There (internet service)

Encyclopedia : T : TH : THE : There (internet service)

There is a subscription business model internet service created in 1998 by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella, consisting of an immersive PG-13 3-D virtual world which is complemented by 2-D web-based services. Previously owned and operated by Forterra Systems Inc., There was "spun-off" in April 2005 as an independent company with its assets held by Makena Technologies, headed by CEO Michael Wilson and President /COO Steve Victorino.

Contents

1 Details

1.1 Screenshots

2 External links

2.1 Official Sites
2.2 Maps
2.3 Online There Newspapers
2.4 Other
2.5 There Videos

Details

Some subscribers regard There as a chat room with less role-playing than is typically found in MMORPGs. Others view There as a game, but many consider it to be much more than a mere game or venue for socializing. Billed on its homepage as "...an online getaway where you can hang out with your friends and meet new ones...", There defines itself as a service providing a shared experience that allows people to interact in an online society.

Each new member enters the community by choosing a unique name and a male or female avatar. The avatar's name and gender are permanently set, but various attributes such as hair color and style, head and body shapes, skin and eye color, clothing, etc. can be changed as desired. Unrestricted by set goals or required activities, members can avail themselves of There's many features, including:

Sophisticated chat via text or voice with other nearby members or remotely via instant messaging. Avatars display body language, verbal articulation, and gestures that are triggered by various textual keywords, emotes, and even vocal inflection.

Uniquely There-style sports such as avatar hockey and Sumo buggy bashing, as well as the more conventional soccer and racing

Spades, contests, and other game venues

Dancing and devising animation combinations through the use of a keyboard macro program such as Giggles

Listening to music and talk shows on SHOUTcast stations, often operated by other members

Story-based events such as questing, movie-making (Machinima), and creative writing

Member-created groups for like interests

Virtual pets, currently limited to dogs which are available in two breeds, Labrador and Dachshund. Dogs respond to commonly used commands, such as "heel", "sit", "come", "jump", etc., when they aren't busy playing or obeying other members' commands.

Exploration of There's immense and tremendously varied cyber-landscape; either on foot or by vehicle. There's vehicle classes currently include the Bacio (a two seated scooter that resembles a Vespa), buggy, TUV (There Utility Vehicle), hoverbike, hoverboard, hoverboat(aircraft), and hoverpack.

Arranging content within houses or zones to create living quarters, meeting places, game rooms, movie sets, race tracks, mazes, yard sales--in short, whatever the member can imagine using available materials. In addition to houses, "fun zones", and "frontier zones" which maintain a fixed presence and location in the world, There also features "porta-zones", portable zones that can be relocated or removed from the world when not in use. Porta-zones (or "PAZs") do not incur rental fees when not in the world. Houses and zones are rented from There on a monthly basis. Neighborhoods and neighborhood lots are the most recent additions to There's suite of porta-zones.

Buying, selling, and trading of member-created items, as well as items created by There. Most items such as furniture are designed to be used within houses or zones, although some items such as vehicles and dogs are not due to their mobile nature. Monetary transactions in There's economy are done using Therebucks, virtual currency with real world value. Therebucks can be purchased directly from There, from other members, or from any one of the 3rd party online "banks" which usually offer competitive exchange rates. Members can also sell their Therebucks to banks in exchange for real world currency, usually USD.

Screenshots

To meet Wikipedia's and conform with our [NPOVNPOV] policy, this article or section may require [Cleanupcleanup].
The current version of the article or section reads like an [What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a soapboxadvertisement].
Please discuss this issue on the . is available.

Image:There_Screenshot02.jpg|Activities include hoverboarding, with the ability to perform stunts such as dropping down from space. Image:Scenery.jpg|A wide pan over a seaside thatched-roof village Image:GroupPage.jpg|Members can join and create interest groups Image:EnjoyTyr!.jpg|Interior of Tyr temple Image:Oka1.jpg|Aerial view of a member-owned land parcel Image:Emotes1.jpg|Avatars can display a wide variety of emotes Image:Zona.jpg|This is Zona Island, a place where new members first log in to. Image:membermade.jpg|This is a member made vehicle. As an avatar you can paint and build a variety of items.

External links

Official Sites

Maps

[thalasso's There maps] - maps, tours and images

Online There Newspapers

[Life in There] - news site
[The Voice of There] - news site

Other

There Videos

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.