I’M READY FOR MY CLOSE UP
NOW MR. MARINEDUDE

By Rose_Blossom

Did you ever want 15 minutes of fame? Did you ever want to see yourself on TV?  Did you ever want to say to your friends, “I got to be part of one of the hottest technical happenings in There!!” 

‘Doh! 

Of COURSE you didn’t because that kind of excitement is reserved only for the hot reporters of the hottest newspapers in the community! *wink!* 

Until now… This reporter is very pleased to announce that VERY soon, coming to a VERY few select neighborhoods in YOUR area is Therian Online Webcam!  

‘handup!

‘handup!

‘handup! 

Now, before you all go crazy and ask TONS of questions that I can’t possibly answer…  let me assure you that the Creator, Administrator, Organizer and all-around “thinker and innovator” (his very own words, folks!) has granted me an exclusive interview to find out for our readers, exactly what we can look forward to in the next few weeks!  So..listen up, keep your eyes open and your wigs on straight, because…… when you least expect it, someone might come up to YOU and say……SMILE!  YOU’RE ON THERIAN ONLINE WEBCAM! 

I was enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon when I received a message from my good friend, BobbyMac, who knows ONLY the hottest happenings and tasty tidbits in There.  He asked me, “have you seen the webcam in Karuna?”   Nope.  Haven’t seen it.  Didn’t know about it…what WAS it??? “Add ‘Therianonline’ to your Yahoo Buddy list and find out for yourself!” he says.  So I did. 

Hey!  Suddenly, there was a link, and then, suddenly, there was a live, REALTIME video stream on my laptop, showing all the crowds of Noobs and all the people who help them, right there in Karuna Plaza!  Did you hear right?  I think you did.  But just in case, let me repeat that… REALTIME video!!!  

I caught up to the webcam’s creator, MarineDude and found out as much information as I could about the camera.  He told me, interestingly enough that this is not technically a webcam, but is a direct stream of video from There, the game. 

So, why did he choose Karuna as his camera debut?  He told me, “The choice of Karuna Plaza was an easy one. It has been consistently the most populated area of there... Time Square is to NY as Karuna Plaza is to There.com” 

I wondered how long he had been planning this, and did it take a long time to put it together?  He said that plans for this project have been in the works since about the second day he came in-game.  He’s been a member since July 4th, but has been in game much longer than that!  “I see something and I look at it in a different way then most do,” he said.  “I look at almost everything and say, ‘how can I make it better and more enjoyable for others.’”  He explained further, “Take the webcam for example, people on the outside, always want to see what’s on the inside.  That’s human nature at its finest.  It was not my original intention to make this for members, but for future members of the There Community.”  He also believes that screen shots and video of the game only go so far as to tell what’s happened in the game, past tense.  “If I was looking to become a member, I would want to see what’s going on now.”   

With MarineDude’s invention, people are going to see real people, talking and interacting with each other, driving a buggy, or some other common There activity and that’s what’s going to intrigue them to want to get a trial membership and be part of the game. “Now I have been working on and off on this idea since then,” he said, “and buckling down on it a lot the past few days.”

 When will Therian Online be live?  MarineDude told us that the beta phase 2 is scheduled to take place on May 14^th, and the full launch date is scheduled to take place on June 1^st, barring any and all complications. 

Next, I was curious about the locations of the web cam.  As you can see by these pictures, the Karuna Plaza cam offered Therians a great view of the luscious locale, plus let them see if their friends were mingling about!  (Ladies, *shhhhh* it’s also a great way to keep an eye on your guy who might be there to check out the girlie-noobs!)  I asked MarineDude about this.  “In the end I hope to have 4 cameras going constantly, one in Karuna Plaza, one in Zyphr, one on Duda Beach, and one random cam which will be part of a contest...”  A contest???   Did someone mention contest???  THAT would mean P-R-I-Z-E-S???  He continued, “Each week one of the cams will move to a random location in game.  The avatar that figures out where the camera is will win a prize.. “  ’’’YAY!!! 

Now, not that I personally would understand any of this ultra-techie stuff, but in order to appease the nerdish sector of readers, I asked about how the cams work.  He explained that he couldn’t tell you too much, as it is trade secret.  However, almost anyone, if they wanted to, could do this to a minor extent.  ***WHAT???  BUT, they would be limited by bandwidth restrictions, driver conflicts, and a few other numerous things. And no, this is not going to be broadcasted using Shoutcast streaming video, as it is still not user friendly for the clients that want to watch.  That, AND there are better ways to do it.

“Also,” MarineDude continued, ”This is not me putting my webcam up to the screen.  You will be able to view this in Windows Media player at first from a website soon to be disclosed during beta phase 2. And for those that don’t like WMP, I will be offering a few other things as well... so stay tuned for more info.” 

I knew that MarineDude was someone who didn’t stop at just one brain-busting idea.  So I asked him what else he had planned for our community? 

“A service which for now I will refer to as TTV, the first True streaming live video, broadcast from in-game- Television Station.” (‘hmmm...Wouldn’t that acronym be TSLVBFIGTS?  Okay---not amused, judging by the look on his face!)  “In the works now will be a LIVE evening news (‘gasp!) with hopes of a morning and noon report (‘gasp! ‘gasp!)  as well.  Providing the latest news in game, forums buzz, commentary, sports review and real world news (‘GASP! ‘GASP! ‘GASP!) with an avie touch of style.”   

Then MarineDude passed on, what I would deem to be pretty good news for those Therians still looking for their 15 minutes…or more.  “I am looking for dedicated news casters and on-location reporters.  I will also be searching for a weather man or Woman.  (Okay, buff up, ladies and gents!)  This should be a pretty easy job, unless There decides to spice things up with THEIR weather forecast.”  Then he noted, “These will be non-paying jobs at first. ..sorry folks, I am not made of money lol... But I am looking for people that want to help provide a service to their fellow Therians from the kindness of there avie hearts for now.” 

Also, on-location broadcasting would consist of special events such as.. but not limited to, avie soccer, buggy racing, buggy polo, paintball matches, concerts, movie premiers (OOOH! I wanna cover the Red Carpet!!!), press releases and things like the State of There Address. 

“I also would like to, at sometime, put a on a There Independent Film Awards, not sure who, if anybody, has done something like that before.” MarineDude added. 

So where will the broadcast come from?  MarineDude said that there are a few locations in mind right now, and whatever the location may be, it must provide a safe and quiet place for the newscasters, free of disturbances lol... (Sheeeyeaaah…GOOD LUCK!)  It must be well known, and it has to be big enough to house a full studio. 

I wish to thank MarineDude personally for bringing such a technical phenomenon into the world.  I am sure that I speak for the community when I say that such innovation is to be applauded, and we look forward to all your future endeavors.