Skotos Tech & RPGnet Release The Gables for Halloween

BERKELEY, CA, October 29, 2001 – Skotos Tech, maker of online community software, has partnered with RPGnet, the premiere roleplaying community site on the Internet, to release its first Chat Theatre, The Gables, in a special Halloween night event.

Chat Theatres are similar to existing chat programs, currently used by tens of millions on the Internet. However, they offer notable enhancements to traditional environments, creating a more immersive experience. Users can chat just as easily as they could on any legacy chat program. However, they can also choose to explore small virtual environments — described via text — taking on alternate roles and engaging in improvisational games.

RPGnet's first Chat Theatre, The Gables, will be officially released for beta testing on October 31. This Halloween event will highlight the spookier aspects of the old, creaky 1920s mansion. Players will be able to chat in the Lobby or wander to The Ballroom, the Dining Hall, or the other locales that make up the house. Cats, and other things best not spoken of, will wander the halls; butlers and manservants will help to orient the guests. Vintage 1920s clothing, accessories, and even hors d'ouevres will all add to the reality of the virtual setting.

The Halloween premiere of The Gables, running from 4-10pm October 31 at www.rpg.net, will show that Chat Theatres are more than just virtual worlds... they are also virtual improvisational theatres. Chats, ghost stories, and games will fill the Theatre on Halloween night. After the Halloween event, The Gables will remain open for continued beta testing at RPGnet, and chatters will be able to host murder-mystery nights, historical parties, and other special events — limited only by their imaginations.

Future Chat Theatres planned for RPGnet release include The Hearth, an old Medieval inn, and numerous branded Chat Theatres for roleplaying game publishers. Skotos Tech's Chat Theatre software makes it easy to create uniquely branded Chat Theatre environments centered around trademarked properties, allowing users to wander through worlds that once lived only in the minds of artists or authors.

Although initially offered for free as part of a testing period, the RPGnet Chat Theatres will soon become a part of a new, premium set of services, available for a low yearly fee.

If you'd like to attend the Halloween unveiling of The Gables, log on to www.rpg.net between 4pm and 10pm on Wednesday, October 31, and follow the links!

ABOUT RPGNET
RPGnet is the premiere roleplaying portal on the Internet. It has been in existence since 1996 when it appeared as one of the first specialist portals on the Internet. It has since garnered over 50,000 regular visitors, and continues to increase in popularity every month.

ABOUT SKOTOS
Skotos Tech is a maker of online community software that has been in business since 1999. It hosts several community-based online games at its own site, including Castle Marrach, Galactic Emperor: Succession, and The Eternal City. Skotos Tech's proven StoryBuilder technology is at the heart of RPGnet's new Chat Theatres.