3D church reopens for individual visits only
7 Dec 2004
Church of Fools, the UK's first 3D online house of worship, has reopened as a place for private prayer and reflection.
Church of Fools is open again! As before, visitors are able to choose a cartoon double, then walk around, kneel, pray, shout hallelujah, play a hymn, and even ring the church bells. However, they are not able to see, or be seen by, other visitors to the church.
Initially conceived as a three-month experiment, the fully interactive version of Church of Fools was launched in May 2004 – and ran until September.
"Since our pilot project ended, we've run the interactive part of the church in 2D – through conventional chat rooms and bulletin boards," explains project leader Simon Jenkins. "But the demand to re-open the 3D environment has been overwhelming. A new version of the multi-user, interactive church will open again if we get the funding."
Jenkins is hopeful that visitors will use the church for personal reflection and prayer – as did Radalyn from Georgia, USA, who often left her character alone in the church at prayer, while in real life she worked nearby.
"A lot of people used the church as somewhere they could go to be quiet and pray," says Jenkins. "We think there’s a real need for a sacred space like this on the web, which is why we've reopened now. Meanwhile, we're continuing to plan for the next phase of the project."
Built by specialmoves of London, and initially conceived as a three-month experiment, the church was sponsored by the Methodist Church of Great Britain and launched at the UK's National Christian Resources Exhibition in May. The Rt. Rev Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, also supported the church and preached at its inaugural service.
The project attracted tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world during its pilot phase – more than half of them under 30 years old and 60 per cent male.
