- There
Infobox VG
title = There.com
developer = Makena Technologies
publisher = Makena Technologies
distributor = Makena Technologies
designer =
engine =
version =
released =2003
genre =Multiplayer
modes =Multiplayer
ratings =PG13 World
platforms =Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows Vista
media =
requirements = 256MB RAM, 56k Internet connection (Broadband connection is highly recommended), 500MB free hard disk space,Internet Explorer XML supported, and approx. another 500MB for as disk cache for in-world 3D content.
input = Keyboard,Mouse "There" is a 3D online
virtual world created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella. There Inc. was founded in the spring of 1998. Closed beta began in July 2001, with various stages of beta following, and ending with an October 2003 launch date.Corporate history
In June 2004, There Inc. went through a restructuring and announced major layoffs. In April 2005, There Inc. announced that the commercial side of the company would be branching out to form two companies
Forterra Systems (the government contracted client), andMakena Technologies (the commercial client).In 2007, Makena Technologies announced a partnership with
MTV Networks to provide the technology platform for their virtual worlds which include: Virtual Laguna Beach, The Virtual Hills, Virtual Pimp My Ride, Virtual Real World, Virtual Newport Harbor, Virtual VMAs (Video Music Awards), Virtual Kaya, Virtual Rob and Big and Virtual Life of Ryan. Makena Technologies also has a partnership with Trilogy Studios.Corporate brands that currently have a presence in There.com include Coca-Cola, CosmoGIRL!, Humane Society of the U.S., Scion, Capital Music Group, Paramount Studios, bebe, NaCo USA, K-SWISS and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
In 2008, Makena Technologies launched ThereConnect, allowing There.com members to showcase their in-world profiles, skills, groups and upcoming events on their Facebook pages. They also announced ThereIM, a lightweight instant messaging client where users can communicate with other members’ avatars, whether or not they are signed into the virtual world.
Competitors
There competes with
Second Life ,Moove ,Active Worlds ,Kaneva , and morevirtual world s that exist on the web.Beta Stages
Beta I
Beta I began in January 2003.
New features included: Aussie hats and bunny slippers as well as the developer program.
Beta II
Beta II began on February 12th, 2003.
New features included: New emotes and vehicles in the Shop, the Over the Rainbow Pack and the Two of Hearts Pack, and a group of new dune buggy designs and new hover board designs including the Nebula Hoverboard and the Seamonster Hoverboard.
Beanies were also introduced in Beta II.
New drinks were also introduced.
There were four new land masses added in this version. 1 big island and 3 small islands.
Beta III
Beta III began in May 2003.
New features included: photo huts, Hoverbikes, and Hoverboats. Accessories now include earrings and glasses. The slider bars in the spa now allow for more customization. You can now build a paintball course with a 'gun kit'.
Tommygun s were introduced. Stylemaker arrives on the scenes to make women's tops. Flutterbugs arrive on the scene. Stages get buzzers. New hairstyles like the fro came out. Freestyle Hoverboard make the scene. The Adventure Maker adds four new types of clues including lockbox, bottles, balloons and personal force fields! Name tags get bigger when you look at someone in a chat group. Waterfalls and hot tubs on Calderra also added. Skill levels began to tell users more about how close you were to the next level.Details
There is a venue for socializing with less
role-playing than is typically found in MMORPGs. Billed on itshomepage as "...an online getaway where you can hang out with your friends and meet new ones...", There defines itself as a service providing a shared experience that allows people to interact in anonline society . The virtual world offers a PG-13 environment with built-in filters to block profanity, nudity and pornography and virtual bloodshed.Each new member enters the
community by choosing a unique name and a male or female avatar. The avatar's name and gender are permanently set, but various attributes such as hair color and style, head and body shapes, skin and eye color, clothing, etc. can be changed as desired. Through their avatars, members can communicate in real-time using emotions, body language, text chat and voice to express themselves. The voice feature, where you can converse with others through a headset/microphone, is available only to Premium Members (paying a one-time fee of $9.95 for the premium feature). Premium features include using voice, summoning other members, trading, selling, or buying clothes from others, etc.In addition to customizing their avatars, members can create their own items, such as clothing, vehicles, buildings and furniture, and sell them to others for use in the world. Each object created goes through a rigorous submission procedure to insure its accuracy as well as compliance with international copyright laws. Detailed instruction is available at the developer site provided by Makena and in world classes are offered for the novice as well as experienced graphic artist. All classes are without charge and open to all. Most items such as furniture are designed to be used within houses or zones, although some items such as vehicles and dogs are not due to their mobile nature. Monetary transactions in There's economy are done using Therebucks,
virtual currency with real world value. Therebucks can be purchased directly from There, from other members, or from any of the third party online "banks" which usually offer competitiveexchange rate s. 1 USD = 1,800 Tbux.Members of There.com can participate in activities such as racing vehicles, playing cards, flying, designing homes, playing paintball, hoverboarding and training virtual pets. There is also access to special interest groups devoted to topics including recreation, business, the environment, education and the arts.
In September 2007, all members of the There Philippines were moved to the original version. They were forced to change usernames (if necessary), and could not bring anything with them but tbux during the change.
Popular Locations in There
- CosmoGirl! Village- Duda Beach- Fisher Island- Zona Island- CC Metro
Island Names
- Caldera- Nada- Ootay- Tropical Adventure's- New Kansas- Egypt- Congrejo- Motu Motu- Malihini- Aurora- Coke Island- Comet
ize
As at Jan 2008 "There" contains 14 major islands, numerous smaller islands, 1 million members and many community places including businesses.
creenshots
ee also
*
Simulated reality
*CC Metro
*Active Worlds
*Second Life External links
;Official sites
* [http://www.there.com/ There.com]
* [http://info.there.com/ ThereCare - Official announcements and help site]
* [http://www.there.com/pr_acquisition.html Press release on There's website: Makena Technologies Acquires There from Forterra Systems]
* [https://forums.prod.there.com/forums/login.pl Official Forums] ;Maps
* [http://gothere.rumental.com:8000/grapher.php GoThere Maps] - interactive maps, PAZs, Places, GPS;Online There newspapers
* [http://www.therefuntimes.com There Fun Times] - "Promotional" news site
* [http://www.therevoice.com The Voice of There] - news site;Other on-line worlds using the There engine
* [http://www.groovenet.ph There Philippines] - Duplicate of There limited to Philippine users.
*Virtual Laguna Beach - contracted withMTV 's show ;There videos
* [http://www.backblast.com/there/Movies_Mirror/ There Movies Site]
* [http://users.snowcrest.net/fox/there/miraclepictures/ Miracle Pictures] ;There history
* [http://therehistory.wetpaint.com/ There.com History Timeline] ;Other
* [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Makena+Technologies%22&hl=en&lr=&start=0&sa=N Google Search on Makena Technologies]
* [http://www.thumdar.com Thumdar In There] - There downloads, patches and entertainment. Created in 2004.
* [http://www.sothereforums.com So There] - forum
* [http://www.karille.com Karille.com] - There Videos, Links, Emotes and More
* [http://www.karille.com/crazytalk "Just Crazy Talk" Show] - Talk Radio
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