside of their day-to-day responsibilities. Second Life, the virtual world run byLinden Lab of San Francisco, is known for its much larger virtual world [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/technology/09google.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin Stone, Brad. "Google Introduces a Cartoonlike Method for Talking in Chat Rooms," "The New York Times", July 9, 2008.] ]Unlike
Second Life , the Lively users cannot buy and sell products. Since there is no user-generated content on Lively, items such as hairstyles, clothing and furniture are limited to a catalog of pre-designed selections. However this page in Lively'sFAQ , [http://www.lively.com/help/bin/answer.py?answer=98535&topic=13370 Can I Create Content?] says"Most of the avatars, clothing, and objects were created by vendors working for Google. We're also working with a small number of trusted testers, vendors and creative agencies as part of a test for creating custom items.We hope to enable user-generated content and even more customization soon, but until then we've given you tons of choices from the catalog to help personalize your Lively experience."
Wang introduced her product
July 8 ,2008 with this comment::If you enter a Lively room embedded on your favorite blog or website, you can immediately get a sense of the room creator's interests, just by looking at the furniture and environment they chose. You can also express your own personality by customizing your avatar's look, showing people who you are without having to say a word. Of course, you can chat with each other, and you can also interact through animated actions. [http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/be-who-you-want-on-web-pages-you-visit.html Wang, Niniane. "Be who you want on the web pages you visit," Official Google Blog.] ]
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