SmallWorlds

SmallWorlds was an online virtual world and social networking service created by Outsmart Games, a game-development company based in Auckland, New Zealand. The service combined avatar-based social interaction, casual games, user-created spaces, digital media sharing, and a freemium economy within a browser-based environment. It was built with Adobe Flash and was primarily played through a web browser, with Google Chrome among the browsers recommended for access. The service entered beta in June 2008 after approximately 18 months of development and formally launched on 1 December 2008. Its central proposition was to provide a more accessible and teenage-oriented alternative to more adult or technically demanding virtual worlds such as Second Life. Users could create and customize avatars, decorate personal spaces, communicate with other players, participate in missions and games, and interact with embedded media. SmallWorlds connected with external Web 2.0 platforms including YouTube, Flickr, SoundCloud, Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, and Bebo, allowing users to watch videos, listen to music, browse photographs, and share their virtual-world activities. SmallWorlds operated on a free-to-play model. Basic participation was free, while players could purchase Gold, the platform's virtual currency, and VIP memberships. VIP plans were offered for different subscription periods and provided additional customization options, clothing and wearable items, access to selected areas, and other in-world benefits. Gold could also be earned through gameplay and promotional offers. The platform consequently combined social networking, casual gaming, digital-media consumption, user-generated content, and virtual goods into a single service. The game included seven skill paths—arena, artist, crafting, explorer, farming, gamer, and social. Players advanced through missions, player-versus-player activities, farming, crafting, and other interactions. Updates gradually changed both the technology and the user experience. A major 2013 update introduced a redesigned website and forum layout and added the Kudos reward program, while a June 2016 interface revision consolidated controls into collapsible panels to make the service less crowded. SmallWorlds achieved its strongest reported level of attention in the early 2010s. The service received the Social Computing award at the Adobe MAX Awards in October 2009, and reported global visits peaked at 3.8 million between July and August 2012. Its audience was predominantly teenage and female, with co-founder Mitch Olson describing the 2012 user base as approximately 65% female and also noting participation by adult users, including parents. The platform was also considered for educational use in the New Zealand Virtual School project, although that project was later terminated after changes following the Christchurch earthquake. By the middle of the 2010s, the service faced declining player numbers and weakening commercial performance. In February 2018, an I Love SmallWorlds campaign encouraged users to purchase store packages, Gold, and VIP memberships to help support the platform. Outsmart Games nevertheless announced on 13 March 2018 that SmallWorlds and its related service MiniMundos would close because of a shrinking audience, financial difficulties, and the effects of New Zealand business regulations. SmallWorlds ended service at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 8 April 2018. The shutdown message said the company was in discussions and hoped that service might resume. A later message on the website referred to a planned successor project called TownCenter, described as intended to preserve similar principles and content, but no revived SmallWorlds service is documented in the supplied material.

SmallWorlds was developed by Outsmart Games in Auckland, New Zealand, as a browser-based virtual world intended to combine social networking, casual gaming, user-generated content, and online media. Development lasted about 18 months, and the service entered beta in June 2008. Version 1.0 was released on 1 December 2008, with performance improvements, visual retexturing, and related technical changes. From the beginning, SmallWorlds differentiated itself through its integration with the wider Web 2.0 ecosystem. Rather than limiting interaction to an isolated game environment, it enabled users to watch YouTube videos, listen to SoundCloud music, browse Flickr photographs, communicate with other players, and share activities through integrations with Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, and Bebo. Embeddable versions of the application were introduced in February 2009. This approach positioned SmallWorlds between a conventional online game, a social network, and a virtual hangout. The service was free to join and play, but generated revenue through virtual goods, Gold, and VIP memberships. Players could customize avatars and spaces, acquire clothing and wearable items, unlock additional features, and participate in a range of activities. Its skill system contained arena, artist, crafting, explorer, farming, gamer, and social paths. Progress could be earned through missions, player-versus-player shooting games, farming, crafting, and other in-world actions. The platform was designed to be relatively casual and suitable for teenagers, with a minimum user age of 13, and was described as less provocative than Second Life. SmallWorlds gained external recognition in 2009 when it won the Social Computing category at the Adobe MAX Awards. Its audience expanded internationally, and reported traffic reached 3.8 million global visits during July and August 2012. Around that time, the service's audience was described as approximately 65% female, primarily teenagers, with additional participation from adult users such as parents. SmallWorlds was also explored as a learning tool in the development of the New Zealand Virtual School project. That initiative was scheduled to open in 2011 but was ultimately terminated after changes associated with the Christchurch earthquake. The platform continued to receive feature and interface updates. An April 2013 revision introduced a new website and forum design and added Kudos, a reward system linked to weekly challenges. A June 2016 update reorganized the interface into collapsible panels, making the increasingly broad set of controls and features easier to navigate. After 2015, the company reported a shrinking audience and declining player numbers. In February 2018, it launched the I Love SmallWorlds campaign to encourage purchases of store packages, Gold, and VIP memberships. The effort did not prevent the company from announcing on 13 March 2018 that SmallWorlds and MiniMundos would be discontinued. The stated reasons included reduced audience size, financial difficulties, and business-law issues in New Zealand. SmallWorlds closed at 11:59 p.m. EDT on 8 April 2018, with players holding farewell events shortly before the service went offline. The shutdown message indicated that the company was in discussions and hoped to resume service. A later notice on the website said that developers were working on TownCenter, a proposed project intended to draw on similar principles and content and to give former SmallWorlds users a new place to participate. The supplied sources do not establish that SmallWorlds itself was relaunched.

• 2018

  Service closure

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  SmallWorlds ended operations on 8 April after the company cited declining users and financial and regulatory pressures.

• 2016

  Interface redesign

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  A redesigned interface combined controls and features into collapsible panels.

• 2013

  Website and Kudos update

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  A major update redesigned the website and forums and introduced weekly-challenge rewards called Kudos.

• 2012

  Reported traffic peak

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  SmallWorlds reached a reported peak of 3.8 million global visits during July and August.

• 2009

  Social-network embedding and award recognition

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  The service added embeddable integrations for several social platforms and won the Adobe MAX Social Computing award.

• 2008

  SmallWorlds enters beta

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  After approximately 18 months of development, the browser-based virtual world entered beta testing in June.

• 2008

  Version 1.0 launches

  [1]SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org

  SmallWorlds formally launched on 1 December with performance and visual improvements.

A casual, socially oriented and teenage-friendly virtual world that combined avatar interaction, user-generated spaces, casual games, virtual goods, and Web 2.0 media integration.

• Online virtual world · 2008

  SmallWorlds virtual world

  The core browser-based service allowed users aged 13 and over to create avatars, communicate, explore spaces, play casual games, complete missions, and participate in a persistent social environment. It used Adobe Flash and combined virtual-world interaction with embedded digital media and user-generated content.

• Subscription service

  VIP membership

  VIP was SmallWorlds' paid membership offering. Depending on the subscription period, members received expanded character customization, additional clothing and wearable options, access to selected areas, and other perks unavailable to standard free users.

• Virtual currency

  Gold

  Gold was the platform's principal virtual currency. Players could obtain it through purchases, gameplay, and offers, then use it for virtual items, services, and other premium experiences within SmallWorlds.

• 2018I Love SmallWorlds

  Global online market

  SmallWorlds encouraged its community to support the service by purchasing online-store packages, Gold, and VIP memberships.

  Outcome. The campaign did not prevent the announced closure of SmallWorlds and MiniMundos in April 2018.

  Source

• 2018

  Closure of SmallWorldsStrategy

  Background

  The company reported shrinking audience numbers after 2015, financial difficulties, and pressures associated with New Zealand business laws.

  Action taken

  Outsmart Games announced that SmallWorlds and MiniMundos would close on 8 April 2018.

  Aftermath

  SmallWorlds ceased operation at 11:59 p.m. EDT on 8 April. A shutdown message referred to possible future discussions, and a later website notice mentioned the planned TownCenter project.

  Source

• 2008

  Launch of SmallWorlds version 1.0Product launch

  Background

  Following beta testing that began in June 2008, Outsmart Games prepared the service for public operation.

  Action taken

  SmallWorlds launched on 1 December 2008 with technical, performance, and visual improvements.

  Aftermath

  The service expanded as a social virtual world and later added integrations, rewards, and interface revisions.

  Source

1. 1SmallWorldsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Small Worlds Brings Innovative Lifestreaming to the Virtual Worldlifestreamblog.com
3. 3SmallWorlds Brings a Third Dimension to Web 2.0techcrunch.com