Gaia Online
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gaia Online (Owned by Gaia Interactive) | |
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| Type | Website |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 18, 2003 |
| Headquarters | Milpitas, California, USA |
| Key people | Site Founders: Derek Liu (Lanzer) Long Vo (VO) Josh Gainsbrugh (L0cke) |
| Industry | Internet |
| Employees | Unknown |
| Website | www.GaiaOnline.com |
Gaia Online (formerly known as Go-Gaia) is a forums-based website. Opened to the public on February 18, 2003 by Gaia Interactive, Gaia first began as an "anime linklist with a small community,"[1] but it was openly stated by founder Derek Liu (username "Lanzer") that the website was moving towards that of a social gaming one.[2] It eventually became the forum based website it is today.
Users of the site, known as Gaians, are able to create a customizable avatar for which they can purchase items using virtual currency, which is earned by engaging in many activities. Users may also purchase special, month-specific items with real currency.
Contents |
[edit] Gaia Gold
Gaia Gold (or simply gold) is the unit of currency on Gaia. Users may be granted gold through virtually any feature on the site, including posting in the forums, playing minigames, or leaving comments in user profiles, personal pages granted to each user. Gold can be used for almost anything, such as the items in the marketplace or the items in shops owned by various NPCs. Items purchased with Gaia Gold may be equipped onto a user's avatar or their Gaia Home, a virtual house that may be furnished with items.[3]
[edit] Avatar system
The avatar system on Gaia Online is one of the major features that sets Gaia apart from other forums. Unlike traditional forum avatars, which are images provided and uploaded by users, the avatars are characters that can pose, dress up, and hold items. Gaia is distinguished from other dress-up doll sites in that the clothes and items must be purchased with Gaia Gold or American dollars (see Monthly Collectibles).
A user may choose the color of his or her avatar's eyes, skin, and hair. A user may also choose to change the appearance of his or her avatar's eyes, hair, and mouth. Avatars may be male or female, and can be posed in dozens of positions.
There are two events (see event section) where the avatar may be changed in species.
- The Halloween event of 2005 allowed you to make your avatar a zombie by infecting yourself with the G-virus. This skin is no longer available.
- In Gaia's 2006 Halloween event, an alien race known as the Zurg invaded Gaia Online (in the storyline of course!) and allowed users to change their avatar base to an alien by using a special event item called "Zurg Energy Drink". This skin is still available.
[edit] Forums
Gaia Online's forums system (which, according to www.big-boards.com, is the largest on the Internet [4]) is a phpBB2.xx -based collection of message boards which give users the opportunity to post their ideas, engage in discussion, chat, or post nonsense. Gaians may roleplay in a storyline of their own, or interact with NPCs. Gaia is home to many main forums, which are further divided into subforums. Users' posts usually appear in a speech bubble next to the poster's avatar.
Gaia Online's forum system also includes a private messaging system. The Private Message (PM) system on Gaia is a small e-mail-like system based on phpBB, the software the forums system is based upon.
[edit] Guilds
Users with similar interests can create or join Guilds, or private, user-moderated forums. Guilds may be based upon the discussion of a certain topic, or just a place for friends to chat. Some guilds are dedicated to certain causes or goals, such as speculation on future plot updates, helping new players, or role-playing. Guilds can be made public, so that everyone can post and read; private, so that the public can read but only members can post; or hidden, so that only members can read and post in the guild. The Guild Captain (the user who "owns" the guild) can create entry fees and promote other guild members into Vice Captains or Crew Members, granting them administrative powers.
[edit] Donation Items/Monthly Collectibles
In June 2003, in an attempt to increase site revenue, Gaia Online released its donation system, in which for every US $2.50 a user gave to the site, the user receives an item known as "Sealed Envelopes" in their inventory. At a certain point during the month, the Sealed Envelope disappears from the user's inventory and is replaced by a "Thank You Letter" for the month in which the user made his or her payment (for example, a "Thank You Letter for August 2004").[5] Users are then able to "open" these virtual letters and can choose one per letter of two or sometimes three online items to be granted to their inventory. These items were known as donation items, until potential legal problems led administrators to change their name to monthly collectibles.[6] Monthly Collectible items and the Thank You Letter items they are found in are limited to the month that they were released in: for example, the items found in the Thank You Letter for April 2006 can only be found in that letter, which could only be purchased during the month of April of 2006. Due to this fact the collectables as well as their envelopes go up in price as time goes on.
Letters can be obtained via Paypal, credit card, or traditional mail; over the phone; or by text message.
[edit] Event/Event Items
Occasionally for a holiday or particular time of year, Gaia will hold a special event to celebrate. At all events special items are given away to members who participate in a game or perform a special activity. These items, like monthly collectables are rare and only available for limited periods of time so they go up in price as time goes on. Sometimes members may be asked to exchange otherwise useless event items for the actual event items that can only be obtained by trading the useless event items. Event examples are: The Annual Gaia Anniversary Ball, Easter egg collecting, and the Christmas/New Year's party. No two events are the same even if they celebrate the same occasion, nor do members ever recieve the same items for the same events on different years.
[edit] Games
Gaia Online currently offers six Flash or Shockwave games: GAIA Fishing, GAIA Towns, Word Bump, Jigsaw, Slots, and Cards, a Blackjack game. In each game users can win different items or currency that can be traded in for items. For example, in Gaia Fishing users catch fish and garbage, which can be exchanged for fish-shaped hats or clothing made out of recycled garbage.
[edit] GAIA Towns
Although classified as a game, GAIA Towns (often simply called Towns) is more similar to a 3D Instant Messenger. It does, however, offer a chance for Gaians to collect trash, insects, and flowers that can be exchanged for items at NPC-run shops. Small amounts of gold may be found by shaking rocks and trees. Gift boxes, which may be "opened" to receive a random rare item, occasionally appear to users in Towns.
[edit] The World Map
Originally the only way to navigate around the Gaia Online website, the World Map is an integral part of Gaia. It is a series of images, each depicting different 'towns' in Gaia: Barton, Isle De Gambino, Durem, Aekea, and various fields and fishing lakes. Locations on the World Map change in appearance according to the time of day and the season.
The World Map contains links to other parts of the site, such as the forums, GAIA Towns, or various shops. However, since the introduction of shopping and games pages, the World Map is often not used for its original purpose. The World Map also features a Teleport function, which takes a user directly to a location on the World Map without the need to travel through the various fields that link the different towns.
[edit] New Features
Gaia currently has a new Quest system which only has two quests available. In these, like the events, sometimes exclusive items are given out.
Gaia is currently developing a new battle system. It is still uncertain when this will be released to the public, but members are eager in wait.
[edit] Plot
Gaia Online plotline is illustrated through plot mangas and staff-controlled NPCs. The plot illustrates events involving the various NPCs, and is often used to accompany the various major holiday events.
The Gaia Online storyline officially began in Fall 2004, when the account [NPC] Gambino started up the fictional company G-Corp, setting into motion the initial plot. The first illustrated update was for Christmas 2004, and the first actual manga was drawn for the April Fools Day 2005 event, and subsequent plot updates following the same format.
[edit] References
- ^ Interview: Derek Liu, Gaia Online Anime Community. big-boards.com. Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
- ^ Announcement of Link List removal
- ^ About Gaia Gold. Gaia Interactive. Retrieved on December 30, 2006.
- ^ Forums Rankings. www.big-boards.com (2007). Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
- ^ Monthly collectibles were originally released on the 25th day of the month; now, this occurs on the 15th.
- ^ Liu, Derek (2006-10-30). Donation items name change to monthly collectibles. Gaia Interactive. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
