Second Life in 2002/PR
Linden Lab Debuts, Company Dedicated to 3D Entertainment
Linden Lab Kicks Off DEMO 2002 Conference With Exclusive Preview Of New Entertainment Service Driven By 3D Streaming Technology
PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- Monday February 11, 2002
Linden Lab, a company founded to create a new form of interactive entertainment, opened the DEMO 2002 conference with an exclusive preview of its "LindenWorld" entertainment service. LindenWorld is an organic online world lived in and built by its participants - a new medium for creative self-expression, social interaction, and fun.
"Linden Lab has created sophisticated technology to enable an amazing vision - a shared 3D entertainment service where users can create content, not just consume it," said Chris Shipley, DEMO conference executive producer.
Early Creator Program
Creators, designers and enthusiasts who will build the first homes, found the first cities and pioneer new interactive entertainment experiences are encouraged to apply at www.lindenlab.com for the Early Creator program, which will begin in the coming weeks and expand over the next several months as the world itself grows.
New Entertainment Service
The company presented a look at what will become "LindenWorld." Residing on a distributed network of inexpensive machines, this persistent simulation of an expanding world delivers startling organic reality, complete with weather, plants, animals, and objects that obey the laws of physics.
LindenWorld harnesses the user-driven power of the Internet. Participants create collaboratively in real time, building sophisticated 3D objects and behaviors from simple parts. These parts can be shared, copied and edited to create increasingly elaborate creations. Examples include elaborate homes, kinetic sculptures, flying vehicles, themed rollercoasters, or entire cities.
People interact with each other in the environment using lifelike, high fidelity representations of themselves. These "characters" enable a richly detailed palette of expressive capability and social participation. No two characters are alike. Users can customize every aspect of their appearance and behavior, from the color of their eyes to replicas of their favorite tattoos.
Available later this year via a broadband-connected PC, Linden Lab offers an interactive real-time 3D world merging the power of user-created content with the immersive aspects of video games.
"The magic of LindenWorld is that it's never the same twice. The environment constantly evolves, driven by what users make and do," said Philip Rosedale, founder and CEO.
Technology Linden Lab has developed two breakthrough technologies to enable a revolutionary new type of 3D online interactivity:
- Streaming 3D
Linden Lab has developed interactive, editable 3D streaming technology delivering a 100x improvement in the compression of dynamic geometry and texture data. The barrier to 3D streaming has been finally been crossed, enabling incredibly rich environments with responsive interactivity.
- Scalable Distributed Simulation
A technology breakthrough which allows the simulation of a complex, dynamic world to be seamlessly divided across a network of computers. LindenWorld will employ this technology in a massively parallel distributed array of thousands of inexpensive PCs.
Additionally, Linden Lab's proprietary technology leverages three important technology trends: inexpensive GHz PC's, high performance consumer graphics cards and broadband Internet access.
About Linden Lab
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Philip pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. Linden Lab is funded by prominent private investors including Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development, and Catamount Ventures led by Managing Partner Jed Smith, founder of drugstore.com.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks.
About DEMO 2002
The annual DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences focus on emerging technologies and new products, which are hand-selected by executive producers Chris Shipley and Jim Forbes from across the spectrum of the personal technology marketplace. Top executives from the leading hardware and software technology companies, venture capitalists, journalists from key industry publications and industry analysts attend the DEMO and DEMOmobile conferences to preview the most promising products and technologies for the coming year. DEMO is held in February each year and features approximately 60 new companies, products and technologies. DEMOmobile is held each fall and features approximately 35 new mobile technologies. For more information, visit http://www.idgef.com/.
Robin Harper Appointed Linden Lab Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- April 16, 2002
Linden Lab, a provider of shared 3D online entertainment, announced today that Robin Harper has been appointed Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, bringing with her an extensive knowledge and background in entertainment software marketing. In this new position, Harper will be responsible for Linden Lab's marketing and business development operations and will help guide the company's overall market strategy.
"We are excited to have such a seasoned executive as Robin coming to Linden Lab. She has the skill and insight to help us bring our new entertainment service to the market and stake out a leadership position," said Philip Rosedale, Linden Lab CEO.
"I have had the pleasure of working with some of the best and most successful companies in the business, and recognized in Linden Lab the vision, quality and energy that make a great company," Harper said. "Without a doubt Linden Lab is creating an incredibly exciting new experience. I'm looking forward to working with this innovative team to build a superior entertainment service that translates into superior business results."
Most recently, Ms. Harper was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Mondo Media, an entertainment network syndicating animated content across the Internet. Previously Ms. Harper served as Vice President of Marketing at Ninth House, Inc., an early-stage e-Learning network targeting Fortune 1000 companies, where she oversaw all aspects of product marketing and marketing communications.
Prior to her position at Ninth House, Ms. Harper was the Vice President of Marketing at Maxis, a division of Electronic Arts (EA). At Maxis she played a prominent role in their emergence as the leader in PC simulation games and was a core member of the senior executive team that guided the company through their IPO and subsequent sale to Electronic Arts. Also while at Maxis Harper established SimCity as one of the most recognized brand names in entertainment software, and was named one of the marketing 100 by Advertising Age/Newsweek.
Ms. Harper started her career in advertising, where she managed the Novell, Nintendo, and Pacific Telesis accounts, among others, at Foote, Cone and Belding, San Francisco. She holds an MBA in marketing from the University of Chicago.
About Linden Lab Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks.
LindenLab Announces Name of New Online World 'Second Life(TM)' And Availability of Beta Program
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- October 30, 2002
Linden Lab(TM) announced today the name of its interactive service, Second Life(TM). A new form of shared 3D entertainment, Second Life presents a remarkably immersive and self-expressive world to its online residents. Users who want the opportunity to enter Second Life can register and begin their new life with the beta program at www.lindenlab.com.
Living a Second Life Online
Each resident begins Second Life by designing their avatar, or character, starting with a fully textured high-resolution figure, and creating a unique representation of themselves. Users customize their hair, face and body shape, and clothing, using morphing tools that allow for an infinite variety of identities. Users can then collaborate with each other to shape the world around them.
"Using new technology to enable a dramatic leap forward in the self-expression possible in a 3D online world, we have created a new experience that is, in nearly every sense of the words, a Second Life," said Philip Rosedale, CEO and founder of Linden Lab. "Our residents create a new identity in a world that they shape -- whether vixen or villain, architect or explorer. With early creators spending as much as 60 hours a week in-world, we believe Second Life is poised to revolutionize the online experience."
A social structure that mirrors the complexity of life, a fully-functioning economy, and the ability to express creativity through simple but sophisticated 3D tools enable a realistic and exciting environment where users' experiences are limited only by their imaginations.
Pioneering Technologies
Linden Lab has pioneered a series of technological breakthroughs that allow Second Life residents to collaborate in real time and to create in ways not possible before -- even though they may be sitting at computers thousands of miles apart. Second Life is a persistent simulation of an expansive and ever-changing growing world, complete with weather and objects that obey the laws of physics. Residing on a distributed network and using a new generation of streaming compression, Second Life residents experience interactions with the world as realistic as conversing on park benches around a crackling fire pit, watching as the sun sets on the horizon over the ocean, going to a costume party or deejaying favorite tunes at a disco.
Beta Participation
To embark on their new life, residents, upon registration in the beta version, will receive a bank account, an avatar to customize, and an inventory filled with sounds, textures and the objects they need to get started. They then have the opportunity to build a house or begin with a pre-made starter home, explore the world, make new friends, begin to amass their fortune, or just watch the world turn, cycling through day and night, as the social brew and shape of this new world evolves. Beta applicants are encouraged to apply online at the company website, www.lindenlab.com. A consumer version will be available in Summer 2003. The pricing structure is yet to be announced.
About Linden Lab
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks.
Note to Editors: Linden Lab and Second Life are service marks of Linden Lab in the U.S.