- Netbabyworld
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Netbabyworld AB Industry Browser games Founded 1999 Headquarters Gothenburg, Sweden Website netbabyworld.com Netbabyworld is one of the first browser-based social gaming sites, known for its distinctive low-polygon 3d imagery, centered on an ensemble cast of characters. Founded in 1999, Netbabyworld developed as a merge venture with the Swedish company PlayCom (formerly Game Design Sweden).
Contents
Characters
Digger
Slacker
Ninja
Pekka
Moniq
Boss
Copernicus (Copern)
Games
Netbabyworld created around 20 games from 1999–2003, initially through Macromedia Shockwave, then later moving to their own proprietary PlayCom engine.
Shockwave games
Cycling
- Probably the first of the NBW games, Cycling was quickly removed. The player mashed one or two buttons to move a cyclist along a track, similar to the 1980s series Summer Games.
Hi-jump
- Another early game, Hi-jump is a two-button game where Digger
Ninjagirl
Ninjagirl II
Ninjagirl III
- Now unavailable, Ninjagirl III allowed players to create and share their own levels.
Boat race
- A top-down jet boat racing game where the player can choose between Slacker, Digger and Ninja, competing in circuit races against the other two players.
15-Love
- A tennis game where the player is represented by a floating racquet.
16-Beat
- In this game, the player is represented by Slacker, receiving a music lesson from Copernicus.
Tune Inn
Post Office
PlayCom games
Burger Inn
The first of the PlayCom-based games, Burger Inn sees the player represented by either Pekka or Moniq, earning money by flipping burgers for Boss.
Boatrace Gold
Now unavailable, boatrace gold was the only PlayCom game to run outside of a browser. The player raced in a 3rd-person, 3-dimensional environment.
Mobile games
Mini-Ninja
- A mini-golf game featuring Digger.
Unreleased games
Jock-Strap
- A 3D boxing game featuring Slacker and Digger.
Netbaby Grand Prix
- The Netbaby Grand Prix Concept was developed for Nokia in a joint venture with Daydream Mobile and Terraplay. Netbaby Grand Prix is a racing game and allows up to three players to compete simultaneously in real-time over networks.
Reception
While the site enjoyed a great deal of popularity through this period, winning the 2002 Webby for best game site [1], Netbaby's monetization model was unclear.
The Playcom website states that "In April 2003 PlayCom was acquired through a management buyout by the management team, as well as key employees from former Netbaby World." It was around this time that the community features were removed, and site updates ceased.
Legacy and influence
As of 2009, Netbabyworld.com is still online and serving the Shockwave-based games. A former member of the team, Nick Sakellariou, has released a mobile version of Ninja Girl[2].
External links
References
- ^ "2002 Webby nominees & Winners". Webby awards. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=6.
- ^ "Ninja Girl". Nick Sakellariou. http://www.nbw.nu/ninja.
Categories:- Companies established in 1999
- Video game developers
- Browser-based game websites
- Video game companies of Sweden
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