Google goes MMO-ish with Lively

by Kyle Orland { Jul 9th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Google's takeover of every corner of the Web continues today with a public beta of Lively, an MMO-style social networking browser plug-in. Users create a personalized avatar and gather in custom-designed rooms to walk around, chat and perform scripted animations. It's not a game per se, but users have already started turning their rooms into virtual versions of games like chess and various role-playing scenarios.

As the community evolves, you can expect Lively to evolve into a sort of Second Life-style do-anything space, with a wide array of self-styled gaming areas. The question remains: Is Google staking its claim to the future of social gaming, or is it just another Johnny-come-lately in the newest social networking fad?

[Via Massively]

Tags: Google, Lively, Second Life, SecondLife, social network, SocialNetwork

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

heh @ Jul 9th 2008 2:04PM

Raid target, much?

Also, I'm going to lol hard when google's adsense comes to this.

JohnMazz @ Jul 9th 2008 2:10PM

So we have a SecondLife/Home-killer, soon google is going to make a Human-killer; a better human than humen. Thats when we're all in trouble.

heh @ Jul 9th 2008 2:13PM

"More human than human"?

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 2:24PM

How could it be a Home-killer when Home isn't even out yet?

JayVe @ Jul 9th 2008 2:29PM

Android?

Titanium_Orchid @ Jul 9th 2008 2:29PM

@ heh

To-Human

JayVe @ Jul 9th 2008 2:35PM

This reminds me of how much Sony talked up the PSP being an iPod killer cause it could play video. Yet while Sony was flapping its gums about how cool the PSP WOULD be, Apple launched the iPod Video, and let people have the product. By the time the PSP launched, it looked pathetic with its feeble memory card storage compared to the smaller iPod holding 80 gigs of video.

The same thing just happened with Home. Sony talked for years about how Home would be a virtual space where people can share video. Only now google's already done it, letting people embed these worlds into their own FaceBook and Blogs. Lively is gonna be big, and it here to stay.

NATO_Duke @ Jul 9th 2008 2:40PM

How can it be a Home killer when Home is on a PS3? Why is one lame social networking "game" always seen as an attack on other unrelated applications? None of them revolutionize the online world.

Titanium_Orchid @ Jul 9th 2008 2:47PM

I don't really see this being a Home killer. Lively seems to be geared towards a different audience.

If Lively allows people to build their own objects, I can see it rivaling Second Life. Although I would assume that the majority of people already using second life are to invested in the game to simply jump ship.

Titanium_Orchid @ Jul 9th 2008 2:11PM

This things going to spread like VD

BananaBoat @ Jul 9th 2008 2:13PM

It would be kinda cool if you could sign up for this, then go to a websites island or something. For instance, as I type this, I could be on the "Joystiq Island" and we could slap fight each other or something.

On second thought....nah

Zorink @ Jul 9th 2008 7:49PM

Fanboy wars would be ever better with actual fighting!

Mr.ESC @ Jul 9th 2008 2:18PM

Someone once looked at a saturated market and said: "I can do that too"

Booxatron @ Jul 9th 2008 2:20PM

Can I yiff?

BananaBoat @ Jul 9th 2008 2:22PM

Absolutely no yiffing.

Chase @ Jul 9th 2008 2:25PM

I'll give it a "yuck."

BigD145 @ Jul 9th 2008 2:42PM

Only if you put on your 'coon tail.

Superstar90 @ Jul 9th 2008 11:49PM

cube is for yiffing

Marty @ Jul 9th 2008 2:22PM

Check out the forums for Lively - I got a pretty good laugh, and actually somewhat agreed with, a complaint about how the available avatars are mostly complete racial stereotypes.

I'd be more interested in development tools for this project - I imagine a person of reasonable talent and initiative could make a fair amount of money by modeling characters and objects for this sort of thing.

Dan @ Jul 9th 2008 2:47PM

Here my favorite excerpt from the forum lol:

I was on Lively for 2 minutes, totally new to the experience, picked
an empty room and was standing there changing clothes and some guy
comes up to me, picks me up over his head and throws me to the floor,
then proceeds to beat me up. So, this is the crap that Google thinks
is good for the world huh? I'll never use this, never let me kids use
it and I think it is in such poor taste that the children at Google
think this is cool. "

At first I thought he was joking lol but he was telling the truth....aaah the virtual world.
Get ready for gang activity soon! -_-

Ally @ Jul 9th 2008 3:08PM

Never played GTAIV then?

MC Double Def DP @ Jul 9th 2008 3:43PM

I had no interest in this thing until I just read that you can beat up people changing clothes and is full of racist stereotypes. now it sounds like a blast!

Rick @ Jul 9th 2008 2:36PM

anyone here read Snow Crash?

Eerie...

samfish @ Jul 9th 2008 2:38PM

What's the point of it if you can't make yourself into a hot, sexy raccoon and fuck?

superaktieboy @ Jul 9th 2008 2:44PM

what's Home?

:/

seriously tho.. Arstechnica reported that this was a 20% of what they are actually gonna do.. so i guess that this might be better than Home.. from what i have played.. it is in fact better than SL.. but you never know about home.. guess it'll have to come first (if it ever comes out)