Release 2.0 - 2006

Adobe Flash Player

Project Overview

When Faketown reached 500,000 users we raised a round of seed funding and launched a new Flash based experience. Unlike Faketown 1.0 we decided to roll our own real time socket server so that we could have more control.

The vision was to create the first browser based virtual world platform that enabled chat, real-time self-expression, commerce and creative competition.

Learnings

We were over-ambitious with our offering. We integrated the social network features of MySpace, the auction system of Ebay, and the creative expression tools of Imgur in a real-time context. Instead of focusing on balanced game mechanics we kept piling on new features and sinking our time into an unsustainable "content treadmill".

Milestones

Launched promotions in the virtual world for artists like 50 Cent, Lil Mama, Oasis and T-Pain
Created a skate deck design competition for Andale Posse
Formed a World Wild Life Foundation partnership via Saatchi & Saatchi
Partnered with Nitrome to add their games to our arcades along with virtual currency and rewards integration