Onverse

[Bruce Lehmann]

Since I covered an older Virtual Platform last go around, I thought I would write about a new one. Over the last few years there have been quite a few virtual places popping up. Second Life, Kaneva, IMVU, Exit Reality, Vivaty, Prototerra, etc., to name some. All of them are somewhat unique in their own way. Second Life is huge and immersive. IMVU and Vivaty are basically spaces that can be teleported to and from. Exit Reality and Prototerra (and its newer cousin, 3DJay), are more in between. All, also, have a lot of things in common when it comes to user experience. Such as clubs, dancing, socializing, etc. One could become jaded with it all and decide that it is a whole lot of ‘the same’ no matter where you go (Not true, by the way). This brings us to the newest one I have run across, Onverse.

At first glance it looks like the same old, same old. You have avatars, places, an apartment, items and goods to buy, and so on. Study it a little closer and it gets more interesting.

You join at the site. Like Kaneva and IMVU it is kind of a cross between virtual reality and Facebook/Myspace, a direction most of the newer places are going. You then download the software and install (nothing new here either). It is a 178mb download for Windows and 200 for Mac, so be patient. It is a Beta program, but is surprising stable, at least on my PC. There are no system requirements as of yet, so tread cautiously. I am running it on a Quad Core PC with 4Gig of ram and a 640 meg video card, so I see no lag or problems. I have not been able to test it on my weaker machine as of yet.

Once launched, it announces that it is on the Torque engine proudly in the splash. It then presents you with a log-in. Once logged in you are given a choice of starting worlds (2, so far).

It has its own browser, like Second Life and the others. There are buttons on the bottom for various functions. You choose one of the worlds, either the Learning Center or Volcano Island, and are then presented a choice of places within that world to go to. Chose one, it loads, and there you are.

Now, to a jaded old virtual world traveler like myself, it all looks familiar. Avatars running around, dance clubs, ho-hum. The problem is, if you make that quick decision you will probably dismiss it off and leave (I did, but went back). A closer look and some checking around and it begins to stand out on its own.

For a start; it is a big scavenger hunt. Except you are hunting for player points, these being the in-world currency.

You have tools in your possession that will help you in your hunt. Such as a shovel to dig out PP’s (Player Points), a butterfly net to catch PP’s flying around, and a hammer to smash thing that PP’s hidden inside. The more PP’s you get, the more virtual goods you can buy.

Next, like the other platforms out there, you get around by running/walking (switched by the ‘Shift’ key), or by calling up a map and ‘Teleporting’ somewhere else. But there is another way to get around that is pretty unique; the Avatar Cannon. You walk up to one of these beauties and right click it, choose ‘Ride’, and it literally fires you through the air to a different region of the world. I like this idea. It has a sense of fun to it.

You get a free apartment to ‘live’ in and they are almost apologetic about how small it is. Of course, as you collect/earn PP’s you will be able to purchase a larger place and even a house. You can also purchase furniture, clothing, and items like costumes and such.

All in all it is a pleasant experience. The avatars are stylized like in IMVU or the now deceased Lively, and they look good. The places are nicely done and the interactivity is good. There is a sense of vastness to the areas missing in places like IMVU. The action is good and as I said, at least on my PC, it isn’t laggy. As more people sign on this may change if their servers aren’t up to the load.

Give it a whirl. It is free and easy to use. It has a sense of fun to it and has enough going on with it so you are not dependant on others to have a good time. As I said before, it is in Beta so it will have a few problems, although I didn’t immediately run into any.

Not a bad way to spend a little time on line.

[Damon Hernandez]

Thanks for the review!