Just Leap In: Category Spaces

JLI Update: Commentable spaces, new 3D stuff, and other novelties (0.7.8)

the leapfrog — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:48:00 -0700

Today we're rolling out an update to JLI. (Hooray!) In addition to the last release's "freeform" texturing feature, the new version introduces lots of bells and whistles, including commentable spaces and fresh content. Read on for the details.

First, here's a new YouTube video showcasing the latest content and features. Check it out, share it around, sign up to try JLI if you haven't already, and invite others to come and comment on your 3D space! Thanks for testing.

This release (0.7.8) adds:

Comments on spaces. (For now, you have to be logged in to read and write comments. We'll soon be adding RSS, social syndication, and optional notifications).

New space templates, props, and objects for you to personalize, including a Beach Resort, Labyrinth, and Roadside Motel.

Enhanced Explore presentation and interface.

JLI 0.7.8: Release Notes

COMMENTS. You can now add comments to every space in JLI, including your own. In any 3D space, click on the Comments button at the upper right of the screen. To test this properly, we need lots of comments on lots of spaces, so go wild - and invite some other folks to join JLI and check out your world. Keep an eye out for comments on your space. Soon, we'll be adding RSS and other social syndication/notification functionality so that you can choose to be notified (or not) if someone comments on any of your spaces, or your friends' spaces. NEW SPACE TEMPLATES. We've added a new Beach Resort, Labyrinth, and Roadside Motel. Inside JLI, you can check these spaces out by clicking the Explore button then "Sample Templates", or you can create a new personal space based on any of these new templates and add your own multimedia and customizations. To create a new space, click NEW inside "Your Space." (You'll have to replace your old space and republish - sorry! This will be rectified in the coming weeks when we add the Multiple Spaces feature. But if you don't want to delete your old space just yet, see Create Extra Accounts below). NEW PROPS. We've added another animation (sample character) - a martial artist - and lots of new objects in several categories. Controllable avatars are still en route, naturally. USER SETTINGS. You can (finally) change your password and screen name. Click the Settings button at the upper right of the site. There have also been facelifts and visual improvements throughout: the Explore interface looks much prettier now, in preparation for more significant enhancements coming soon, and is a little more usable. For those of you who are still encountering hardware compatibility issues, we're anticipating fixes for you to try out in the next release. Thanks for your patience. If you can't see some of the new changes or they aren't working for you, try clearing your browser cache, and let us know on the Forum!

Spaces du jour

the leapfrog — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 23:33:00 -0700

Each week, we’ll be sharing the latest from the JLI frontier, courtesy of our courageous beta testers.

Read on for samples of some recently created spaces: more beneath the fold.

Gallery, by Wayner.

Mellow, by Joanna.

Warehouse Gallery, by Sailor John.

More next week!

Hello from the Community Guide (check out this 3D space!)

Infirmo — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:58:00 -0700

Ahoy there, readers!

This is my first of many posts as the new Community Guide for Just Leap In. I have been with the company for a short while, and it seems somebody thought I had a knack for talking to the public, so here I am talking to all of the fine people that visit our blog daily. Since we’re going to be seeing so much more of each other, I thought I’d tell you a little about myself, just to break the ice.

I’m a long time gamer, first time blogger. Online, my handle has been Infirmo for a little over 10 years now. I have worked on some major titles and quite a few smaller games, mostly doing quality assurance. Like many QA people, I started out as an enthusiastic gamer, playing text-based adventures and early RPG and primitive side-scroller games on archaic platforms. I became a frequent beta tester for various games and projects, and eventually landed work in game testing, which I have done off and on for many years now. I have also worked in tech support and documentation for other software projects, including educational software and video editing tools.

But my first love is games and interactive media. The possibilities they afford and the stories they tell are inspiring to me in a powerful way, one that has directed me along (what looks, in retrospect, to be) a very direct path pointing right at the position I hold today.

So what do I do here? Put simply, I’m here to do what you are doing, which is to use the interface Just Leap In has provided to create new worlds, new spaces, and new ways for people to connect to each other. But I’m also here to hear from you, to see what you are doing with the application, to listen to your wishes and complaints, and to learn what you want do to with 3D spaces, interactive media, and social networking. We’re here to deliver what you want, and I’m on the task of figuring out what, exactly, that is.

So, as user myself, I have been playing around with the tools for a while now, and have created what feels like a nice little space.

Here’s a picture:

Here’s Office Racer, a video I made a couple years ago:

Here’s where I might be hanging out with friends, having a coffee:

Hrrm. These pictures really don’t do it justice. You might just need to see it for yourself. Try this:

Use contingent on these terms
[After installing the Player, click above “Click to Enter” to jump into 3D].

A picture may be worth a thousand words. But a 3D space lets every visitor write their own chapter in the book.

From my place we can visit my friends Joanna, Seven, and DJ Simple through portals (doors in this case) that directly connect my space with theirs, or they can all come over for a get-together. We can watch a movie, listen to music, and talk amongst ourselves. If we get a fresh idea for my area, I can change things around and get their opinions of the new stuff.

This is where I like to hang out. Drop by for a visit any time.

Just don’t drink up all my espresso.

“Infirmo”

Community Guide
Just Leap In