- Game Neverending
"Game Neverending" (GNE) was an innovative
massively multiplayer online game that was in development byLudicorp , better known as the creators ofFlickr , from 2002 until it was cancelled in 2004. [cite web |url=http://www.gnespy.com/ |title=GNESpy |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Henderson, Cal |authorlink=Cal Henderson |date=2004 ]Game Neverending was an atypical
roleplaying game primarily based on social interaction and object manipulation. GNE was lighthearted and humorous; indeed there was no way to win, nor even any definition of success.cite web |url=http://www.mindjack.com/feature/gne.html |title=Thinking Outside the MUD |author=Sugarbaker, Mike |accessdate=2008-05-25 |publisher=Mindjack |date=2003-05-05 ] Many objects could be combined to create other objects, but any given object only served a questionable amount of purpose. A sense of community and communication between players was encouraged through gamewide and location-specific chat channels, as well as the ability to leave notes for other players at any location. [cite web |url=http://www.gnespy.com/museum/notes.php |title=Notes |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Henderson, Cal |authorlink=Cal Henderson |date=2003 |publisher=GNE Museum] Another aspect of GNE's novelty was that it was being developed into a highly user-extensible game: players were intended to be able to invent new objects and create new locations. The official in-game currency was shekels, but sheets (and quires and reams) of differently colored papers also served as a de facto currency. [cite web |url=http://www.gnespy.com/museum/paper.php |title=Paper |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Henderson, Cal |authorlink=Cal Henderson |date=2003 |publisher=GNE Museum]The earliest prototype went live on the
Internet in the fall of 2002 with the goal of experimenting with real time in-browser interaction, evaluating usage patterns and technical requirements and seeing how players would respond to the "tone" of the game. This was closedFebruary 3 ,2003 and eventually a new version was released as a closed beta.Fact|date=April 2008Ludicorp , the game's developers, received wide press coverage while they were making the game.Fact|date=April 2008 Through the long development, it was pondered whether GNE was yet another example ofvaporware .Fact|date=April 2008 Although development of the game was later canceled, the tools built for GNE later evolved intoFlickr , a widely-hailed photo-sharing service. [cite web |url=http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000519.php |title=An Interview with Flickr's Eric Costello |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Garrett, Jesse James |authorlink=Jesse James Garrett |date=2005-08-04 |publisher=Adaptive Path ] Occasional signs of this legacy are visible, such as the '.gne'file extension appearing in Flickr's URLs. [cite web |url=http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/02/game-neverending-rises-from-the-dead/ |title=Game Neverending Rises From the Dead |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Riley, Duncan |authorlink=Duncan Riley |date=2008-04-02 |work= |publisher=TechCrunch ]The game was temporarily re-launched on
April 1 2008 , having been ported toPHP from the original ASP byCal Henderson andMyles Grant . It was shut down again the following day. [cite web |url=http://waxy.org/2008/04/game_neverendin/ |title=Game Neverending Relaunches |accessdate=2008-05-25 |author=Baio, Andy |authorlink=Andy Baio |date=2008-04-01 |publisher=waxy.org]References
External links
* [http://www.ludicorp.com/ Ludicorp site]
* [http://www.gameneverending.com/ Official GNE website]
* [http://www.gnespy.com/museum/ GNE Museum] (with screenshots)
*Dmoz|Games/Video_Games/Simulation/Massive_Multiplayer_Online/Game_Neverending,_The|Game Neverending
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