''Twinity'' is a 3D online

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space or spaces) is a Computer simulation, computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many simultaneous users who can create a personal Avatar (computing), avatar and independently explore th ...

. Initially developed by Metaversum GmbH, it is currently held by ExitReality. The game offers its population, called Twinizens, to navigate around virtual (historical) versions of real-world cities, also called a mirror world or a

Metaverse The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction ...

. A

public beta The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before the fi ...

began in September 2008, with the release of the first virtual city,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, which later was followed by

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. ''Twinity'' is built on BigWorld Technology and its economy is based on a

free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

model. ''Twinity'' is the first 3D online virtual world to incorporate true-to-scale replicas of large cities from all over the world. However, the company has recently begun to shift the focus away from a mirror world towards a more

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

-oriented environment with locations like the Isle of Palmadora. In this respect, ''Twinity'' seems to be moving towards a

Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...

-like world with more innovative features that they set up within the game, since much of user-created content is

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

and is not related to real addresses of shops and

apartments An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

. All of the game's cities were removed in January 2012. On June 8, 2012, the acquisition of ''Twinity'' by ExitReality was announced.

World

Avatar customization

''Twinity'' members represent themselves in the world where they can use their real names and create an

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

that can be customized in different ways, including the usage of a special Photofit application. Photofit allows a user to upload a real photo, which it then adapts to the measurements of an avatar face, making it resemble a picture. However, the creation of new

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

s and role play are popular among ''Twinity'' players as well.

Globals

The virtual currency used in ''Twinity'' is called "Globals". With the Globals, the Twinizens can buy clothes, furniture items, animations and pay for their own virtual apartment. Globals can be bought with credit card on the homepage, with

PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...

or through Mopay. The users can also gain Globals by attending virtual contests and events, use SponsorPay or finish the welcome tour that they are offered upon registration.

Content

''Twinity'' is based both on professional and

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), emerged from the rise of web services which allow a system's User (computing), users to create Content (media), content, such as images, videos, audio, text, testi ...

. Many Twinizens are content creators, developing and selling their own products in the world as well as creating their own

machinima Machinima () is the use of Real-time computing, real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. The word "Machinima" is a portmanteau of the words ''machine'' and ''Film, cinema''. According to Guinness World Records, ma ...

. Users also set up their own apartments, clubs, shops and lounges in which to host various events or to share with others. Starting fall 2010, all users are given starter apartments that they can furnish and decorate themselves. Users can create their own furniture or purchase pre-made items from the shops in ''Twinity''. Additionally, a real estate agency can be found on the ''Twinity'' homepage where the Twinizens can localize an apartment of their choice. Within ''Twinity'', an achievement system is offered, which allows users to earn profile badges related to the categories: travel, lifestyle and living.

Technology

''Twinity'' uses next-generation texturing technologies to deliver a graphically up-to-date visual experience that can be compared to the latest game releases in the industry. This includes such engine features as normal,

specular Specular reflection, or regular reflection, is the mirror-like reflection of waves, such as light, from a surface. The law of reflection states that a reflected ray of light emerges from the reflecting surface at the same angle to the surf ...

and cube maps. Screen space ambient occlusion and glow shader effects finish the final look in the post-rendering. ''Twinity'' uses 3D mapping data by

Tele Atlas Tele Atlas is a Netherlands-based company founded in 1984 which delivers digital maps and other dynamic content for navigation and location-based services, including personal and Automotive navigation system, in-car navigation systems, and provi ...

, which makes the virtual buildings resemble their look in the real world. A major part of the content in ''Twinity'' is user-generated. Premium members can create 3D-objects, clothes, floor plans and animations which they upload through the ''Twinity'' client or export COLLADA files through 3D modelling tools such as

SketchUp SketchUp is a proprietary 3D modeling software that is used to create and manipulate 3D models. It is used in architecture and interior design. SketchUp is owned by Trimble (company), Trimble Inc. The software has a free web-based version, and ...

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

Autodesk 3ds Max Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capa ...

Autodesk Maya Autodesk Maya, commonly shortened to just Maya (; ), is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, originally developed by Alias and currently owned and developed by Autodesk. It is used to create assets for inter ...

. ''Twinity'' uses the 3D Game Engine from BigWorld, an Australian games company for 3D virtual worlds, which was specially created for Metaversum.

Closing

At first week of November 2021, Twinity website and game were shut down, its official blog is on still with last update of December 10 2021.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.twinity.com/
ExitReality

"Twinity - what is it good for?"
2008 video games Gaming websites Massively multiplayer online role-playing games Video games developed in Germany Virtual economies Virtual world communities Windows games Windows-only games