Multiverse Network
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The Multiverse Network, Inc. | |
---|---|
Type | Private |
Founded | July 2004 |
Headquarters | Mountain View, California, USA |
Key people | Bill Turpin, Co-founder & CEO Rafhael Cedeno, Co-founder & CTO |
Industry | Online Games |
Website | www.multiverse.net |
The Multiverse Network, Inc. is an American startup company creating a network and platform for Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) and 3D virtual worlds. Multiverse's stated aim is to lower the barrier of entry for to development teams by providing a low-cost software platform for online game and virtual world development.
Contents |
[edit] Technology
Multiverse provides technology known as MMOG middleware (Multiverse uses the term platform). It includes the Multiverse Client (for Microsoft Windows only at this point), a server suite, development tools, sample assets, documentation, and a developer community. The goal is to provide consumers/users with a single client program that lets them visit all of the virtual worlds built on the Multiverse Platform. From the consumer point of view, this enables a de facto network of virtual worlds.
Like RealmForge, the Multiverse client is written in C#, and based on the Axiom Engine. The Multiverse server suite is written in Java and uses a publish/subscribe messaging system to provide reliability and scalability. The server also provides a plug-in API. The Windows-based tools use the COLLADA data interchange format, to enable artists to import 3D assets from popular tools such as Maya, 3D Studio Max, and now Google SketchUp.
[edit] Business model
Multiverse provides its technology platform cost-free for development and deployment. Income comes through revenue-sharing; Multiverse takes a share of any payments made by consumers/users to the world developer. If a developer provides a world for free (or free for a period of time), Multiverse does not charge anything. When a developer starts charging consumers/users, Multiverse takes a share (10 percent), and also handles the financial transaction processing. Development teams host their own servers and retain 100 percent of their world's IP.
James Cameron joined the company's board of advisors, and Red Herring magazine selected it as one of the "Red Herring 100" privately held companies that play a leading role in innovating the technology business.
In December, 2006, Multiverse announced that it had optioned the rights to develop an MMOG based on Firefly, the science fiction television series [1].
[edit] Competitors
Most of the competition differs in one way or another from Multiverse's technology and approach, but these are the other companies that compete in the MMOG Middleware space:
- Active Worlds [2]
- Abyssal_Engine
- Bigworld Technology
- Hero Engine
- Gamebryo from Emergent Game Technologies
- Kaneva Game Platform
- Toi
- Torque Game Engine
- DimensioneX Multiplayer Engine
- RealmCrafter
- Project Darkstar
- NeL from Nevrax, which is the foundation of their MMORPG Ryzom
- Second Life (Note: Second Life enables users to create content but not entire standalone games or virtual worlds).
- Croquet Project
- SparkForge
- Metaplace from Areae, currently heading into alpha release.
[edit] References
- The Wall Street Journal (April 3, 2008) - Virtual World Gets Another Life
- The Economist (March 19, 2008) - Break down these walls
- Technology Review (October 29, 2007) - Moving Freely between Virtual Worlds
- The Financial Times (October 26, 2007) - Real life intrudes on the virtual world
- The Financial Times (October 15, 2007) - Will the web go 3D?
- CNET News.com (October 9, 2007) - Google tools to power virtual worlds
- Technology Review (July/August 2007) - Second Earth
- The Wall Street Journal (June 18, 2007) - What's New: Fueling Fantasies
- The Economist (June 7, 2007) - Online gaming's Netscape moment
- Red Herring (May 31, 2007) - Multiverse Snares $4M
- BusinessWeek (April 16, 2007) - The Coming Virtual Web
- Wired (December 7, 2006) - Firefly Reborn as Online Universe
- TCSDaily (October 2006) - The Next Big Thing
- BusinessWeek (February 13, 2006) - James Cameron's Game Theory
- BusinessWeek (February 13, 2006) - Syncing Hollywood and Gamers
- Gamasutra (December 6, 2005) - Multiverse Launches Multiverse Platform for MMOG Development
- Red Herring (December 6, 2005) - Multiverse seeks to help independent game developers
- Kent, Steven (September 23, 2003). "Alternate Reality: The history of massively multiplayer online games". GameSpy.
[edit] External links
- Wikipedia: Virtual World
- The Multiverse Network, Inc.
- Multiverse Developer Wiki
- Firefly MMO News - News about Multiverse's Firefly MMO