Download/Homepage
AW Europe is a rich multi-user 3D
Universe with over thirty themed worlds, accessed from a feature packed
custom ActiveWorlds browser plugin. What sets it apart from other 3D
chats is that the users (tourists & citizens) can build structures or
even entire worlds in real time. This means you can get together with your
friends and build your own homes, cities, RPG's or whatever you can
imagine. There are literally thousands of detailed 3D models available,
from realistic building materials to elaborate premade "kit" models.
Tourist access is free with some limitations or you can become a Citizen
with full access for a nominal fee.
You are
represented by an "Avatar", a 3d articulated model of a human,
animal, alien etc. Each world has a list of unique avatars to choose from
and you can instantly switch characters. (tourists are limited to one
choice)You can walk, run, jump, swim, and fly using the arrow keys on your
keyboard or with your mouse. There are also action buttons on the toolbar
for special moves like dance steps. Oh and did I mention you can chat too?
There's also built in instant messaging and file sharing as well as
support for midi, wav and mp3s.
Building takes
some practice but there's a building school and plenty of experts around
to help you get you started. The keyboard and mouse are your main "tools"
allowing you to place "objects" and manipulate them in variety of ways.
You can customize objects with colors, textures, sounds and special
commands to make them move, blink, flash, disappear, rotate and much
more. Exploring worlds is a popular pastime and there are
plenty to choose from with everything from fantasy and game worlds to
music and arts. These aren't small "rooms" either. They range everywhere
from 40,000 to a 1,000,000 square kilometers of virtual real estate with
rolling clouds, moving water and realistic terrain!
I
stopped by and ran into the owner/director Emmanuel Gruijs in the
main portal world so I cornered him for a few questions.
Lain: What kind of people will I meet here and where are they
from?
Emmanuel: Knowing these kind of communities I
expected most people to be in the 25-45 age range and a smaller percentage
of younger and older people. As it shows, both the younger and older
communities start getting more interested; we have even been asked to set
up a community for 65+ people. The people in such environments as
AW-Europe will tend to be looking for "intelligent" conversations about
music, culture, art and everyday subjects and in the case of further
friendship also more personal subjects. The general idea about "chat =
rubbish talk" has long changed; this can be seen in the multi-lingual and
multi-cultural set-up. People from all over the world join us and even if
English is often used as common language, more and more visitors take the
time and effort to learn the basics of the other people's languages. Also
some 3D worlds focus on one language, while others are multi-lingual.
Lain: Are children welcome here? Is it safe?
Emmanuel: That is one of our biggest concerns. Yes, we think the
environment is safe, as sufficient intelligent adults are around. Chat and
instant messaging gives people the power of "being anonymous" and
unfortunately some people misuse that. We do everything to keep our public
environments child-friendly and offer parents the possibility to add a
password to the "level" of world the child is allowed in. Also we have a
team of experienced people who welcome newcomers and warn people when the
conversation is hurtful for others, be it children or related to culture,
race or belief. We do have conduct guidelines and ask people to read them
before entering. If someone is offensive they receive a warning. Then if
the abuse continues that person is removed from the environment for
anywhere from five minutes to permanently. If the person was acting
against the law, we immediately involve the police and give all details
needed.
Lain: What are some of the activities people will
find when they come here?
Emmanuel: There are 4 main
streams in what we offer: Building, Gaming, Music and communities. This
technology offers everyone the possibility to build his/her own 3D
environment, alone or with others. So building contests and visiting
existing builds is a fun thing to do. Also several games are available and
some Role playing adventure games are being built. Regarding Music, this
environment brings musicians and audience together. Bands can broadcast
their music, chat with the public and hear their reactions. Most people
who come online are here to share something with others or even to have a
moment of peace and quiet while building or playing a game of chess. We
also organise yearly events; this year it will be a Saint Nicolas treasure
hunt for all Dutch people in the world during the first week of December
2003.
Lain: What makes AW Europe unique?
Emmanuel: The group of people working on what we want to bring: the
next generation of Internet communication, a much more personal way of
communicating with others. Also the combination of entertainment,
communication and professional business use of the software makes us
pioneers, and we love it. We can without a problem, bring tens of
thousands of people online via the internet, in real-time, interactively
and in recognizable environments. No special gadgets, no travel, no delay.
I think the fact that we are the first company combining instant
messaging, chat and 3D for professional use shows the uniqueness of what
we offer.
Lain: Why should I consider becoming a
"citizen"? What are the benefits?
Emmanuel: That is for
each person to decide. Entry in AW-Europe is free for everybody; you enter
as a tourist and can enjoy chat, building in a public world and some of
the games. Becoming a citizen of course gives you the software extras like
your own registered name, choice of hundreds of avatars, "whispering" with
your friends, instant messages and "join me" features, special events etc.
But much more important for most is becoming a member of a community of
great and especially fun people. One of the benefits of being a member is
that people who are willing to help, can become part of the special teams
who make the games, organize the contests or build up new ideas. If you
consider the cost/benefits of citizenship compared to an evening at the
cinema, AW Europe is quite economical and a lot more fun!.
Lain: What does the future hold for AW Europe?
Emmanuel: *smiles* Businesswise, we expect AW-Europe to become one
of the leading companies in 3D portal technology within the next year.
Think of virtual shopping centers where you meet live shop assistants, the
Virtual Band Warz where
musicians from all over the world meet and compete or virtual
representations of cities where you want to go on holiday (inlcuding the
ski-slopes or beach-bars). Regarding communities and chat, we expect to
have an interesting part of the market, as we are a multi-lingual set-up.
AW-Europe will also release several new internet games early next year,
and expects to release a new game every 3 months.
Thanks to Emmanuel Gruijs for taking the time to answer my
questions. This software is fun, it's cool and best of all, it's
free to enter as a tourist. Becoming a citizen has many advantages
and for less than the price of one movie ticket a month, it's cheap
entertainment.
Please send your comments or questions to: Lain O'Siodhachain
Return to SharewareJunkies.com
