So a few weeks ago I discussed the ups and downs of realism in gaming, more or less stating that realism is good up to a point, though not necessarily needed for success. I also recently demonstrated that Second Life is not all that realistic anyways.

Also in recent weeks, Google Lively was released and turned out not to be the Second Life killer we all thought it might be.

Then there is the matter that Second Life is 5 years old, meaning its 5 year old technology. Its only a matter of time before something better comes around, something to steal away those that crave realism, something that really could be a Second Life killer.

I recently came across info on a new 3D Virtual World in development called Project Blue Mars. You can read about it at http://www.avatar-reality.com/. Now its still in development with no release date, but the idea behind it, and the awesome screenshots and more awesome screenshots tells me this may be the game changer we have been hoping for/dreading for a while.

The game plan is to build a world based on the idea of a terraformed Mars in the year 2177. OK a sci-fi conceptual world sounds neat. But its the tech underneath thats important.

First they are licensing the CryEngine2 gaming engine, used in the most advanced game out right now Crysis. Next you make a deal with e-frontier (now a division of Smith Micro) makers of Poser and Shade, and creators of a huge library of 3D objects that can be imported into the game, including realistic people avatars and residential houses, furniture, etc. Finally, you license 3D Game Studio, a gaming development platform that can create dozens of activities for players to participate in (notice the golf course in the screenshot above). This is the basic building blocks to a successful 3D Virtual World that potentially could blow all the competition away.

I’m not making any bold predictions, especially since there is no finished product yet, or any info on user created content potential, or any of the other dozen questions that come to mind. Let me just wish them well, and keep a close eye on this project.

Metaverse News avatar-reality, bluemars, game platforms, realism, secondlife, unreleased, virtual worlds