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Got email from Chris Melissinos:

…we open sourced the Project Darkstar game server today!  It has been released under GPLv2 and we are also going to be offering a commercial license to companies that feel “funny” about using GPL’d code.

The Austin Chronicle: Screens: Cooperative Play: Richard Garriott and his team at NCsoft unveil their new online game

“My passion for online games comes from history,” says producer Starr Long… “The first games ever were dice games. They were social experiences. They were mechanics that gave us structure for social interaction. It was an aberration when they became about solo play. Cooperative play goes back to what makes games strong.“That’s a feature Garriott extols. In a climate where video games are blamed for everything from youth violence to obesity, he sees MMOs as a net gain for society.

“Solo-player games throughout the rest of history tend to provoke an anti-social behavior that drives people to hide in their rooms in the dark,” Garriott says. “That can be seen as a negative social impact; MMOs are bringing people with like interests together. So all good MMOs are having a good social impact.”

Hmm, I do think that Richard’s remark is a bit over the top. I would cite games that have made people stop and think and even think socially. Like say, the current BioShock, or Civilization, or maybe something like, oh, Ultima IV.

Edit: I should clarify that this is, of course, a reference to my prior comments that used the same wording.

Virtual Worlds News reports that Stardoll has reached 10 million registered users, with 6 million monthly uniques (it’s so nice to see people reporting uniques lately!).

Their audience is 94% tween and teen girls — which is just extraordinary. They’re the most popular site on the Net for girls ages 9-17.

But there’s not much world there, beyond a fairly simplistic “virtual suite.” Which begs the question, how much world do you really need?

Read More “How much does the world matter?”

Virtual Worlds News has info.