On the incredibly short list of Disney's botched chances, you will find VMK, or The Virtual Magic Kingdom. VMK was a massively multiplayer online game introduced in 2005 as part of the "Happiest Celebration on Earth" during Disneyland's 50th anniversary. When first introduce it was touted by cast members as being a permanent addition to the Disney Parks family, a virtual version of your favorite Disney park that you could visit and play in from your own home. However, in May of 2008 VMK unexpectedly closed it's doors and to this day Disney has no plans to ever reopen the gates. Thankfully one determined fan knew that there had to be a way to remember VMK, the way that it was. So GPDOT set about capturing images of every single land and menu prompt in the entire VMK program, edited and animated them all, and in the end created an amazing "Living" representation of VMK, that he calls "VMK Revisited." Now, there is no way to actually play the game or create a character in "VMK Revisited" because it is, more to the point, a museum of what once was. you can click on the lands and be transported to there instantly and the are a few interactive elements but for the most part it is just for show. But, honestly who cares? Even just visiting for a few moments to remember how it felt to play the game can bring a smile to my face. What doesnt bring a smile to my face is that GPDOT is considering taking the entire website down in a few months time. It would be a sad development indeed if those of who were once VMK junkies, had this last vestige of our beloved Virtual Magic Kingdom taken away from us. It would be a lot like having VMK taken away all over again! -Admiral Duke
No comments:
Post a Comment