This video chronicles the journey of a creator attempting to find and connect with remaining players in the virtual world There.com, which has been largely abandoned for over a decade but remains operational with a paid subscription. Initially finding the world seemingly empty despite exploring popular locations and "hotspots," the creator shifts focus to attending scheduled events like trivia and bingo nights. This strategy proves successful, leading to encounters with a small but dedicated community of long-term players. Through interactions with these veterans, the creator learns about the game's history, its 2010 shutdown and paid 2012 relaunch, the member-driven nature of its content, and the deep social bonds that keep this niche community together despite the dwindling player base. With the help of key community members, the creator organizes a large party, successfully gathering a significant portion of the active players and demonstrating that while the game may be commercially unsuccessful, it thrives as a vibrant social hub for its loyal residents. The initial 30-day project extends significantly as the creator becomes integrated into the community.
Rediscovering There.com: A Journey into a Persistent Virtual World Community
0:00 Attempting to Revive There.com: The video creator starts a 30-day project to explore the long-dead virtual world There.com, which is surprisingly still running with a $9.99 monthly subscription, aiming to find other players and potentially revive it.
0:39 Initial Exploration & Isolation: The creator, using the avatar "Glovatron," attempts to find players by visiting featured landmarks and checking the game's "hotspots" (busiest places), but finds all locations empty, realizing they are initially the only active player contributing to the hotspot list.
1:49 Changing Strategy - Events: Based on a blog post, the creator shifts tactics to exploring neighborhood hangouts and signing up for scheduled daily events, hoping to find others.
3:01 First Player Encounter (Trivia Night): Signing up for a trivia night hosted by "Francis 7" provides the first successful encounter with other players, albeit an initially awkward experience involving microphone issues.
5:18 Realization of a Small Community: The first encounter confirms the creator is not alone, but highlights the very small size of the remaining player base.
5:35 Game's History: The creator researches There.com's past, learning it shut down in 2010, reopened in 2012 with a subscription fee and age restriction (18+), leading to its decline in popularity but continued existence.
6:36 Connecting Through Events (Bingo): Attending other events like bingo night leads to receiving a message from a player named "C1" (Christ 1), who offers to show the creator around the world.
7:00 Guided Tour & Game Insights: C1 gives the creator a tour, showcasing different locations and explaining aspects of the game, including the high cost of virtual real estate and the fact that C1 has been playing since 2008, having formed long-term friendships in the game.
10:10 Limited Active Players: C1 reveals there are likely only around 100 active players left in the world, primarily online during scheduled events.
10:31 Meeting Key Community Members (Babs): At another trivia night, the creator meets "Babs," described as running the biggest neighborhood and doing a lot for the game community.
10:55 Member-Driven Content: During an event hosted by Babs (dragon riding), it becomes clear that many aspects and items in the game are created and maintained by the members themselves, not the developers.
11:28 Planning the Party: The creator emails Babs asking for help to host a large event, with Babs confirming the difficulty of gathering many people due to the small player count.
12:02 Community Perspective on Decline: Babs shares the poignant reality of the community aging and dwindling, comparing it to a church where older members pass away but aren't replaced by new, younger members.
12:33 Feeling Integrated: Participating in various events (bike rides, bingo, trivia) and receiving tours from veterans helps the creator feel less like an outsider and more accepted into the small community.
14:56 Strong Community Bonds: Babs emphasizes the deep, real friendships formed in the game, with members having known each other for many years, some even meeting in real life, highlighting the unique and irreplaceable nature of the community.
16:02 Revised Goal: The creator realizes the game isn't "dead" but sustained by its dedicated members; the goal shifts from reviving the game to doing something for the people who stayed.
16:17 Becoming Known: The creator becomes a recognized face ("Glob" or "Tron") within the community, indicating integration.
17:03 Party Planning and Anticipation: The creator begins planning the party with help from others, noting they will be sad when their membership expires.
18:05 The Big Event: The planned event happens (delayed beyond the initial 30 days, actually occurring over 2 months later), with a surprisingly large turnout of around 20 people, demonstrating the community's willingness to gather for special occasions.
18:22 Party Success & Farewell: The event is a success and fun for attendees. The video concludes with reflections from long-term players (including Francis 7, the voice behind the "bad avatar" goodbye video from 2010 shown earlier), emphasizing that There.com is uniquely defined by its people and community, which is why they stay despite its limited state.