Metaplace introduced the world to a brand new technology two days ago -- the ability to embed a fully functional virtual world into any website or forum, anything that can handle HTML.

This upgrade allows Metaplace to act like a more enhanced version of Google's old Lively service. All you need to do is make a world, take the embeddable HTML code from it, drop it into your website, and you now have a full virtual world running in flash right inside of your blog post or forum thread. The world can be edited to your whims through the Metaplace builder, letting you create whatever you want to create inside of your space. Think of it like Second Life Lite.

We had more than a few questions for Raph Koster, the founder and creator of Metaplace, about this new upgrade for his virtual platform, so we caught up with him to pick his mind on Metaplace and virtual worlds at large.

Metaplace is quite large now, with well over 30,000 worlds created. How does Metaplace avoid spreading the population out too thinly, as, after all, these are social worlds? Is that a challenge for you guys?

It is. It is a challenge. Many of our worlds are empty at any given time. Many of them are people's "apartments" or "personal spaces." Everyone gets a world when they start out in Metaplace, and a large majority of them are unimproved.

What we've found out is that people really congregate in the well done worlds. Because of that, we've spent a lot of time on searching algorithms to find the worlds that people consider to be the best and the worlds that are the most populated at that point in time and then bring them up top to the user. We're also working on expanding our support for events, so when something interesting is going on in Metaplace all users will get a notification. This way they can click the link and go and check it out quickly. Yet, sometimes great worlds get lost for a time, but then they get rediscovered as people re-find them.

"Virtual worlds need to make that jump to become "ordinary," in a way"

We've also included a new feature, called the golden egg. This allows veteran users to market their worlds to others by purchasing this new item. The egg, which is 25,000 coins, can be placed in your virtual world for others to find. Once they find it and click on it, they get 500 coins as a present and are also given the location of another world that has a golden egg. Every world that has a golden egg in it is also listed in the golden egg world list. There's also a golden egg in Metaplace Central that "kicks off" the quest, so to speak.

Where do you see virtual worlds going in the future?

One of the big questions at the last convention I attended was, "What's next?" In some ways, we've already accomplished a lot of the dream. A lot of the things that people expected out of virtual worlds have come true.

We have mass marketed virtual worlds that aren't extremely popular, but, you know, popular enough. We've reached a level of penetration in entertainment that's quite high. But they haven't jumped to total mainstream acceptance yet.

I think that's the next step. Virtual worlds need to make that jump to become "ordinary," in a way. Having them become a key part of the web would be a key part of that. It's always been a mistake for us to think that virtual worlds will swallow the web. I don't think that's the way things are going. But I do think we'll be seeing a much tighter integration between virtual worlds and the rest of the Internet. I really think Metaplace is kicking the ball forward, in regards to that.

So what's the future for Metaplace, specifically?

We're always focusing on making it easier for users, in addition to hosting building classes so people can learn how to build new worlds. We also have a roadmap on our forums that contains a list of proposed features that anyone can check out, all of which is scheduled to come out in the next few months. We're still in the early days -- second month of open beta with a very soft launch -- and we're gonna keep building on what we got and make it easier for everyone to have a virtual world of their own!

Thanks for your time, Raph!

EVE Online is a deep sandbox game with the most complex player-driven economy found in any massively multiplayer title. There's enough depth, in fact, that players can establish their own financial ventures in-game, in the forms of bonds and IPOs, and even institutions like banks. However, EVE Online is a game where some players create while others undermine or outright destroy. Trust is a valuable and rare commodity in EVE's setting of New Eden; there are always risks of deception and betrayal. But those willing to take risks are generally the ones who are most successful. Of the player-run banks presently operating in the game, EBANK has billed itself as "the largest financial entity ever seen in EVE."

The secrets of its success? A solid Board of Directors and knowledgeable staff, various safeguards preventing any one individual from accessing all bank assets and, yes, some of that rare commodity called trust.That trust was damaged recently though, when EBANK's (now-former) CEO Ricdic, well-known to the game's playerbase, embezzled the virtual funds he was entrusted with. Although this is permissible by EVE's developers CCP Games, selling in-game currency for real-world cash is not. Ricdic has been banned from the game but his actions triggered a run on the virtual bank, and have shaken the faith many players have in EBANK.

Massively spoke about the incident with LaVista Vista, a former member of the game's Council of Stellar Management who sits on the Board of Directors of this virtual bank in EVE; he also provides commentary and analysis of virtual worlds and EVE on the Eveconomics blog. LaVista told us about the parallels that can be drawn between a banking crisis in the virtual galaxy of New Eden and that of the real world, and how what happens in a game can impact real lives.

We read about these things happening periodically, an EVE player pulls a runner with some huge amount of ISK and all sorts of drama ensues. It makes me wonder, what has the real life impact of this theft been on those of you involved with EBANK?

If you are to trust the forum trolls, EVE is JUST a game. But having spent 2 years on this project, real-life money and a lot of sweat and tears, it hurts to see EBANK's name being dragged through the mud, and putting up with the drama. It of course causes a huge amount of real-life stress, and makes you wonder about a few things. I even almost managed to miss 2 exams, due to having to deal with this. But it also gave us the opportunity to realize just how many people EBANK have helped.

2% of EVE's playerbase has an EBANK account, and we came to be the biggest investment venture in EVE, peaking at 2.5 TRILLION ISK. That, to me, is a pretty big thing, which I'm proud to take part in. But I can't answer this question on my own, hence here's my new CEO's take on it:

With the oversaturation of fantasy in the MMO genre, we've been patiently waiting to get our hands on the steampunk victorian coolness of Gatheryn. An indie title currently under development by Mindfuse, Gatheryn seems to be part virtual world and part mini-game laden MMO, much like Free Realms. Considering how wildly popular Free Realms has become in a short period, many eyes are now turning to Gatheryn to see if the combination of casual minigames in a fun, unique MMO/VW setting can strike gold again. Massively's very own Managing Editor, Shawn Schuster sat down recently with Isa Anne Stamos, Game Studio Director for MindFuse, to find out some more about the future of this retro-feel title.

Massively: We first took a look at Gatheryn at GDC earlier this year, and liked what we saw so far. Can you describe some of the major feature changes or updates to the game since then?

Isa Anne Stamos, MindFuse: Generally, we've been focusing on building out the early stages of the Gatheryn experience – adjusting the layout of the city, adding variations to character customization, and creating a deep casual gaming experience that players can enjoy the minute they enter Gatheryn. Specifically, we just added a Player Health feature that measures your avatar's fatigue and gives us some creative options for healing items and quests. We're also filling in a lot of the quests and minigames – we've probably added a few since you saw us at GDC. We're also working hard to build up the community tools because we rely heavily on them to communicate with our beta users - they're crucial to getting player feedback in these early stages of development.

With Sparkplay Media's first game, Earth Eternal, going into beta, we got the chance to sit down with the CEO of the company, Matt Mihaly, and pick his mind on a variety of things related to setting up shop in the free to play genre.

Matt's no stranger to the massively multiplayer space, holding a strong background as the CEO and founder of Iron Realms Entertainment, a company dedicated to creating multi-user dungeons (MUDs) including Imperian, Aetola, Achaea, and Lusternia. If that wasn't enough, Achaea was one of the first games to introduce the sales of virtual goods, making him one of the pioneers of the base that free-to-play games now stand on.

So what's his thought process behind Earth Eternal? What are some of the things we can expect from the MMO that's sporting over 22 races? Hit the continue reading link, and find out!

How have the launches of FusionFall and Free Realms affected Earth Eternal? Have you changed your development or goals in any way because of the success of those two games, or have you stayed the course and continued to build things your way, disregarding those two games?

Not really, no. Games like Runescape and Habbo have had more influence on our plans than either of those two games, simply because they're so much bigger. FusionFall and Free Realms have gotten a lot of press in the last year, but neither of them have achieved the level of success that games like Runescape and Habbo have.

Actually, nobody really knows how Free Realms is doing outside of SOE. Three million registrations doesn't tell you much about how many active players they have as you don't know how quickly players are churning out of the experience. With the massive dollars they spent on marketing too, it'd be surprising if they couldn't get a few million registrations. The challenge for them (and everyone else in this space, including us) is to convert that fleeting attention into long-term, loyal players.

"We're more in the vein of a classic fantasy MMO than a collection of minigames."

How will Earth Eternal separate itself from the growing free-to-play genre in America? What will make this game stand out?

We're a different kind of experience from FusionFall or Free Realms. We're more in the vein of a classic fantasy MMO than a collection of minigames. I think where we stand out is by offering the best browser-based fantasy MMO out there. We've made the decision to have no humans, elves, or dwarves (or gnomes, hobbits, or anything else too close to human), preferring instead to offer everything from humanoid lizards and falcons to the Clockwork and Yeti. We're definitely fantasy but we want to stay away from the pack, almost all of whom have the humans/elves/dwarves thing going on. We've also got an enormous number of races for players (unlike the two games you mentioned) – 22 at launch.

Considering all of Earth Eternal's development, what part of the game are you the most proud of? What is that one feature you can't wait to show off?

The number one thing I'm proud of is how much our team has managed to do on relatively little funding for an open world 3D MMO (about five million dollars.) As far as game features go the biggest feature I'm looking forward to showing off is our Groves system, which will be introduced at final launch, a few months after we go into open beta.

Thanks so much for your time, Matt!

It's been a long run for the Gossip Girl simulation on Second Life, two years in the making actually, but all good things must come to an end. The well trafficked sims will be closing the doors tomorrow, as Warner Brothers and The CW discontinue their virtual marketing campaign for the show of the same name.

But that doesn't mean the Gossip Girl community is dying...

Fans of the simulation will be overjoyed to hear that the Gossip Girl community is transitioning to a new home thanks to the Metaverse Mod Squad, the builders and moderators of the original official sims. While the official sims, and the setting of the Upper East Side, will be retired on June 30th, the new doors will open on July 1st to large fanfare and a great number of festivities.

CrazyKinux is one of the standout players in EVE Online who has contributed to the game in significant ways. He's known as Treenara Mazouk in New Eden, but most players simply call him 'CrazyKinux'. His site, CrazyKinux's Musing, is a popular destination for players curious about EVE Online or looking for info about how to get started, as well as a hub of activity for the EVE player community.

Beyond the four years and counting he's been a vocal member of the player community, CrazyKinux has provided commentary on EVE through The Drone Bay podcast and later on MicroWarpCast. The writers at Massively had the good fortune to work with CrazyKinux in the past, with his Have Clone, Will Travel column, but he's since gone on to have a bigger impact on the game. CrazyKinux turned his attention to the EVE community itself, where much of the out-of-game interaction between players had been on forums or on player blogs that often existed in their own microcosm. He linked them together into a cohesive community and the momentum has resulted in hundreds of EVE players writing about their experiences in New Eden, and the most active bloggers participate in regular, intelligent discussions about the game in "EVE Blog Banters".

CrazyKinux is one busy man, but Massively recently caught up with him to discuss the community of EVE players he's helped bring together and what it is about the game and its playerbase that motivated him to make this happen.

The EVE blogging community you've brought together is made up of players of all types: industrialists, pirates, militia fighters, even drug dealers. Somehow they all seem to get along. Looking at the EVE forums, people tend to clash all the time. Why isn't this the case with the EVE Blog Pack?

I remember watching a TED video of Seth Godin on Tribes, and something he said struck me: people want one thing, they want to be missed. On the EVE forums, one way to do that, one way to get a response is to provoke. On forums that works, and is why we've got trolls. On the EVE Blog Pack that's different. We know a bit more about each other, we're trying to have discussions on what drives our gaming passion: EVE. Getting along is a necessary requirement, otherwise people won't come back to your blog, read and comment. Which is actually one of the requirements of the Pack, to participate in the discussions. Unless you want to be ignored, you'll respect everyone's opinion.

Massively Speaking Episode 56 is back after a brief hiatus while we spent last week at E3. To compensate, Shawn is joined by WoW.com's Mike Schramm for a recap of the best and brightest from the convention. Which game did they like best? Why does it seem like every game will release in 2010? Check out the podcast to find out!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

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Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 proved to be a significant event for the gaming industry once again, with a fair amount of news and announcements related to MMOs. Massively was there on the ground for E3 this year and we've been putting up breaking announcements, interviews, and hands-on previews throughout.

Given how much info came out of E3 on Massively, here's a roundup of our coverage, day-by-day. Be sure to check out the rest after the jump as there's plenty more content, plus you'll find E3 galleries for these games as you click through. To cap it all off, we've also put together an E3 2009 wrapup video for you at the end of this post. Read on to see where the MMO industry is headed in the next year and beyond!

• Star Wars: The Old Republic world's first fully-voiced MMO

• Final Fantasy XIV announced

• Jumpgate Evolution releases E3 trailer

• EA to publish All Points Bulletin in 2010

• PlayStation Home hits 6.5 million accounts

• Trion World Network unveils Heroes of Telara

• Massively's day 1 video from the E3 floor

Last week at E3, we had a chance to sit down with Alexandre Zambeaux, Marketing Director for Cities XL developer Monte Cristo Games, for some more info on the current state of the game, and what MMO gamers can expect from such a project. You may remember a pre-beta Q&A we did with the Monte Cristo team a few months ago, and as the game hasn't hit an open beta just yet, it will later this year. The info we got from that initial interview helped carve an idea in our heads of what this whole city-building MMO could possibly be, but now we're happy to offer a few more details.

Even though this meeting was very informal, we took some great info away from Alexandre to relay to you, the readers. Follow along after the jump to find out more about the business model, expandability, gameplay and more.

Wait a minute, day 4 of E3 2009? Remedial math skills? E3 was only a three-day event, but our own coverage of Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 is going to last a bit longer. We've still got a number of interviews and previews lined up for you in the coming days, today included, so we hope you'll keep reading this weekend. In the meantime, here are a few highlights of Massively's coverage of E3 2009 from yesterday:

• Champions Online interview with Bill Roper on character customization

• Torchlight, from creators of Mythos, to morph from single player to MMO

• Rohan: Blood Feud to get crafting system in June

• Massively's Dragonica Online Impressions

If you'd like to see more, we've got some eye candy after the jump, with galleries for Champions Online, Torchlight, Rohan: Blood Feud, and Dragonica Online.