Twinity

Avatar Settings

Twin community members create their avatars in the 3D virtual world, for which they can use their real names, like on Facebook , and even create avatars whose external features can be changed according to the user's desire, as well as using the special Photofit application. Using Photofit, the user can upload his own photo, which, according to the measurements taken on the face of the participant, is transferred to the image of the avatar, making the avatar more like a user ^[2] .

However, creating your own online personalities is also very popular among the Twinisians.

Money-Globals

The monetary equivalent in the world of Twiniti is the so-called Globals (90 Globals = 1 euro ) ^[3] , with their help the Twinisians buy clothes, furniture, vehicles, various animation characteristics (movements and emotions) for their avatars, pay for their own virtual apartments , visit casinos, movie theaters, go on vacation, etc. There are many ways to purchase Globals . Firstly, they can be bought with a credit card on the Twinty homepage via PayPal or Mopay . Secondly, users can also receive premium Globals , for example, at the end of the Initial Tour offered during registration using SponsorPay, as well as when taking part in various virtual contests and events.

The essence of the game

Many Twinizians themselves create the content of the game: develop and sell their own products in the world of Twini, as well as create their own machinima . Users can also create apartments, clubs, shops and salons, either to arrange various events in them, or simply for sale. Since the fall of 2010, all new and well-established users receive starting apartments, which they can furnish and decorate to their taste. Users can either create their own furniture, or buy ready-made products in various twin stores. There are also real estate agencies in the world, a complete list of which can be found on the twin page. With their help, the Twinisians can purchase an apartment in any corner of the game.

The game also has a so-called incentive system. Avatars receive certain distinctive badges, bonuses and special rewards for their achievements . There are several categories of such achievements: Travel , Lifestyle and Life . Each is subdivided into such sub-categories as 'Best Avatar of the Week', 'London Marathons', 'Berlin', 'Winner of the Fashion Contest', 'My Home is My Fortress', Prizes in Hip-Hop Fashion, etc. ^{[4 ]}

Tweeniti offers a lot of entertainment for both individual and group events: avatars earn Globals by participating in quizzes, dance competitions, have fun in casinos, shops, resorts, in the cinema, chat with other avatars, not only in open and closed chats, but and with the help of game situations, such as in the social bot Bottie Lately, where they answer comic questions about each other, etc.

Berlin

In September 2008, when the game was launched in open beta testing, Berlin became the first virtual city launched in the Twinini project ^[5] . During the grand opening ceremony, the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit , was given a symbolic key to the virtual city ^[6] . About 20 km² of the city and over 50,000 real buildings were copied and built in the virtual capital of Germany ^[7] , including famous sights from both former East Berlin and West Berlin . For example, the Berlin TV Tower , the Brandenburg Gate , Potsdamer Platz and Kurfürstendamm . The visitor can even trace the history of Berlin in the virtual museum of the Berlin Wall , opened in memory of events of world significance 1989 . The virtual museum includes comprehensive background information on the GDR : from the construction of the wall to the reunification of Germany. Two months after the release of virtual Berlin, Twiniti totaled 80,000 registered users ^[8] . Now any user can walk along the city streets and compare any of the created attractions with its prototype, which was made possible using the Google Maps system.

Singapore

In August 2009, a year after the opening of virtual Berlin , Metaversum announced the launch of its second largest virtual city - Singapore ^[9] . To implement this project, Metaversum received funding from the Singapore Media Support and Development Fund ^[10] . The city was opened on August 9, with great celebration of National Day and Parade ^[9] . The famous Orchard Road was the first to appear in the online city, followed by other attractions such as ION Orchard, Central Department Store, but Twiniti suspended the further development of the city from mid-2010.

London

In December 2009, virtual London was launched ^{[11] [12]} . Users can visit London's famous Soho district, which stretches from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square , including the world famous Piccadilly Circus , Buckingham Palace and Chinatown . On April 30, 2009 new ones were added to the existing ones: the West End of London, which runs along the Strand , some of the most famous theaters, such as the Globe Theater , and the Millennium Bridge (London) , connecting the northern and southern parts of the British capital ^[13] .

Miami

Launched in July 2010, virtual Miami became the fourth city in Twinness and the first US city. Virtual South Beach mainly covers areas around Lummus Park and Ocean Drive. Miami is the first interactive city of Twinini, in which users were given the opportunity to take advantage of new animation features: swimming in the ocean and the construction of sand castles ^[14] . Twiniti strictly follows the natural clock, dividing day to day and night, that is, when it gets dark in Europe , the sun rises in Miami ^[15] .

The discovery of the American city was the first step in developing the popularity of the game among the American population ^[16] . In July 2010, the population of Twinini reached more than 500,000. Now the main and most popular area of ​​Twinini, the so-called recreation and party area, is located in Miami ^[17] .

New York

In October 2010, Twinini launched its fifth city, New York. The starting point of virtual New York was the Great Army Square , with which the online community can get acquainted with the city and its world-famous attractions: Trump Tower , Solow Building , New York Public Library , and many others ^[18] .

As in other twin cities, avatars move around New York on foot or using various vehicles. The addresses of the virtual buildings of New York coincide with the addresses of real cities. Users can see the position of their avatars on the minimap provided by Google Maps . ^[19]

You can download Twiniti from the main page for free. After the download, users connect to the servers through the Twini network , which in turn does not affect the security of the client computer. When the program opens, the application connects the user to the Tweeniti virtual world via the Internet .

The game uses next-generation texturing technologies, which graphically saturate the 3D world of Twini in full accordance with the latest releases in the gaming technology industry. This includes engine features such as normals, specularity, and cubic textures . Screen Space Ambient Occlusion and Bloom give the graphic image its final look in post-rendering. Twiniti currently also uses 3D texture data, which is used by Satnav and Google Earth ^[2] , which makes virtual buildings look like their prototypes in the real world ^[2] .

However, to date, most of the content in Twin is created by the participants themselves. Premium users can create 3D objects, clothes, and animations for their avatars, which they upload via the Twini client or export Collada files using 3D modeling tools such as Google SketchUp , Blender , Autodesk 3ds Max or Autodesk Maya .

Tweeniti uses a 3D game engine from Big World , an Australian game development company. The engine was created specifically for the company Metaversum and the game Twini.

• Second life
• Smeet
• IMVU
• Kaneva
• Blue mars
• Active worlds
• 3D city models

“Twinity What is it good for” http://www.metaversejournal.com/2008/06/30/twinity-–-what-is-it-good-for/

Susan Writer Review http://dusanwriter.com/index.php/2008/07/07/review-of-twinity-from-metaverse/

“Cracks in the Mirror” http://blog.koinup.com/2010/04/twinity-cracks-in-mirror.html

Official sites

• Twinity.com
• Metaversum
• The twinity times