Tag: Versu

Posted on

2013 Reviewed

The challenge with a review of the year is to try and make it worth reading. There’s a balance between including information and including too much information. This year’s review is largely based on Second Life and my own posts, so there’s plenty of information that I will be missing. For those who want a more in depth review, Inara Pey has been reviewing 2013 too.

For me personally it was a difficult year, Reed, Dee, Izzy and TJ Linden all gave me wonderful support, even when I myself was more than a tad grouchy with them but I do appreciate the efforts they made to accommodate me.

This post is not as long as it looks, if you skip the pictures, links and embedded videos it won’t take as long to read as you may think at first glance. I did consider breaking this down in to different posts, as I did last year. However at the end of the day it is what it is, so it looks like it’s epic in length but it’s really not. However to aid people I’ve decided to go back to HTML school and create a table of contents! Hurrah.

Contents

Continue reading “2013 Reviewed”

Posted on

Rome Coming To Versu But When Will Versu Come To The Android Or Second Life?

Emily Short has a teaser on her blog for a new Versu title : Coming To Versu. All the teaser contains is an image and the word “Rome“. Now as we all know, Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was the Versu port to Android. On that blog post someone asks:

“How’s the Android port coming along by the way? =)”

Emily replies: “I’m afraid I’m not in a position to announce a date on that. I hear you, though.”

Versu, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is Linden Lab’s interactive fiction product. There are plans to allow user generated content on the platform so it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Linden Lab don’t seem to advertise Versu that well, which is not going to surprise long term Second Life users. There’s surely scope for an official Versu blog of sorts to keep people updated. I’m also surprised that Linden Lab don’t use Second Life to promote Versu.

Continue reading “Rome Coming To Versu But When Will Versu Come To The Android Or Second Life?”

Posted on

Where Next For Versu And Dio?

Whilst the TOS debate has been raging I’ve been checking out other Linden Lab properties, mostly Versu and Dio. Now one point to note in TOS terms is that Dio is under the same Linden Lab umbrella TOS as Second Life and Desura whilst Versu still currently has its own TOS. I’m not sure what to make of that.

Versu seems to be going well, although there’s still no bloody Android version. Dio on the other hand seems to be struggling for identity.

When Linden Lab launched these products earlier in the year, Versu sounded interesting as an interactive fiction platform with a suggestion that it would be opened up to allow people to create their own stories.

Dio on the other hand didn’t sound too interesting, but when it launched it was surprisingly interesting and had the potential to allow people to create photo albums, interactive stories, text adventure type games, a broad brush but that seems to have changed and it’s now billed as a place to create interactive photo albums. The photo album market is a very competitive area. Dio also isn’t helped by the hard to read text links in the footer, at my age you notice these things!

Of the two Versu currently looks the more vibrant, in August Deidra Kiai announced the release of two new Versu adventures. They were “Office Politics: The Interview” and “Office Politics: The Party“. As opposed to previous Versu titles which were more pride and prejudice era, these adventures are set in the modern day office environment. There’s also a link on Deidra Kiai’s blog to a Dio adventure entitled “Jamey Beanman’s Burrito Quest” which Dio informs me is private or limited access. Maybe you need to be logged in.

Continue reading “Where Next For Versu And Dio?”

Posted on

Versu Debuts On The iPad

I have been checking the Versu website regularly for updates on Linden Lab’s interactive fiction venture from Emily Short and Richard Evans to see whether Versu was available. The site merely said “Coming Soon” but today I see a blog post from Hamlet Au over at New World Notes announcing that it is now available, but only on the iPad, although an Android version is promised.

I must confess to being bitterly disappointed to learn that Versu is a tablet app. I hadn’t noticed this in any of the previous articles about the product, although to be fair they were few and far between. Swings and roundabouts here, I wasn’t expecting much from Dio and that turned out to be surprisingly engaging for me. However having looked forward to seeing Versu, I am totally deflated. However it still looks like an interesting product and from Linden Lab’s perspective, they now have products available on the web, Steam, iTunes App Store with applications for desktops and tablets, so the company is covering more ground than ever before.

As well as Hamlet’s post there’s also an official press release from Linden Lab detailing the product and a video on the Versu website, which I’ll embed later in this post.

Versu launches with some stories, as you’d expect. Initially you will get:

  • An Introduction To Society – Designed as an introduction to Versu.
  • The Unwelcome Proposal – A scene from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice where you can change the outcome.
  • The House On The Cliff – An original playable ghost story from Emily Short.

They are bundled with Versu for free, another title “A Family Supper” will be available for USD$4.99. This is billed as a murder mystery by Emily Short and looks as if it’s the title that was erroneously put on the Versu website when details about the product were posted for a day or two at the start of the year.

Continue reading “Versu Debuts On The iPad”

Posted on

Linden Lab Empire Expands As They Acquire iPad Game Blocksworld

Linden Lab’s empire grows by the day, as they announce they’ve acquired the iPad game Blocksworld, the full press release can be read here. I may follow suit and issue a press release everytime I buy a new game … oh wait they haven’t just purchased the game to play in the Lab, they’ve purchased the whole kit and caboodle along with plans to globally release the game!

Rod Humble is quoted in the press release as saying: “Blocksworld is a great fit with what we do at Linden Lab, It’s a very user-friendly complement to our portfolio of shared creative spaces. We’re happy to have the Blocksworld team join Linden Lab and are looking forward to bringing Blocksworld to the App Store worldwide soon!”

I’m really pleased to see Rod Humble speaking, I wondered where the bloody hell he’d gone! I did wonder if he was in hiding due to the nightmare season Aston Villa are having. Anyway, the next question is, what the bloody hell is Blocksworld? This is a genuine question as I’ve never heard of it!

Continue reading “Linden Lab Empire Expands As They Acquire iPad Game Blocksworld”

Proudly powered by WordPress
Follow

Get the latest posts delivered to your mailbox: