The Antisocial Network

[thorn]

Lorne Lanning (creator of the Oddworld series of games) has semi-announced his next project. It's an online social network site called The Antisocial Network.

http://playit4ward.msn.com/?section=articles&topic=1195770&dataID=Lanning_Antisocial&source=T#

Lorne Lanning: If there were a perfect game, it's one that gets closer to the idea of extending our real lives and embracing them, and adding to them in a collectively compounding way that a singular experience really can't do for us.

My thesis is this: If enemies can attract and engage in fun together, they will grow closer. And on that basis, [i'm working on a project that will grab] a global base of users that are attracting for all the wrong reasons towards one another, contextualizing their angst in the real world and connecting it to the angst that they display in game experiences.

It's a crazy idea. It's a bit radical and insane, but I believe it will work.

This project is called the Antisocial Network. There's a lot of social networks happening out there right now, but the Antisocial Network is the place you're going to go to find your real enemies, then lock and load.

We've just started a new company. It's called OddMobb Incorporated, and it has some great partners in it: myself and Sherry McKenna, Larry Shapiro and Daniel Goldman, who started the TEN Network. And we're looking at building the Antisocial Network. Under the company of OddMobb, the Antisocial Network should be coming out in the not-too-many distant months ahead, to a closed beta audience.

For people who'd like to learn more about it, our site will be coming [online] sometime soon. Not exactly sure when yet, but it will be www.oddmobb.com.

My first thought on reading that was "What the hell was he smoking when he came up with that idea and where can I get some?" That said, he's working together with some big names, so there must be something real behind the wacky idea.

[GameDreamer]

Haha, that's a pretty rad idea. Don't know how successful it will be, but Lorne has always been known to take risks and kind of break molds, creatively speaking. Looking forward to it.

[brkl]

I love the name of the company. OddMobb. Oddddmobbbb.

[Murdoc]

Whatever happened to his movie career? (not a jibe, I was just wondering because I was mildly excited for it, I loved the oddworld universe)

[syntheticgerbil]

Yeah, I have mixed feelings, partially because of what Murdoc says.

Lorne Lanning is known for making a lot of big promises that don't exactly come through. The Oddworld series was never completed as planned, and within the series, tons of planned game ideas were thrown out, while very few were made of these ideas. Don't get me wrong, the Oddworld games are some of my favorite games, and a lot of that had to do with keeping me with gaming in my teenage years when I was sick of adventure games and thinking of quitting.

But what about Citizen Siege? There was a lot of talk and concept work done for that, and it seemed like it would have been an interesting movie to watch if not great.

Then he started talking about going back to Oddworld games again, but now there is a new announcement with no mention to the past announcements?

That said, I wouldn't mind signing up for this new experiment of his.

[thorn]

Whatever happened to his movie career? (not a jibe, I was just wondering because I was mildly excited for it, I loved the oddworld universe)

He had signed up with Vanguard Films and John H. Williams to produce Citizen Siege but apparently they had some sort of disagreement and the deal fell through. He tried for a while to develop a relationship with other producers, but the economy got in the way and he decided it was impossibhle at this time. He announced ages ago that he was working on the script for the Abe film but never claimed to have gone beyond that stage.

Then he started talking about going back to Oddworld games again, but now there is a new announcement with no mention to the past announcements?

He never actually said he was going back to the Oddworld games. He said he was getting back in to developing games (and Larry Shapiro signed up to OddMobb) so everyone assumed he was talking about Oddworld. He never actually stated that as fact though.

(In case it's not obvious, I'm an Oddworld nerd. I'm an admin on the Oddworld forums and actually interviewed Lorne two years back)

[Irishjohn]

It's a fascinating idea, if they make it come even close to working.

[Wrestlevania]

Questions, questions...

Why does this need to be another social network site? Wouldn't it be cleverer to build off the back of something with a massive userbase - like Facebook - to make it relevant?

When you've found your nemeses, how exactly are you going to play? Will it be browser games, or will it be something approximating Steam and Xfire that lets you schedule matches in typical video-/computer games?

Spending all day elbow-deep in such things, I'm certainly interested to see what exactly OddModd will offer in real terms. But, going by the patter above, I'm dubious as well. Definitely want to see more of this though, regardless--any news on where/how to sign up for the closed beta?

[thorn]

My guess - and it's only a guess - is that he's using the term 'Social network' in the most general term. You can describe WoW, LittleBigPlanet or Team Fortress 2 as social networks, after all.

[Wrestlevania]

Very true. But it seems to me that the crux of OddMobb is search, and that it will revolve around a web-based hub.

[brkl]

OddddMobbbbb