WorldsAway

Infobox Software
name = WorldsAway



caption = A wedding taking place inside the world of Dreamscape.
developer = Fujitsu, LucasArts
released = September 1995
frequently_updated = yes
programming language = ?
operating system = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
language = ?
genre = Virtual Communities
license =
website = [http://web.archive.org/web/19961120221818/http://www.worldsaway.com/ archived worldsaway.com]

WorldsAway was an online graphical "virtual chat"ref|Burr|Ty Burr] environment in which users designed their own two dimensionally represented avatars.ref|Damer|Bruce Damer] ref|Homer|Steve Homer] It was one of the first visual virtual worlds. In 1996 it was one of the top 20 most popular forums on Compuserve. [ref|BusWeek|Business Week]

History

WorldsAway was an English version of Fujitsu and LucasArts' Habitat II for the Commodore 64. Habitat II was launched in 1985 and was the first online virtual world. WorldsAway was originally launched through QLink and later in 1995 through CompuServe [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20010413034243/clarion.kymer.net/01_04_99/lm/clarionarticle.html Remembering 1.x] , Lizard Man, November 3rd, 1998] as a free service for members. The world was called Kymerref|Wired|Rossney] and moved to the public Internet in 1997 back under the operation of Fujitsu.

As CompuServe morphed into AOL's "value brand," Worldsaway was cancelled but as of 2008 Kymer has survived independently as Dreamscape - one of the Vzones.com worlds - owned by Stratagem Corporation. Other WorldsAway-like worlds using the same server software have since been launched by Stratagem: newhorizone, Enter the Night, and Seducity. [ [http://www.stratagemcorporation.com/ Stratagem Corporation] ]

Gameplay

Worldsaway users would login, first only via dial-up Compuserve accounts, later via the public internet. First-time users would choose their gender, name, head and body style on a virtual ship before entering the world proper to meet other online users (these could be changed later by paying a quantity of tokens). [ [http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/book/fullbook/chwa/chwa3.htm Voyage on the Argo: Joining the Dreamscape Community] , Bruce Damer]

Each subscriber would view and manipulate their own avatar which was displayed in a limited set of poses and profiles. A user would walk their avatar around a virtual city (named Kymer), enter shops and teleporter cabins, gesture or chat to other avatars (cartoon like text bubbles would appear), and carry out various in-game actions. Ty Burr's 1996 review of the three graphical chat worlds then available (the others were Worlds Chat and Time Warner's The Palace) rated WorldsAway the lowest at C+, criticizing the slowness and lack of flexibility.

Unlike some modern virtual worlds, WorldsAway did not boast 3D graphics or any combat system. [http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/book/fullbook/chwa/chwa5.htm Gullible's Travels: Through the Dreamscape] , Bruce Damer, Avatars!, "This is not a shoot-em-up world"] Most time spent in the world by users was spent on economic endeavors.Fact|date=February 2008 Other popular past-times were playing Bingo and other simple games. These games were not a part of the original software; however, were made by third party developers as plug-ins.

ee also

*Habitat (video game)
*Club Caribe
*Dreamscape (chat)

Notes

* cite web| url=http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars/book/fullbook/chwa/chwa1.htm| title=WorldsAway| author=Bruce Damer| date=1997| publisher=digitalspace.com| quote=Depth 2 1/2-D| accessdate=2008-02-25
* cite web| url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292351,00.html| title=The Palace; Worldsaway; Worlds Chat| author=Ty Burr| date=1996-05-03| publisher=Entertainment Weekly| quote=| accessdate=2008-02-25
* cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960617/ai_n14042826| title=Nothing on telly? There will be| publisher=The Independent| date=1996-06-17| author=Steve Homer| quote=online chat system that allows users to adopt personalities through avatars, surrogate graphic characters which appear on screen. As people "talk" (by typing on their keyboards) words appear in speech bubbles.| accessdate=2008-02-25
* cite news| url=http://www.businessweek.com/1996/12/b3467152.htm| title=FUJITSU GETS WIRED (int'l edition)| publisher=Business Week| date=1996-03-18| author=Steven V. Brull, Robert D. Hof, Julia Flynn, Neil Gross| quote=More than 15,000 subscribers, intrigued by this extension of "chat", log on via CompuServe in 147 countries around the world.| accessdate=2008-02-25
* cite journal| url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.06/avatar.html| title=Metaworlds| publisher=Wired| issue=4.06| year=1996| month=June| author=Robert Rossney| accessdate=2008-02-26

External links

* [http://vzn.eddcoates.com VZones Network Archives] archives of locales, screenshots and info from 1995 to 2003
* [http://web.archive.org/web/19961120222746/www.worldsaway.com/Worldsaway/download2.html WorldsAway Graphics] archived screenshots from 1996
* [http://www.virtualworldsreview.com/vzones/gallery01.shtml Screenshots of VZones worlds in 2003 and 2004]
* [http://www.vzones.com VZones Website]