• In short: Combining a virtual environment and a social network, Kaneva,
• URL: http://www.kaneva.com
• Maintained by: Kaneva, Inc. since 2004
• Price: Free access
• Kaneva System Requirements:  Windows XP or Vista, 515 MB hard drive space, 512 MB RAM, high-speed internet, Nvidia 5200/ATI X700 series graphics card or better
•  Platforms supported: PC

Kaneva Overview

Kaneva is touted as a place for 3D friends and good times.  You can meet new people and hang out, go shopping for virtual clothes and accessories, customize a 3D home, open your own 3D dance club, among other things. 

Kaneva, inc. is a privately owned Atlanta-based company.  Founded in 2004 by Christopher Klaus and Greg Frame, Kaneva supports 2D web browsing, social networking features, and the ability to share media.

History 

Kaneva originally started as a product to help game developers build games.   The first version of Kaneva’s game platform was released in late 2004, allowing game developers to produce games.  Soon thereafter, Kaneva decided to use its own technology to develop a virtual environment that combined a 3D world, video sharing, and aspects of social networking.  In 2005, Kaneva started development on the Kaneva virtual world, which was ultimately released into beta in mid 2006.

Kaneva takes place in a modern-day setting.  It boasts a world “full of real friends and good times” and a “a more human way to connect with friends online.”

Members create avatars, digital version of themselves, and gets their own 3D space called a Kaneva City Loft.  Lofts can be customized, decorated, and furnished.  Videos, photos, music, and games can be watched on 3D televisions.  Friends can come hang out in the 3D home or one can use one of Kaneva’s public spaces to chat syncronously.  Users can dance, shop for the latest fashions, play games, watch TV and movies, and explore.

Kaneva seems to target teens.

Kaneva Screenshots

Kaneva Resources

Kaneva Official Site

Kaneva Logo and screenshots are ©2007 KANEVA, INC. All Rights Reserved. The Virtual World of Kaneva is a trademark of Kaneva, Inc.

• In short: The sister of There, a private virtual world technology for domains such as e-learning, military and homeland security training, healthcare, etc.
• URL: http://www.forterrainc.com
• Maintained by: Forterra Systems since 2005.
• Price: Depends on service
• Forterra System Requirements
• Platforms supported: PC

Forterra Systems Overview

Originally founded in 1998 as There, Inc., Forterra Systems Inc. is a company that “builds distributed virtual world technology…for domains such as e-learning, military and homeland security training, healthcare, and entertainment industries.” Based upon the Online Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVE) Technology Platform, one can rapidly generate realistic 3D virtual environments that are scalable and (like many virtual environments) useful for simulations, planning, training, and collaboration in ways previously considered impractical or impossible. OLIVE is private and secure, open and extensible.

The History of Forterra Systems and There

There Inc., a Silicon Valley startup, was created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella in 1998 and was launched in October 2003. In June 2004, There Inc. went through a major restructuring, and went through a process of layoffs.
Robert Gehorsam approached There Inc. about pitching the software to the military for training purposes. Shortly thereafter, he had won a four-year, $3.5 million contract from the Army’s Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) to utilize There for military use. Ultimately, the company announcing in April 2005 that it would be splitting into two companies: Makena Technologies (which operates the current massively multiplayer online game There (there.com) and Forterra Systems (a government contracted client that would initially modify the client for military training use), led by Gehorsam as CEO.

Forterra therefore shifted its focus from entertainment to Serious Games that service the military, healthcare, education, among other domains, while There continued on as a social virtual world. Both have grown to be successful in their respective foci.

Recent News

In August 2007, Forterra Systems announced that the Defense Department’s Joint Advanced Distributed Learning (JADL) Co-Laboratory, selected Forterra to build and study Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) training system within a virtual environment. This is meant to directly benefit the military’s efforts in Iraq. The results of this will also be applicable to other Department of Defense missions and other requirements of military training.

Developed under DoD’s ADL initiative to establish common guidelines and specifications for learning on a global scale, SCORM is designed to allow users to create a future learning environment that is better, faster, and less costly, anytime and anywhere it is needed, to meet the training requirements.

Forterra Screenshots

Screenshots below developed by Forterra Systems.

Corporate

1st Responders

Medical

Military

Resources

[This entry needs to be expanded. If you have suggestions or wish to be an editor, please email us at info (at symbol) virtualenvironments.info]

• In short: A 3D world with fully customizable avatars and a built-in scripting and building language. Users imagine and create all sorts of objects, including educational simulations and real-world products for sale.
• URL: http://www.secondlife.com
• Maintained by: Linden Lab since June 2003
• Price: Free basic accounts. Premium accounts are $9.95, which allows one to own land on which you can build upon.
• Second Life system requirements
• Platforms supported: Windows, Mac

Second Life Overview

Second Life (or SL for short) is a 3D online virtual world that is “imagined, created, and owned by its residents.” The software is a free download and basic membership is free. Second Life is a collaborative virtual environment in which residents can socialize, meet other real people, go exploring, participate in events and various activities, and create and barter user-created items and services. There are no winners or losers or predefined quests to complete. It is a virtual world that has been described as a builder’s world, open to exploration and limited only by one’s creativity.

The virtual currency in Second Life is the Linden Dollar. The exchange rate of Linden Dollars to US Dollars is generally about $260-$300 Linden Dollars per US Dollar. More than $1.1 million US dollars is exchanged within Second Life every day.

More than 9 million accounts have been registered, although many seem to be inactive. Many corporations have built islands within Second Life, including Dell, Nissan, IBM, and many others.

Educational Uses of Second Life

Second Life has been hailed by many for its educational potential. Many colleges and universities have purchased islands within Second Life and have built virtual campuses inside. To date, over 74 schools have already built virtual campuses. See SimTeach’s for a list of Second Life virtual campuses. Others have built informal learning exhibits, or proof-of-concept educational simulations (e.g. the Heart Murmur Simulation). There is a listserve for educators who wish to use Second Life for formal education.

This video provides many examples of current Science Learning Opportunities within Second Life, including real-time visualizations, hands-on genomics simulations, ARC Research Center’s 3-D anatomy exhibits, and New Media Consortium’s clinical simulation modules.

Second Life Screenshots

Second Life Resources (Note: we are not responsible for the content on these external pages)

• SimTeach Wiki – Linden Lab’s official resource for educators in Second Life.
• Corporations in Second Life – A list of corporations with islands in Second Life, including Adidas, BMW, Dell, Kraft, Nissan, Reuters, Sears, Toyota, and others.

• In short: People live virtual lives in a 3D world, socializing, developing skills, taking on jobs, earning wealth, and decorating homes.
• URL: http://www.thesimsonline.com
• Maintained by: Electronic Arts since December 2002
• Price: Free 14 day trial, then $9.95 a month
• The Sims Online system requirements
• Platforms supported: PC

The Sims Online Overview

The Sims Online, created by Will Wright of SimCity fame, is an online massively multiplayer virtual world where the Sims (avatars) are controlled by real people. One can play anyone he or she chooses, and each person gets virtual land. With this virtual land, one can build a house, coffee bar, museum, dance club, or anything else imaginable. Sims can do many things; they can go exploring the vast user-created world consisting of about thirteen cities, socialize, meet new friends, and develop power, wealth, reputation and social standing. They also have very human qualities, such as the need to sleep, eat, and hang out with people.

Although there are no ultimate objectives, direct guidelines, or quest-like tasks that must be done, Sims tend to develop skills (mechanical, charisma, cooking, body, creativity, and logic), work as an employee, and earn “simoleans”, the in-world currency. By earning enough simoleans, one can purchase all sorts of household items. The Sims Online has lots of visually appealing locations and items to marvel, and people tend to be creative with the way they decorate their virtual homes.

The game incorporates text chat, instant messaging and a wide variety of gestures for communication.

Most of the residents of this virtual environment seem to be in their teens and twenties. The Sims Online has a free limited trial, and then it costs $9.95 per month.

The Sims Online Screenshots

The Sims Online Resources

• Free limited trial of the Sims Online

• In short: A huge Anime-themed forum with customizable avatars, Flash-based games, guilds, and various collectibles for purchase.
• URL: http://www.gaiaonline.com
• Maintained by: Gaia Interactive since Feb. 2003
• Price: Free to join
• Gaia Online system requirements: Flash-supported Web browser
• Platforms supported: PC and Mac

Gaia Online Overview

Gaia Online is a Anime-themed forums website that is considered “the largest forum on the Internet,” with allegedly over one million posts being made each day. There are over 2.5 million users per month, consisting mainly of teenagers. Forum participants, known as Gaians, have an avatar which they can customize with a variety of items that can be purchased using Gaia Online’s virtual currency, known as Gaia Gold. Gaia Gold can be earned by playing Flash-based games (cards, fishing, word games, among others), posting on the forums, or simply by browsing the website. Avatars can hold items, be posed in multiple ways, and can wear different kinds of clothes. Other items for purchase include monthly collectibles and furniture for one’s Gaia Home. Like-minded folks who are interested in similar interests can create or join guilds, which can be public, private, or hidden.

Gaia Online Screenshots

Gaia Online Resources

• Gaia Online Official Website