Worlds MMO: 2 weird identities and 1 mystery

Continuing on the theme of Rabbit Hole, it is interesting that the golden age of these urban myths was somewhere between 1995 and early 2010. In this case a mysterious cult and a very strange place are mentioned. A game with special elements and a deep mystery. Worlds is coming to reveal its own secrets.

David Bowie World in World.com
David Bowie World

The Game

Before commenting extensively on the game, it is important to note that this all happens when many stories on the internet flourished. The internet was still uncharted territory for most of the population. Those who had a computer used it for work with all these difficulties becoming increasingly accessible to the rest of the world. With the evolution of the internet, came the evolution of online games. At the same time, internet filters were not so strong then. The chances of talking to abnormal people, thieves, or more simply, getting into weird pages were quite high.

Having said the above, let us say that the urban myth we will examine here refers to the Worlds. Worlds is (yes, it still is) an MMO. In particular, it was the first to give virtual reality to the players. Created in 1995 by Worlds.inc, it is essentially an interactive game where players chat with other players. Players could choose from a number of basic avatars, the number of which increased over time. Also the main feature of the game is the creation of its worlds. It can easily be compared to Garry’s Mod or ROBLOX, and has some Minecraft elements. In addition to the worlds it already had as a game when it was created, players were given the opportunity to make their own worlds. And somewhere here, the three strange situations that we will refer to begin.

World.com Image
Random Image from Bowies World

Player 1: Jimbly

Jimbly is nothing more than a Worlds player. In addition to the practice of a player building a network of other players, Jimbly had created his own worlds that he already had free. Creating worlds and making them available to other players is also part of the game. So in the world of Jimbly you can see rows of rooms in which photos are displayed. The further one goes in the rooms, the more the photos show eccentric and graphic sexual content. Jimbly attracted people by asking for their profile photo to add to their collection of rooms and having a supposedly serious social network. To get into it you had to send a photo of yourself.

It is worth mentioning that this information was leaked in the most classic way that many urban myths have been broken on the internet. Someone posts information on a forum, or page, and adventure lovers search for it. In this case it was done on 4chan, which published a lot of information about these game profiles.

Jimbly World.com
Jimbly….perhaps…

Just a bad Profile

There was also a bait profile on the Jimbly profile network. A profile that was trying to talk to new players stating that she is also new. After a bit of searching in the corresponding email, it seems that the photos that the profile itself gave were a bad photoshop of a guy who also fished victims, impersonating someone else. It is worth mentioning this profile because he was the most active member of this community. But as it turned out, if not all, at least most of the profiles that existed in the Jimbly network were from strangers who liked to impersonate others.

All this can only be considered a simple anomaly. Exposing pornography in this way is not uncommon today, however immoral it may be. But back then, it was very unusual. Also people who cheat internet users is a simple scourge that existed and still exists. The internet was a dangerous place, let alone fake profiles on Facebook, Twitter and more. This is worth reminding everyone that browsing the internet requires caution.

Beach in World.com
World Beach

Player 2: Nexialist

While the first story was something relatively down-to-earth, Nexialist is something comparatively creepy. For the young players who were just wandering around the world, it was an experience just to explore different creations. Nexialist, on the other hand, seems to be an advanced player with some peculiar interests. At first he just stood next to the players without talking at all in the chat. He may have suggested that he takes a tour of the various worlds, until he suggested, “Do you want to see something cool?” While the line is reminiscent of a bad pickup-line, it practically led the newcomers to areas that, according to the users, terrified a lot of people.

The Nexialist took you to an area he had designed that obviously had satanic messages and aesthetics. After that it sent strange sound messages to the newcomers that, as described, were sounds of animals dying or burning alive. Rumor has it that he tried to get, or simply attracted, people to join a cult he led and that he obviously did not have the best of intentions.

Nexialist Avatar
Nexialist! A creepy image at least…

Another Weirdo?

Overall yes, he was just another weirdo. Aside from the fact that his avatar was quite creepy in itself, the guy may indeed have recruited for a satanic cult. By no means would the average player say he wanted to join the cult, and even if the Nexialist pressed politely, anyone could leave at any time. The most important thing in the story is that he was probably trying to scare the newcomers. Or just wait for 4chan to talk about it. Internet clout and stuff like that.

Although various comments state that he is a good guy, the whole situation remains strange. When asked by some who explored the mystery; he stated that there is no cult. Of course, there was no case for him to admit it, let alone in public. The most beautiful feature is the myth that this character had built around him, because many sought him out. Of course, as history states… he  finds you … In general, as it seems, creative games attract special personalities. Even more so in times when the internet was even more dangerous.

Nexialist "Cult"
eerm…really dont know….

The mystery

As is well known, most games need to be viable to work. When a game’s playerbase drops, it will soon shut down the game servers. So how can a game be still active until 2021 according to its official page? Especially for games that back then did not have the current possibility of monetization. With that in mind, it’s very likely that Worlds creator Tom Kidrin is running it from a server in his home. So why does an old game developer keep a gaming legend alive? Practically the game has very few players (at least it has) in its potential. Most likely there are just some old players or some periodic explorers.

There are two theories behind this. One is that Tom does not want to see the Worlds die and is the king of the cult which does not exist or perhaps a partner of Jimbly. Slightly impossible though. The second is more passable and more accessible. It must be understood that in the global market there is the ownership of a patent. Inside it are the so-called Patent Trolls that privatize patents that may never be viable.

Patent Protected Logo
Patent Protected probably….

Patent Troll

Apparently, Tom has patented the “System and Method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space”. In short, the patent secures the architecture that allows interaction between players in 3D environments. The design of the worlds and the digital manipulation through the avatars are included in it. Which means that he formally owns the rights to use the game function mentioned above. Apart from the typical case, there are also several lawsuits against big name companies with these types of games. These include names like Second Life, Blizzard and Bungie. It is worth mentioning that this patent is valid for 20 years. It was created in the early 2000s and is now considered Fee Related since it expired in the early 20s.

With a little simple thought it seems that there is a human demon behind almost all the situations that exist on the internet. In the event that Tom is currently receiving large sums of money due to the illegal use of his patent, it can also be characterized as a business move. Unlike the players that exist in his game, who are just weirdos or trolls. These stories fail once again simply because the internet needs attention in all areas. Except for the ’80s and’ 90s generations. They were lucky enough to experience all this so they will most likely not be surprised by anything.

Kostas Nikolaou

Posts published: 92

Graduated as a Sound Technician and currently doing my Master's Degree in Sound Design for Video Games. I am playing music as long as i can remember myself and i am a huge fan of FPS and RPG games.