Benutzer:Heinuwe/IMVU
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IMVU is a graphical instant messaging client (3D chat) with more than 7 million users.[1] Currently, it is in public beta, and has been available since 2004-09-18.[2] It is developed by IMVU, Inc., founded by Will Harvey, a video game developer and founder of There. According to the IMVU site, the 3D chat service is growing faster than MySpace.
The primary focus of IMVU is the ability to use personalized 3D avatars and environments that let the user interact with the person they’re chatting with. Full 3D scenes make users feel as if they are sitting with a friend in a coffee shop, on a Ferris wheel, etc. The secondary focus of IMVU is allowing the members to develop content that can be purchased by other members for use in personalizing their avatars and environments.
Environment
IMVU is an IM Service targeted at a more general audience than the more common Virtual World products it is often compared to. Users encounter a much more casual experience which is more focused on the 3D avatar and the immediate 3D environment. There is no large virtual world to discover, and movement is largely limited to a variety of seat points placed within the 3d environment. Users can click on a seat to move there, click on their own avatar to call up a menu of animations to perform, or click on another chat participant to perform an animation with them. The chat client controls include an adjustable camera, a separate window to see friends that are currently online and to change the avatar's appearance, and the ability to chat in word balloons. The interface is designed for two primary objectives, interaction with other chat participants and customization of the 3D avatar and its environment.
It is important to note that IMVU is a virtual reality community, and a chat client, but not a virtual world. The primary cohesive agent in the community is the web site and buddy lists, not a large persistent 3D world.
Customization of the 3D avatar had been a key feature of IMVU from its early days. In the second half of 2006, IMVU introduced the ability to customize the 3D environment by allowing the creation of 3D scenes that supported furniture placement. While the original 3D scenes (now called "Locked Rooms") all had a number of seat points available, their placement was decided by the creator of the scene. Most of these 3D scenes had included "furniture", but it could not be moved.
The new 3D scenes, commonly referred to as Rooms or Furniture Rooms, are typically void of any furniture and have few seat points. Instead, the user can add separately purchased objects classified as furniture. This "furniture" can include anything from chairs and sofas, to wall hangings, appliances, decorations, windows, walls, doors, and a wide variety of other objects that might not otherwise be classified as furniture. Once one of these objects has been added to a room, the user can place and orient it to suit their taste. Furniture objects can include their own seat points, and some of these products contain only seat points and no visible 3D object at all.
Membership
IMVU members receive a personal homepage at no cost. Coding for IMVU homepages is similar to MySpace.
IMVU offers a number of special passes or membership types:
- Gold Pass
- Try-it Now Pass
- VIP Club
- Access Pass
Economy
IMVU contains its own economy with a currency system based on IMVU credits. The credits are used by members to purchase virtual items like fashion pieces (hair, clothes, skins, and accessories), pets, and 3D scenes. Each of these virtual items average $0.50 and are largely created by other members. Credits can be purchased via a variety of payment methods, including credit card, PayPal, SMS, and money order though IMVU, or other developer credit resellers. IMVU gives free promotional credits to encourage member participation, referrals, and new users. Credits can be earned by member developers through the creation and sale of content in IMVU.
Member Developers
A primary focus of IMVU is the member-developed content; consequently, IMVU actively encourages the members to participate in the Developer Program. The Developer Program allows members to develop and sell virtual products. Developers have access to the IMVU software used in creating and submitting new virtual products, and can sell their products by listing them in the online IMVU product catalog. Developers are allowed to resell the credits they earn.
Professional Developer (ProDev) status is awarded to select developers who have shown “excellence in aesthetics and creativity”. It is the ProDev’s products that are showcased in public and trade demos, and these are the developers that are at the top of the list for potential 3rd party contracting with IMVU. Most IMVU developers strive to become a ProDev because they are then not required to pay submission fees (in credits) to submit their items to the IMVU catalogue, and their virtual items are featured first in the catalogue listings. When awarding ProDev status, IMVU looks for developers who meet some of the following criteria:
- Developer creates aesthetically pleasing catalog shots with high production value
- Developer displays their clear, recognizable brand or logo on those catalog images
- Developer achieves 40,000 sales in a calendar month
- Developer earns 1,350,000 credits in a calendar month (this includes promotional credits).
- Developer achieves 100,000 sales of any one product
- Developer is nominated by IMVU staff for excellence in aesthetics, creativity, innovation, or peer mentorship
All developers are required to follow copyright laws and to exhibit behavior that is appropriate and benefits IMVU. Verified violations will cost developers their status, and often result in total account banning. To become a developer, an online payment is required; using IMVU credits is not allowed.
Promotional Credits
Encouraging the activity of members is currently a major goal of the IMVU project. To this end, IMVU provides free promotional credits to active users in a variety of ways:
New Products Page
Users who check the New Products page will receive free credits. You earn 50 credits in a 24 hour period per user.[3]
Free Spin
Operated like a slot machine, the Free Spin page can earn users 0-500 credits once in a 24 hour period. True to its gambling nature, users can take a chance by spending 75 credits to take another spin at the wheel. When the other spin is taken, the 24 hour timer resets back to zero.[4]
Invite Friends
Building a beta community takes work on the part of every member, and IMVU rewards that work with credits. Members can email friends and family information about IMVU and when these friends and family become members, the referring user earns 500 credits. The referring user will then earn another 500 credits after the 1st chat that the invited user has, and then again after the 5th chat.[5]
Recently, IMVU discontinued giving developers the promotional credits used to purchase their items. Currently, when a developer would have earned promotional credits from the sale of an item, the developer is given one 'developer token'. These developer tokens are worth 10 credits but can currently only be used for product submissions and Shoutouts.
See also
References
External links
Press
- Wired News: Instant Messaging Goes Graphical
- Clickable Culture: In conversation with Will Harvey, Part 1
- Clickable Culture: I See IMVU
- IMVU: There lite?
[[Category:Free instant messaging clients]] [[Category:Windows instant messaging clients]] [[Category:Online social networking]] [[Category:Virtual reality communities]]
