Kaneva
From FAS Virtual Worlds Almanac
| Kaneva | |
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| URL | http://www.kaneva.com |
| Software license | Proprietary |
| Status | Active |
| Use and Demographics | |
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| Primary use(s) | Community |
| Target Audience(s) | Adults |
| Language(s) | English |
| Features |
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| Graphical and Content Features |
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| Communication
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| Management and Privacy |
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Kaneva is a commercial virtual world that enables its members to enjoy both the 2-D Kaneva Web and the 3-D virtual world. On the Web, members can create and customize their own profile; join or start online communities; make new friends, and browse thousands of other profiles, communities and media. They can also interact with the community through blogs, forums, search, shared media, tags, comments, friend requests, private messaging and raves. Much of the shared media appears to be videos.
Contents |
Background
Kaneva, Inc. is a privately owned Atlanta-based company founded in 2004 by Christopher Klaus and Greg Frame. Kaneva is a 3D Virtual World that supports 2D web browsing, social networking and shared media.
In 2004 Kaneva worked directly with Georgia’s Department of Economic Development to draft a new law into existence that would promote video game development in Georgia. Klaus, who was elected in 2004 to Gov. Sonny Perdue's Film, Video and Music Advisory Commission, courted the economic development department to come around to his way of thinking. Klaus played a key role in making sure an entertainment tax incentive bill passed in 2004 included the video game industry.[1]
Kaneva was originally founded to develop a massively multi-player online game (MMOG) but its founders perceived a need in the gaming industry for a software solution that would aid in the development of games. In late 2004, Kaneva released the first version of their Kaneva Game Platform that included features to enable professional or independent game developers to develop games.[2]
As Web 2.0 became more mainstream, Kaneva decided to use its own technology to develop a virtual world that combined video sharing, social networking and 3D environments into one place. In 2005, Kaneva started development on the Virtual World of Kaneva, the company’s flagship product.[3] The Virtual World of Kaneva was released into beta in mid 2006.
This new direction, however, did not abandon the original focus of the Kaneva Game Platform. A new site was created in April 2006 to allow the community of game developers to collaborate on their projects. This site was named the Kaneva Elite Developers Site. Currently, the Kaneva Elite Developers have over a hundred games in development and thousands of active game developers.
