Metaplace Worlds Now Embed Into Any Web Page

1.) build a world    2.) add it to your web site    3.) profit?

by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk

If the name of the game in MMOs is to grow the user population in preparation for an eventual IPO, Metaplace took a significant step forward this week by allowing Metaplace spaces to be inserted into players' web sites. For example, the Herald's Metaplace offices are embedded below, and can be freely explored - after logging into the service - without leaving this page.

Enter the world, find the television and click to see Larry Lessig YouTube video embedded in Herald Metaplace offices embedded in Herald web page

Why is this move significant? First, it has the potential to harness viral marketing forces.  To see the Metaplace worlds, visitors to websites with embedded MP spaces need to have an MP account -- and each web site with an MP embedded space becomes an advertisement for Metaplace.

Embeddable MP spaces may also help jumpstart acceptance of Metaplace now that existing web-based advertising and payment mechanisms can be used alongside MP spaces. We expect to see MP game designers, musicians, and DJs employ PayPal tipjars on their web pages along with Google AdSence in an attempt to monetize their gameplay.

For the training and education sector, inserting a live environment into their web pages should also be appealing - as are the minimal hardware requirements to run Metaplace. But the training and education sector is not where the real money is - various forms of Internet-enabled commerce seem more likely to be they key to virtual world viability - but this is where Metaplace still has some work to do.

It is understandable that real world commerce is not Metaplace's strength today - the world has only been in open beta for a few months, so a number of promised features remain promises. This creates some tension for early adopters.

Although the Metaplace designers have a real money trade virtual currency planned for the future, players who hope to host large scale events in Metaplace need either deep pockets or a revenue source to help pay for high concurrency spaces in MP. Web pages with MP spaces partially address this issues with the possibility of web-based revenue.

The revenue issue is acute for those hoping to host large events on a regular basis. The trial spaces given to free account holders are enough to get started, but part of the MP business model is charging players to increase their concurrent visitor limit for large scale events - typically with $9.95 USD day passes that allow for up to 100 concurrent users in a space. Anything that helps world creators develop revenue streams has the potential to help MP's bottom line by allowing players to more easily pay for these high concurrency spaces for games, concerts, and lectures.

How does it work?

The Metaplace wiki describes several approaches to embedding a space, and for those who are comfortable with working in HTML, an example the embed code for the Herald space is:

<iframe scrollbar="no" src="https://www.metaplace.com/remote/embedsimple/AlphavilleHerald" style="border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 5pt; overflow: hidden;" frameborder="0" height="540" scrolling="no" width="640"></iframe>

To get a feel for being in more than one place at a time - if not being transworld omnigendered - visit some of our favorite places:

stunning shadows

Paris cafe society

Gin n Juice in the 'hood

Comments

[LittleLostLinden]

I'm a little confused by Metaplace. Is it just me, or does Metaplace seem like it's not as much fun as SL? I mean, the avatars a teeny weeny weeny teeny weeny and. well. i dunno. it bores me. I must be the only one however.

[Whatever]

You aren't. Didn't we see a similar train wreck with Google Lively not that long ago?

[Orion]

Uhm, the phrase "Difficult to navigate!" kinda comes to mind? Limited character choices, operates worse then an old dos scrolling game, cheezy graphics... I'll pass. :)

[LittleLostLinden]

Kinda what I thought. Yeah, I remember Lively, for like 2 months or so. I think that the old PC game Lemmings looks like it's more fun than Metaplace.

[Bamika Easterman]

Well at least with their price hikes and Adult Content policies Linden Lab are working hard to make SL as little fun as Metaplace. You can't say they're not responding to the competition! Welcome to your new more predictable SL experience. :)

[Miss Jay]

I've been scanning over articles these past few weeks and saw pretty much the same promotion with Google. The herald has got to be taking advertisement money from metaplace. The place doesn't even look interesting enough for anyone to spend their time in with out getting paid to do so. This will close in the next 3-6 months.

[Alazarin]

Yes, the grafix and isometric controls are a bit ....er.... limited *BUT* the idea of being able to embed your MetaPlace site into your website is an excellent concept. I'd like to see a similar idea happen with Second Life. However for it to have any real user appeal LL would need to find some way to either virtualise land or else make it a damn sight cheaper for the end user. Otherwise the majority of embedded SL pages would end up showing the interior of dreary little 16 X 32 512 skyboxes.

[LittleLostLinden]

Metaplace makes me giggle. I can't beleive how much advertisement it receives on this site now. This site will never be able to redeem itself if it continues to try to compare Metaplace to SL. There is just not really a comparison between the 2 products. With all the issues that SL has, it is still much more enjoyable than Metaplace. When I think of Metaplace, for some reason I am reminded of the Colecovision ADAM computer. :)

[Darien Caldwell]

Hey, don't knock the Adam, that was my first computer, and Where I learned Z80 Assembly Language. I have very fond memories of waiting 30 minutes for programs to load off the tape storage... And those 64kbytes of ram were plenty for the day. However I still have some hearing loss from that Daisy-wheel printer.

A little sample of the awesome Adam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqgT-SRrXM

And Ya, The Alphaville Herald obviously had a hard-on for Metaplace, or it's creator, or maybe both. :p

[LittleLostLinden]

Yes, but have you compared the ADAM to Intellivision from Mattell Electronics?

[Kiddoh]

"Kinda what I thought. Yeah, I remember Lively, for like 2 months or so. I think that the old PC game Lemmings looks like it's more fun than Metaplace."

Lemmings was bundles of fun. :O

[LittleLostLinden]

For anyone who missed out on Lemmings, here is the playable link to it:

http://www.elizium.nu/scripts/lemmings/

Much more fun than Metaplace in my opinion.

[Aya Pelous]

Little lost linden seems to think this website has some validity lulz

[Amanda]

Metaplace has some good ideas but the execution sucks. I think it's less that the Herald loves Metaplace and more that they hate SL.

[rawore]

don't judge the site by the reviewer's choice of embeds look at dalian's for example...

testing if it works in a comment oh well, not taking html, I guess.

http://beta.metaplace.com/Dalian

[LittleLostLinden]

I agree. It is almost as if the Herald wishes for Metaplace to replace SL.

I do not see this scenario taking place however (Metaplace surpassing SL).

I see Metaplace turning into a Lively and then it disappears from everywhere, including this site.

At the same time, I can feel a resurgence of popularity given to Lemmings, which in my opinion, is a far superior product when compared to Metaplace.

And to quote Ron Burgundy from Anchor Man:
"If you don't think that Lemmings is the best pc game ever, I will fight you."

[Just Me]

Metaplace = YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[Teddy Ruxpin Kennedy]

This "platform's" artwork is so "kiddie" that it really turns me off.

[LunarRaid]

The majority of those who bash and/or are bored by metaplace have either not tried or have never developed in it. Metaplace is not TRYING to be SL. Granted, the graphics are limited to SNES-style 2D, but the stuff that can be done if you overlook that simple limitation is incredible. The example worlds given here are pretty, but do not even come close to showing the capabilities of the platform. It is as customizable as the snes was for game developers of the day, except with built-in multiplayer, and who says the SNES was not a fun machine?! I myself have been developing an RC Pro-Am i- style racing/destruction derby game, and am amazed at the simplicity and customability of the tools. Right now the problem is content. Once the content is built, the players will follow. MP has been around for a while now in development, and I am sure it will be kicking around for quite a while, if not taking the web by storm.

[LittleLostLinden]

Metaplace still makes me giggle. In fact, I am giggling at this very moment.

I see a video game competition in the making:

Lemmings vs. Metaplace

It will be just like in the movie Joysticks. "Dorfus Mannnnnuuuuver!!!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yG77o3fdw

[LittleLostLinden]

Metaplace is going away on the 1st of the year!

To be honest, I am amazed it even made it through 2009 at all.