''Ai Space'' (officially stylized as ''ai sp@ce'') is a Japanese virtual 3D massively multiplayer online social game (MMOSG) developed by several companies that formed the Ai Space Production Committee which was launched on October 15, 2008 for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

PCs, despite an earlier announcement of a Q3 2008 release.

Beta test A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

ing commenced between mid-September and mid-October 2008. Primary development was handled by Headlock, and Dwango provided the world's infrastructure and Internet service. Dwango's subsidiary Niwango tied in the Nico Nico Anime Channel from the Nico Nico Douga

video sharing An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...

website which provided users the opportunity to upload

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

sequences online. The game closed down on June 30, 2011. A downloadable client program enables its users to interact through motional

avatars Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearan ...

with each other and primarily with

bishōjo game A or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive girls". ''Bishōjo'' games are similar to ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' books in the way of narrative, in which the game tells a story but the player may make ...

heroines from three

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

s: ''

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

'' by Key under

Visual Art's , formerly and previously spelled in English as VisualArt's, is a Japanese publishing company which specializes in publishing and distributing visual novels for a large list of game developers. Visual Arts has developed game engines their brand ...

, ''

Shuffle! ''Shuffle!'' (stylized as ''SHUFFLE!'') is a Japanese visual novel developed by Navel. It was originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. It was subsequently followed by an all-ages release for the PlayStation ...

'' by

Navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, altho ...

under Omegavision, and ''

Da Capo II is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Circus which was first released on May 26, 2006 for Windows computers. It is a part of the ongoing ''Da Capo'' series of games by Circus, and is the direct sequel to Circus' previous title '' ...

'' by

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and uni ...

. After a player creates an avatar, one of the bishōjo game heroines is selected as a personal character doll, or "chara-doll", to live with on one of the game's three virtual "islands" which are patterned on the worlds featured in the three visual novels. The islands are connected by a central

Akihabara is a common name for the area around Akihabara Station in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan. Administratively, the area called Akihabara mainly belongs to the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts in Chiyoda. There exists an administrative district c ...

Island where players with their chara-dolls can gather for chatting and events. The first theme song for ''Ai Space'' is sung by Kotoko.

Gameplay

Before

can begin, a player must download a client program unique to ''Ai Space'' which will enable its users to interact on the game's servers. The player is given the chance to customize a motional

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

to explore the

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activitie ...

. This avatar can be chosen to take on a male or female form; the male avatars are described as "cool" while female avatars are described as "sweet". Facial expressions, figures, and

hairstyle A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the fashion, styling of hair, usually on the human scalp. Sometimes, this could also mean an editing of facial or body hair. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal ...

among other things are customizable, and the player can even customize personal information like birthdays and

blood type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrat ...

. The main gameplay will begin when the player has chosen one personal

character from the

s ''

'', ''

'', and ''

'', which the player will be able to customize. These

bishōjo In Japanese popular culture, a , also romanized as ''bishojo'' or ''bishoujo'', is a cute girl character. ''Bishōjo'' characters appear ubiquitously in media including manga, anime, and computer games (especially in the ''bishojo'' game genre ...

characters, known in the game as character dolls, or "chara-dolls", are able to wear different costumes (based on in-game items), and do a variety of things such as memorize various motions to act out or dance. The chara-dolls can even eventually develop a unique personality for each user, known in-game as each chara-doll having a different "aitune". The player and the selected chara-doll are able to live together in the game on one of the game's three virtual "islands" which are designed to resemble the worlds features in the three aforementioned visual novels used as reference material for the game. The house in which the players resides is equipped with furniture, though more could potentially be bought, along with items for the chara-doll or player to wear. When inside the house together, the chara-doll moves of her own accord, though when outside the chara-doll stays with the player. The player can freely converse with their chara-doll in a manner similar to visual novels where the text appears in the lower portion of the computer screen. The three islands are connected by a central "Akihabara Island", modeled after the real

, where the different players and chara-dolls can interact via chatting and events. When in Akihabara Island, the names given to the avatars and chara-dolls are viewable above their heads. While ''Ai Space'' can be played free of charge, a player can buy Nico Nico Points from Nico Nico Douga for use in the game to expand the gameplay. Nico Nico Points can be used to obtain special in-game items such as clothing for the player's avatar and chara-doll, and furniture for the house where the player resides. The Nico Nico Points can be purchased in 1000, 2000, 3000, and 5000 point sets with one point costing roughly one

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

(about one

cent Cent may refer to: Currency * Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency * Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013 * 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944 * ...

Development

''Ai Space'' is a collaborative effort from several companies that form the Ai Space Production Committee. The project is headed by the Dwango online service provider which developed the

's infrastructure and

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

service support. According to Dwango's executive vice-president Toyoki Ōta, planning for the project began in 2006. The initial idea was to make a world like ''Ai Space'', but only incorporate the ''

'' franchise, but this was changed to incorporate the ''

'' and ''

'' franchises as well. In 2006, Dwango was still primarily involved with the

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive telephone call, calls over a radio freq ...

industry, but were able to gain Internet service experience due to launching their subsidiary

website Nico Nico Douga, which made it possible for ''Ai Space'' to move forward in development. Primary development was handled by Headlock which worked in collaboration with Key under

with Omegavision, and Circus for the design of the

heroines featured in ''Ai Space'' from ''Clannad'', ''Shuffle!'', and ''Da Capo II''. ''Ai Space'' was initially going to be a

text-based game A text game or text-based game is an electronic game that uses a text-based user interface, that is, the user interface employs a set of encodable characters, such as ASCII, instead of bitmap or vector graphics. All text-based games have ...

similar to that of

s, but this was changed in favor of a 3D environment. Dwango's subsidiary Niwango ties in the Nico Nico Anime Channel from the Nico Nico Douga

website by providing users the opportunity to upload

sequences online. The

trading card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with '' Magic: The Gathering'' in 1993. Genera ...

company Bushiroad is also involved in the project.

I've Sound I've Sound, or simply called , is a Japanese techno/ trance music production group based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Led by Kazuya Takase, it features the talents of seasoned "sound creators" and many different vocalists, known as to their ...

member Kotoko sings the first theme song for ''Ai Space'', entitled , and the single was released on December 3, 2008. Other music provided in the game is taken from the three visual novels used as a basis for ''Ai Space''.

Beta testing

Despite an initial announcement of a Q3 2008 release of ''Ai Space''s full version,

beta testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...

for the game was conducted in three separate phases between mid-September to mid-October 2008. Phase one commenced between September 16 and September 19, 2008 and was restricted to 1,010 users. People had the chance to buy one of 1,010 "''Ai Space'' Deluxe Card Sets" for 500

(about

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

5) each at Comiket 74 between August 15 and August 17, 2008, but those who bought the card sets also had to submit a participation application between August 18 and September 3, 2008 at ''Ai Space''s official website. Phase two beta testing occurred between September 22 and September 26, 2008 (though not September 23) and consisted of the first 1,010 users plus another 2,525, bringing the total number to 3,535. Finally, phase three commenced between October 7 and October 14, 2008 and consisted of the previous 3,535 users plus another 2,525, bringing the total number of beta testers to 6,060.

Release

''Ai Space''s client program was released for free on October 15, 2008 downloadable on ''Ai Space''s official website for

PCs. On opening day, the number of people able to play the game was restricted to 53,000 users, and the number was gradually increased based on the order of a registration number a given player received when registering for ''Ai Space''. In order to register for ''Ai Space'', a user must already have an account for Nico Nico Douga.

References

External links

''Ai Space''s official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ai Space 2008 video games Japan-exclusive video games Massively multiplayer online games Virtual world communities Video games developed in Japan Windows games Windows-only games Inactive massively multiplayer online games