Today, I enabled a feature rather unusual for a browser game: images and hyperlinks in chat. This includes animated gif files, as well. Images can be shared using a familiar UBB tag:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/LAX6bzn.png[/img]
Here’s an example of an image in the game’s chat:
Sharing an image in general chat
Links can also be shared using their UBB-like counterpart as well:
[url]http://i.imgur.com/LAX6bzn.png[/url]
And here’s an example of the hyperlink in chat. I made these always open in a new tab to save the user some headaches:
Sharing a hyperlink with my fellow heroes in Nevergrind
You can even use the /w command to whisper images or links to another user online! Future updates will allow users to change their “channel” similar to functionality found on old battle.net games.
Administrators even have special privileges to embed YouTube videos inside game chat! This is pretty fun when you want to share a cool video with your fellow adventurers.
Sharing YouTube videos in Nevergrind’s General Chat channel
One of my main concerns is making the combat and chat log bigger so that you can actually see all of the images your friends are sharing in chat. I may have to move the logs below the actual game itself. I’m not sure what I will do yet. Screen space is a precious resource!
A feature such as this is subject to spam and abuse, but, thanks to custom chat commands, I have the proper administrative tools to handle such cases. I may even allow trusted member of the community to use such commands in my stead. Commands like /ban, /suspend, and even /active (to reinstate) are all available to administrators.
I also have no idea if any other game features images and hyperlinks, but I have never heard of such a thing. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong! I’d love to know who else is doing such a thing.
