Abstract
The planet Calypso is in a class by itself. It is not the playing field for an online combat game, or the electronic embodiment of an existing fantasy. Rather, it presents itself as a new world that people can explore and where they can build a real economy. On Calypso, two large continents are accessible, Eudoria and Amethera, plus a small space station and a resort on an asteroid. All four areas are populated with hostile beasts and possess mineral resources. Originally opened for colonists in 2003, Entropia Universe underwent a major geological upheaval in August 2009, and for many months the aftershocks were still being felt. This virtual world is admirable for pioneering a new economic model for online environments, and for being a plausible simulation of real extraterrestrial colonization, but it is also socially problematic and problematizes the future of humanity in outer space.
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Bainbridge, W.S. (2011). Entropia Universe. In: The Virtual Future. Springer Series in Immersive Environments. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-904-8_5
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