Alchemical Draughting: #1 The PMOG Drawings
A story of trying to monetise Web 1.0 and young illustrator.
This post will stand as the official record for the Game Production Alchemist Archive. Unless noted, all the artwork, blueprints and renderings are by Rob Sandberg.
In 2007, I was approached by some folks who found my illustrations on DeviantArt. They contracted me to develop concept art for their upcoming game.
GameLayers, Inc. endeavoured to redefine the internet experience by merging web browsing with a massively multiplayer online game through its innovative Firefox toolbar-based game, The Nethernet. This ambitious project, dubbed a PMOG (Passively Massive Online Game), garnered significant attention and was featured in prominent publications such as Wired, TechCrunch, MacWorld, and Technology Review. Moreover, it achieved a nomination for the MMO Game of the Year in 2009 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, marking a notable recognition in the gaming industry.
Despite the innovative concept and a substantial user base of 120,000 registered users with 5,000 daily active users, GameLayers, Inc. faced significant challenges related to monetisation. The company's model, which relied on microtransactions within the Firefox add-on game, did not resonate with its user base, leading to financial sustainability issues. This challenge was compounded by the substantial investment in hardware necessary to parse URLs in real-time, a critical component of the game's functionality that allowed for the dynamic insertion of game elements into the browsing experience.
Ultimately, the inability to sustain financial viability through microtransactions and the high operational costs led to the project's discontinuation. Despite the innovative approach and initial user engagement, the project serves as a case study of the challenges of monetising novel digital experiences, especially those that significantly deviate from established gaming and internet usage patterns. GameLayers, Inc.'s journey with PMOG/The Nethernet remains a significant historical record of the potential and pitfalls of integrating gaming with daily digital activities.
Alchemical Draughting Exhibits:
Artist Notes: Mixed-media. Digital art with Adobe Illustrator output to bristol card stock and rendered with markers and pigment liners. Marker renderings were scanned and touched up in Adobe Photoshop.
That’s it. Thanks for indulging in this trip down memory lane.