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September 30, 2008

Lively, a Future Platform for Online Games


"X-Ray Kid is the team that was recruited by Google to establish the visual style and aesthetic direction" for Lively, the 3D chat service launched in July. "It's been 2 years of work, dozens of original character designs, each with hundreds of unique animations, thousands of clothing variations and original sound content. In addition, we also produced numerous themed environments, hundreds of objects, animated room buddies, and the list goes on," explains the game development studio.

Kevin Hanna, creative director at X-Ray Kid, offers some insights on Lively's future in an interview for GamesIndustry.biz. Kevin says that there are lot of interesting features that will be added to Lively:
Some of my favourite stuff has yet to come out. There's a lot of different characters, and cute animals and stuff, but we didn't do anything really genre-pushing. I think with the next step we're going to be still within that style, but really pushing the different genres of known game types. (...) There is a longer term goal of opening up the API so the architecture of Lively could be used as an online games platform.

Google has already bought AdScape, a company that monetizes games by placing relevant advertising, and some speculated that Google intends to acquire Valve, the company that developed Half Life.

6 comments:

  1. wow, seems to be a very nice stuff

    I'm anxiously waiting for release..

    Mudassir
    http://www.socialmediaplex.com

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  2. I am anxiously waiting for release of something that doesn't require Windows.

    Why didn't Google just by Second Life? It runs EVERYWHERE!

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  3. I'd rather see them improve the speed.
    Oh, and also add more compatibility with other browsers (specifically, their OWN, wonder if they could create a javascript framework for it to run on, it would further their point on improving it in the first place)

    Or as Macbeach said, purchase Second Life and improve on that already nice concept. (shame about the furries though...)

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  4. Google Earth / Street View will be a gaming platform

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  5. I agree with Hunter, the speed definitely needs to be improved.

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  6. nice 3D graphics hope it will be more enhanced in the future

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