Gaia Online

Gaia Online (formerly known as Go-Gaia and often simply called "Gaia") is a online forum and Games site that founded on February 18, 2003 by Derek Liu (Gaia username Lanzer), Josh Gainsbrugh (username L0cke), Long Vo (username VO) Ling and a team of their friends, Studio XD artists, and programmers/web designers. The site currently revolves around its forum, avatars, and in-game currency, but is expanding to include features such as games, like fishing, gambling, and an upcoming user-versus-user dueling. Gaia's forum (phpbb), the largest English forum-based community on the internet, has over 440 million posts (plus over 350 million in storage), over 3 million registered users, and usually has 20,000 or more people online at any given time during the day. The most users ever online numbered approximately 41,319 on Tues, Nov.1, 2005 5:08 pm PST, during the Halloween 2005 Trick or Treat event.

On Gaia Online, each user can create their own virtual character and customize it through clothing and accessories located in virtual shops throughout the site. The customizations begin with choosing gender, skin tone, eyes, mouth, and hair style and color. From there, the user tries to earn "Gaia gold" by doing everything from chatting on the plethora of forums to choose from, rating art in the art gallery, answering polls, and more. In fact, almost everything one does on the site can earn a user gold. Once gold is earned, the user can buy clothing and accessory items from the site-run shops as well as from individual users. With the use of these items, the user's avatar can be further customized, reflecting the personality of the user. As with many forums, there is a clear subculture for Gaia Online.

Gaia Online is free to play and is currently in the Alpha Testing stage. The release date of the Beta stage is currently unknown, but was previously planned for November 2004.

Gaia Online Feature List

Gaia Art Arena - Is located in the arena, in Barton Town. It serves as an art community/forum where artists can share their latest creations in a friendly and sometimes competitive environment while earning Gaia gold. There was a theme every month and the best user would get a gold, silver, or bronze medal (now very rare) this sadly is no longer held.
Gaia Bank - This is where users are able to trade items or gold. The bank is located on Isle de Gambino.
Rare Items System - This is a system which grants the users special items or gold at random via containers such as giftboxes or glowing site links.
Gift Wrapping - Allows you to disguise an item by giftwrapping it.
Jewelry Engraving - Allows you to customize a jewelry item by adding a small message to the description. Currently unavailable.
Gaia Marketplace (v.2.0) - An auction-style market where users can sell up to four items at a time. The marketplace is located on the Isle de Gambino.
Gaia Friends List - Allows users to flag another user as either a friend, making it easier to see their posts, or as ignored, hiding their posts.
Gaia Journals (v.1.0) - This is a type of weblog. It is used for users to post their personal thoughts about everything and nothing.
Thread Subscription - A user-specific list of favorite threads that allows easy location of commonly-visited places.
Gaia Standard Time (GST) - Gaia's own time zone indepent of the rest of the world. A normal 24-hour day in Gaia happens in 12-hour cycles, meaning there are 2 Gaia days in one Earth Day.
Avatar System (v.3.0) - Each user is given an avatar to represent their account on the site. Avatars may be posed and given items to customize their look.
Password Retrieval System - A standard system for recovering lost account passwords.
Gaia Fishing (v.1.5.3) - A small Flash-based minigame that allows users to fish on the site, either alone or in groups. Users can fish at Bass'ken Lake, the Port of Gambino, and the Durem Reclamation Facility. Prizes are given on a monthly basis to users who catch the most fish, or junk, at each fishing area, and an overall prize is given to the best fisher out of all the sites.
Going Postal - A small display of user fanart about the site.
Gaia Hangouts - A small, Instant Messenger style feature where users can communicate in a two-way chat. This feature has been recently removed from the site.
Gaia Housing (v.1.2.6 beta) - Allows users to have a customizable home on Gaia.
Gaia Downloads - Provides content and images related to the site for the benefit of the users.
Gaia Casino ~ Gaia Slots - Another small Flash-based minigame, based on slot machines. The users are able to bet special tokens to win tickets, which they can then exchange for prizes exclusive to the casino. Single-player and multiplayer modes.
Gaia Casino ~ Gaia Cards - A blackjack game that also allows you to bet tokens and recieve tickets.
Optional Word Filters - Allows users to choose a customizable level of profanity filtration on the site.
Inventory Organizer (v.0.38 alpha) - Allows users to more efficiently move and sort their Gaian items.
Gaia User Ads - Allows users to advertise Gaian threads on the site for real-world money.
Post Templates & Actions - New Post Templates have been added so now when making a post you can use the default speech bubble, or you can use several extra borders, or display your friends/inventory at the top of the post. Post Actions can now be used to generate random numbers and dice rolls, making it easier to run lotteries and games.
Profile System - Features About Me text, Currently Equipped Items, Wishlist, Comments, and Multimedia.
Guilds - Private areas have been set aside for users to create guilds of every kind. Creaters of the guilds can make many choices, including making various subforums within the main forum and how exclusive guild membership is.
Gaia Towns (v. 0.994) - Using a Flash based system, Users are able to 'walk' outside of their Gaia Homes and interact with other individuals, and can enter houses of others, and engaging in live chat. Towns are made of neighborhoods, and each neighborhood can have up to six houses. Users have to 'warp' to other towns by way of a user directory. Also, you can catch Bugs, pick up Trash, and dig up flowers when walking around. To get to towns, enter the Train Station in Barton Town. In towns if you press /w "Gaia Name Here" "Message Here" (no quotation marks) you will "whisper" and only the person who you sent it to will see it.
Gaia Avatar Arena - This feature is somewhat similar to the Art Arena in the sense that users vote for the avatar they think looks best, the higher and more votes an avatar gets, the higher it goes up in rank. The feature resets every week with Avatar submissions beginning on Monday and ending Monday at midnight. At the end of the week the top ten avatars are rewarded with gold, first place receives 50,000 gold. Second place receives 30,000 gold. Third place receives 20,000. Finally fourth through tenth place receives 10,000 gold. Furthermore, first place also receives a spot in the Avatar Spotlight. The Avatar Spotlight award is currently not available at the moment, the developers want the system to stablize first before hooking it to the front page.
Gaia Exchange - This feature allows users to trade found items from the various games into usable items of some kind, mostly clothing.
Gaia Housing Arena - This is almost exacly like the Avatar Arena, with the change that you're submitting your House instead of Avatar. This feature is currently in Public Testing Stage.
Gaia Store - You can now purchase real life versions of certain in game items, including OMG and AFK hats, Kiki Kitty and Grunny plushies, and Gaia t-shirts (New t-shirt coming soon with a picture of your avi on it). They also sell posters with Gaia themed artwork. The only payment method accepted by the store as of this edit is PayPal.

Gaia Gold, Random Events, and Items

Gaia gold is the currency of Gaia Online forums site. It is earned in several different ways.

Making new threads: 7-10 gold
Replying to current threads: 5-7 gold
Voting on polls: about 10 gold
Clicking around the site, also known as "lurking": 0-2 gold (each new page)
Submitting one's art to the Art Arena: Same amount as lurking
Voting or commenting on art in the Arena: 7 gold
Selling art or services in the "Mini-Shops" forum: price the vender wants
Donations from other users: Variable
Selling fish caught in the Fishing mini-game to other users or the fishing store: Variable; 1-25 gold per fish on average
Selling Tickets obtained by gambling at the Casino: Variable; 2-5 gold per ticket on average
Selling unwanted items to other users: Variable
Selling unwanted items back to the stores: Half of the original store price (if available)
Buying items then selling them for more making a profit (known as "exchange whoring"): Variable

In addition, one can get random events. One example is the "pink link". This is when a specific thread in any of the forums glows neon pink. When it is clicked, the user gets one thousand bonus gold. Other examples include the Enchanted Trunk, which holds a random uncommon item, a Pink Giftbox, which contains a random rare item, and the Blue Giftbox, which can give a user anything of the other events (1000 gold, a rare item, or an uncommon item). Blue Giftboxes also hold a few of their own unique treasures, which are not obtainable in the other rare event boxes. During the April Fool's Event of 2004, when the box was first seen, the boxes exploded in the face of the user, causing soot to cover the avatar's face. It wasn't until later that they were re-released as the total random event giver.

Once a user has earned gold, they can use it to buy items to dress up their avatar. The items range from "normal" clothing like gloves or socks to fantastic accessories such as tails, fairy and butterfly wings, or halos. New hairstyles can be purchased at the Salon. Many new items such as plushies, instruments, and weapons are being planned. The "better" or "rarer" items cost more gold.

The option of donating to Gaia is also available. For every $2.50 one donates, one receives a "donation letter". Around the 25th of every month the letter will open, revealing a choice of two new items available only to those who donated. Users can sell these "donation items" for gold to other players or keep them for wearing if they prefer. Some rare donation items that have been released in the past include a Halo, DJ/portable headphones, a devil tail/angelic sash (a white scarf that defies gravity and floats around one's avatar), and the OMG/AFK hats (fuzzy little hats that look like creatures). The administrators of the site have promised that these items will never be rereleased on Gaia. Due to the limited amount of them and the increase in users, these items tend to rise in value rather quickly. However, through recent conventions, Administrators give users who show up a chance to spin a wheel which offers a small chance of receiving an old donation, rares, uncommons or a store item.

In addition, Gaia also holds events for Easter, April Fool's Day, Halloween and Christmas. Sometimes, an item is won, and it becomes super-rare a few years later and is worth a lot more than it was in the past. These items, as well as the rare donation items, have become somewhat of a status symbol in recent years. Other user-run events are often run during the year, such as a Summer carnival that was held on June 19 and the ball that is being held in October. Events like these have no administrator interaction, and are completely run by a user.

Gaian NPC Characters' Storyline

The Gaia storyline, revolving characters created by (and roleplayed by) Gaia's staff members, has progressed already to some extent. Characters include the shopkeepers of Gaia's item stores, a reporter who covers plot "news" as it develops, and figures who only appear on holidays (such as the Easter bunny).

The First Gaian Anniversary Ball - Johnny K. Gambino was first introduced as the 'most powerful man on Gaia', alongside his son Gino Gambino. The two hosted a celebration of the site's first anniversary. Attendees got a first-look at the inside of Gambino's Mansion. Several shopkeepers from around Gaia were present as well, including Ian & Rufus, Ruby, and Sasha. Guests that ran into Gambino while at the ball were given gold in incriments of 1,000 pieces each time! (February 18 2004)
The Second Annual Gaian Ball - At this user-organized event, Gino appeared and introduced G-Pins by giving them out to users who attended the ball. These items play a significant part in the future. Gino warns the receivers of the pins to be quiet about the gifts, as he was not supposed to be giving them out. (March 5 2004)
Gaia Olympics 2004 - Johnny K. Gambino hosted the first annual Gaia Olympics. From each town, two NPC's were chosen to participate in the competition, which was a race from Isle De Gambino to Durem, and back again. From Gambino, Sasha and Gino participated. From Barton, Ian and Leon participated. From Durem, Moira and Edmund participated. Each character had their own weaknesses and strengths, and competition was tight. Many thought that Edmund, a swift and strong contestant, would win the race, but was unfortunately distracted by an attractive woman in Durem, and then disqualified in Barton when he decided to 'have fun' with Vanessa in the Personals building. Sasha easily got lost at several points in the race, and Ian couldn't stop himself from taking advantage of good deals in the shops around Gaia. During the last half of the race, Gino disappeared into the water system by order of his father. Moira ended up taking the win, earning her the Gold Medal. Sasha ended up taking the Silver while Ian was stuck with the Bronze. Gino, who had been under severe pressure from his father to win, reappeared and finished the race dead last, much later then all of the other contestants that were still qualified, but still finishing. Edmund was disqualified for being unable to finish the race. (August 29 2004)
Introduction of G CORP - The mysterious organization known as G CORP, the world's largest manufacturer of biological medicines and advanced technology, first appeared, owned by none other than Johnny K. Gambino. The organization included many lab technicians of great variety in social patterns, work ethics, and moods. The events that were described in the journals found throughout the guild were extremely odd and shrouded in mystery. Up until Halloween, strange incidents occurred, including the death of Labtech 013, the strange behavior of several Labtechs, and the many strange experiments conducted. A few Labtechs made efforts to escape from the impending danger that they sensed, yet failed. (October 18 2004)
Halloween 2004 - Before Halloween, a strange individual known only as 'Labtech X' appeared in the Marketplace selling strange vials of a green, unknown liquid. Users, noting the strangeness of this, rushed to purchase the vials from the NPC. Users were left in suspense until Halloween, when Gambino opened up his mansion to host the event. At some point, a false alarm occurred, causing the mansion's alarms to go off and a lock down to occur. Gambino made an announcement of it being just a false alarm, and everything went back to normal. Then, several Labtechs showed up at the celebration to have a retirement party for Labtech 062. Suddenly, Labtech 013, supposedly deceased for quite some time, rose from the dead and attacked several Labtechs, quickly initiating their transformation into zombies. The condition quickly spread, infecting all Labtechs, except Labtech 123, who suspiciously didn't show up. Now the real alarm went off. The Labtechs, who during the retirement celebration were in a separate closed room, quickly broke free and started attacking the Gaia users who were attending the event, causing them to take on the zombie status as well. Gambino, who was starting to feel rather uncomfortable, issued shotguns to anyone who was not a zombie, and thus started a battle between humans and zombies. As it turned out, the mysterious vials were the key to fighting the disease, each vial having the healing power to get rid of the viruses that could be found in one bite. However, even with the weapons and vials, the virus spread too quickly and Gambino's head of security, by the name of Bucho, initiated the Silent Flash protocol. This caused a large missile to be launched from an unknown location on a course for the source of the threat, Gambino's mansion. The missile made impact, and the mansion was destroyed, ending the zombie threat. Cindy Donovinh, from GAIA 9 Action News, made her first appearance, and gave a report on the situation. Besides the events at the mansion, the shopkeepers all dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and gave out candy. If one collected enough candy, they would then be able to trade it to Jack, a mysterious figure who represents the spirit of Halloween since 2003, for a grab bag containing a prize, but only after finding him wherever he was hiding in the world of Gaia. (October 31 2004)
Christmas 2004 - This is when Gambino was first seen after the explosion of the mansion (see above). During this time, his journal was showing his adventures around Gaia looking for his lost son, Gino. On the map, you could go and click on Gambino, and wish him good luck. For this he would thank you. In the end, Gino saved his father when Gambino was about to throw himself into Durem's reclamation facility, but it turned out that Gino did not remember who his father was. Also, before Christmas, users could sing carols to nine NPCs in their various shops in order to earn presents from them. The presents could not be opened until Christmas.
The Second Gaian Anniversary Ball - The Von Helson Sisters, Anna Corinne and Marie, made their first appearance. The "Two Most Powerful Women in Gaia" hosted the party at their Durem mansion. Various NPCs showed up, and Gaia Anniversary Balloons and Hats were handed out. The sisters also handed out two-part V Pins, but rarely. More often than not, guests running into the Von Helson sisters would be insulted for their lack of fashion or for not being rich enough to talk to eitehr of them. Gambino, who had crashed the party by arriving before the sisters with the amnesic Gino, garnered support by handing out G Pins again. The NPCs also dropped various bits of information, and Liam of the then-unreleased town, Aekea, made his first appearance. LabTechX and LabTech123 both appeared as well, having not been turned into zombies. LebTechX had some shady dealings with the sisters. Guests that ran into LabTech123 found out that was sound asleep at home during the events that happened during the previous Halloween. Then, while Cindy Donovinh continued to report, the Von Helsons kidnapped Gino and forced Johnny K. Gambino into a confrontation. In return for Gino, Gambino had to promise to leave Durem and never return.
Gambino VS Von Helsons - Gambino appeared at the base of his blown-up mansion, asking for donations to bring it back. Then the "mansion" became a tower, and the tower grew and grew until it had three maps to itself, not including the base on island. The finishing touch was the old Gambino mansion and G CORP logo on top of the extremely tall tower. Cindy Donovinh reported on its construction. In response, the Von Helson sisters began to sell Anti-Gambino Picket Signs for 500 gold outside their Durem mansion. Gambino reappeared at the top of his mansion, more egotistical than ever and somewhat insane. Those who donated during the Donation Drive received one free Anti-Von Helson Picket Sign. Those who had not donated could buy one for 1000 gold.
Easter 2005 - The Von Helson sisters hosted the Easter party at their mansion. Inside the mansion were hidden Easter Eggs, eight of which could be traded in for a basket from a cybernetic Easter Bunny (called the Easter Rab-BOT by some) holding either a Bunny Mask or a Chick Mask.
April Fools 2005 - As Gambino continued his maniacal power trip on top of his tower, Gino connected the crazed evil exhibited by Gambino with the father he had known, regaining his memory. Gino's recognition snapped Gambino back to reality, and the two ran to each other, arms outstretched. Just before they hugged, a shot rang out. Gambino had been shot by a sniper in Durem, who is still of unknown origin. In shock, Gambino fell off of his tower and into the sea, bouncing off of the side of the tower on the way down. Gambino's tower fell with him, revealing new maps (Barton Coast, Great Wall of Gambino, and Durem Reclamation Hub), but many of the maps from Durem to the Isle were clouded with dust. The top of the tower also smashed directly into the Von Helson mansion. The dust took a week to clear. When it did, it was revealed that the fall of the tower was likely planned, as there was a new Gambino mansion on the Isle and a second one took the place of the Von Helson mansion.
Gino Returns - Part 1 - Sasha and Ian's store speechbubbles changed to include references to each other a short while before the event, and a manga was released in sections that detailed the beginning stages of this plot update. Sasha and Ian were walking on the Gambino beach, enjoying the sun, and Ian wandered off to find Sasha some pretty seashells. While Ian was absent, Sasha discovered Gino Gambino washed up on the beach. He wasn't breathing, so she gave him mouth to mouth rescue breathing, presumably causing him to breathe on his own again. Ian returned during Sasha's rescue attempt and was shocked, perceiving the rescue breathing as a kiss and becoming jealous. Sasha berated him for this and then took Gino back to her house. Later that day, a shadowy figure with a strong resemblance to Ian came to Sasha's house, wielding a kitchen knife. (August 5 2005)
Gino Returns - Part 2 - Recent story events included a manga with it, this happened again on October 11. The story takes place immediatally after the last manga on August 5, just as Ian walks in where Gino is sleeping, holding a kitchen knife. "In everyone's lives, there comes a time when one needs to act. Some acts can cause much pain and suffering-- Some acts-- --Are just blown out of proportion in our minds." Ian is shown slicing a piece of bread with Sasha making complaints on the bread size. Sasha brings Gino in lunch while he is in bed, talking to Doctor123, formally LabTech123, on his bedside. Doctor123 is now working for the local free clinic, helping people who are in need for no charge. He said that Gambino understood that power the most, those with great power have the ability to help those who are less fortunate. In the morning Bucho came to get Gino, just as soon as he heard it was 'OK' to get him. Gino says goodbye to Sasha and Ian, thanking them for saving his life. Sasha gives Gino his father's pocket watch which she found on the beach. Of course in the background, Ian jealous. Gino then returns home in Isle De Gambino, the mansion empty of any life. He stands at the balcony, looking out to the island Gambino, wondering how he will ever fill his father's shoes. Later in Barton pub Ian, Sasha, Moira, Liam, and Vanessa all were sitting at a table chitchatting about the recent events between Sasha and Gino. After Sasha told everybody about the 'mouth-to-mouth' with Gino, Moira pops in with a 'you're not getting the only action' and tells everybody about someone she's seeing, then points out Vanessa is also seeing someone new. At around 6:30 Ian somehow, by himself, walks into Sasha's bedroom, and find pills near the bed where Gino was sleeping, then saying the words. "I knew it. I've got you now Gino!" (October 11 2005)
Recreation of the G-Virus - The halloween event essently brought the site to its knees with to many users accessing it at once. Bucho invited everybody to the mansion for a halloween party. In the update, Gino was wondering whether he would meet Gambino's fate, then showed Ian and Sahsa around the new mansion, where it is revealed he has rebuilt the Underground Research Facility, although he doesn't mean it to be secret. Gino invites Sasha to the mansion for dinner. Ian then tries to reveal what he found to Sasha to keep her from going, but he can't find the item, which is possibly the bottle of pills. The scene switches to the research facility, where LabTech 123 has recreated the G-virus using samples from Grunny's DNA. The power goes out and the cage release is pulled by a mysterious figure, who turns out to be LabTech X. This started a forum game where users posted to capture grunnies for items and eventual transformation. The stages of the infection were as follows:
- 15 grunnies: Initial Symptoms. The user received a Grunny Shirt.
- 35 grunnies: Impaired Motor Functions. The user received a pair of Grunny Slippers.
- 176 grunnies: Total Incapacitation. The user's Avatar's skin turned a grayish color and gained reddish orange eyes.
- 350 grunnies: Initial Transformation. The Avatar's skin turned completely white and grew what appeared to be stubby rabbit ears.
- 500 grunnies: Complete Tansformation. A Grunny had been incubating inside of the user the whole time and it manifests itself gnawing on the avatar's head.

The event was ended 6 hours early so the Trick-or-Treating event could be fixed to handle the high number of users that would be on Gaia. (October 28 2005)

Ginos Sacrifice - After the Grunnies escaped from the laboratory in the basement of Gambino mansion, they began to run and wreck havoc throughout the mansion, infecting people and turning them into zombies (look above for more info). This new addition to the storyline starts off with Gino and Sasha enjoying a nice Halloween dinner by themselves in large, lavish dining room. Sasha picks up a piece of meatloaf and comments on how well it looks, but then sniffs and notes that it smells burnt. Gino looks abashed and apologizes. Then he smells the burning smell as well, and comments that it's not the meatloaf, while turning his head to look outside.... *GASP* The laboratory is on fire and the flames are spreading all over the mansion! Gino grabs Sasha and tells her that they must leave. As they fight to get out of the burning building, Ian is outside, holding the bottle of pills, grinning triumphantly, seemingly unaware of the flaming building behind him. He seems obsessed with denouncing Gino. Back to Sasha and Gino. They are still trying to get out of the house, Sasha begins to cry, saying that they'll never make it out alive. Suddenly, a large burnt piece of wood falls from the roof of the house, and is just about to crush Sasha... Gino pushes Sasha away just in time, but is crushed by the wood himself. Gino explains to Sasha that she saved him once, and that now it's his turn to save her. Ian steps in just in time, sees Sasha in danger. He immediately flings away the bottle of incriminating pills and grabs Sasha's arm. Gino instructs Ian to take Sasha and run. Ian grabs Sasha and the two run from the mansion, leaving Gino in the flaming wreckage by himself... After the fire, a mysterious figure with curled shoes and a curly hat (Much like an elf of sorts) searches through the wreckage of burnt wood. He finds the vial of unknown green liquid amist the debris and walks off. The Gambino legacy will continue... (October 31 2005)
Jack VS Santa Claus - Part 1 - Shortly after the events of what would be known as Halloween Santa Claus made an announcement. He expressed his anger towards the season of Halloween. He blamed Jack, the overlord of that holiday in Gaia, as the main source for what happened. Jack, however, was within ear shot of these comments and interrupted his speech, demanding that Santa 'put up or shut up.' Santa made the mistake of giving Jack a free punch that ultimately destroyed not only Santa (in a mecha no less), but a near by building. What follows was a flashback to the holidays were young. Little Santa was being beaten up by the Easter Bunny and his gang, consisting of the Chinese New Year Dragon, a leprechaun, a Thanksgiving turkey, and two Valentine's Day hearts. Little Jack saved Santa by landing a punch on the Easter Bunny, damaging his face. The flashback ends. Santa has been rushed to an unknown hospital, where unseen doctors tried to revive him, but fail. The news was delivered to Mrs. Claus that Santa had died... (November 7 2005)
Introduction of S Corp - A mysterious new guild popped up in the GGN, run by NPCs. It is a similar to G Corp (see above), led by Mrs. Claus and populated by the journals of ElfTechs. Some of the NPCs replied to PMs, but once 404 mentioned them in their journals they stopped, as if their PMs were blocked. Mrs. Clause insisted Santa survived the assault by Jack, whom she was seeking legal charges against. After the ElfTechs got assigned to making toys and gifts for Christmas, a series of accidents kept happening at the shipping yard. Crates broke open revealing: mysterious claw, a realistic-looking water gun (An alleged "Super Drencher 5000") and baby Yetis! Soon after, ElfTech 247 posted in his journal two encoded messages. When decoded, they hinted towards a shipment of vials filled with mysterious liquid. The next day, he reported that he was having the cameras removed. ElfTech 137 posted about the R&D's top secret project. After some modifications done on the claw and the "Super Drencher 5000", they were to be used with the Yetis, hopefully provide the missing link in the research of a mysterious substance in the Vial. After only a few days without any accidents, alarms started to go off in a Sublevel F. The elves started to panic, some running around in Gaia Towns at the time the alarms sounded. Mrs. Claus took action and ordered that nobody even think about visiting Sublevel F. ElfTech123 told that he had heard rumor that security guard Bob and Jim were killed! ElfTech101's journal entry on the matter suggests that they were probably killed by a Giant Yeti. Meanwhile, Elftech247 posted several journal entry concerning his day at S Corp, but to his annoyance, everything was encryted due the content being "sensitive" to the security. ElfTech722, who Mrs. Claus earlier had punished for being lazy, had contacted several users to get petitions to help him. After getting the signatures, ElfTech722 made plan to trick Mrs. Claus. The plan backfired and got him re-assigned to a top secret project. Soon after that, the S CORP security system started to block the ElfTech's Work Journals one by one. In the end, S CORP's selfdestruction mechanism was activated, and the facility exploded. While most of their deaths were confirmed in their journals, a few may have survived. (November 9 2005)
Jack VS Santa Claus - Part 2 - While S CORP was blowing up, Jack came back to Barton's Fountain to announce his plans for next year's Halloween. He was inturrupted by Santa, who apparantly was fused to the Gift Transport Mech Suit (GTMS), an upgraded version of the mecha Jack had destroyed. Santa attacked Jack with a machine gun and a battle commenced between the two holiday icons. Edmund then revealed the G-Team, apparently a group of defenders of Gaia consisting of Edmund himself, Logan, and Leon. Jack and Santa didn't even notice them, and they were defeated by collateral damage. During the battle, Sasha got caught in the middle of the cross fire. From out of the sky a masked heroappeared and defeated the two holiday icons in one blow, freeing Santa from the GTMS in the process. As Jack and Santa lay on the ground defeated, they remembered back to when they were little they first formed their friendship and built it on the same goal, to make a holiday better than Easter. Remembering this common bond, the two made up and became friends once more. However, one question still remains: Who was that man in the mask? (November 30 2005)
New Years Eve - The Masque Interview - In a surprise announcement, the masked hero known as The Maskque agreed to a quick interview with Cindy from GAIA 9 Action News. Only one question was asked, but a lot was revealed. When asked what he plans to do now that he has established himself as Gaia's first official hero, he announced that he will kiss the girl who stole his heart on New Years Eve. Cindy promptly fainted like had she been swoon by such a romantic intent. The Masque then announced that for the first time, the Gambino Mansion in Durem would be open on New Years Eve where he would be waiting to kiss the girl he fell in love with; Sasha. Meanwhile, Sasha and Ian were watching the live boardcast when they both realized who The Masque truely is! But they weren't the only ones watching. Twenty-four hours later, Moira and Liam decided to be a little evil and began selling wigs and masks that looked like Sasha and The Masque, respectfully. (December 27 2005)
New Years Eve Masquerade - With the New Years Eve Masquerade in full swing, Sasha began to look for at least a familar face. She was, instead, creeped out by all the users, both male and female, who were dressed up as The Masque, thanks to Liam. Eventually, Sasha found Moira and met up with her. Moira then told Sasha that Ian was stuck in line to get into the mansion and forwarded that Ian had something important to tell Sasha. Suddenly, Moira was inturrupted by a booming voice high above the party welcoming everyone to the Masquaerade. The countdown then began, lead by none other than the G-Team. In a panic, Ian attacked the doorman and rushed to the main ballroom. He entered in time to see The Masque swing down from the chandelire and litterall sweep Sasha off her feet and onto the second floor balcony. He then removed his mask revealing that The Masque was indeed Gino! At the strike of midnight, Sasha and Gino shared a kiss. Ian broke down in tears only to be shortly arrested later on charges of arson for the fire that happened at the other Gambino Mansion this past Halloween.(December 31 2005)

The Storyline will continue...

Features to Come

Tattoos and Piercings - A tattoo and piercing store will open in an unknown location and will be run by two NPCs named Devin and Natasha. As some tattoos will cover the head and body, bald avatars will be an option.
Library - It has been said that Gaia Online has grown away from its link list and the current location of the link list will be removed and replaced with a library, where it it believed that past events, history, NPC profiles and similar data will be located for new users.
Guild Halls - At Otakon 2k5 the Gaia administrators stated that Guild Halls will be released in the future, these places will be huge Homes in the town system for the entire guild to live in.
Housing Rares - Rares for housing will also come with the upcoming housing 1.5 upgrade. The items are still unknown, though rumors have been circulating that some of the items being in line of the popular Angelic/Demonic series.
Casino - The Casino has been released but it has been made clear that other games will be released. The only currently available games are slot machines and blackjack, however the admins stated at Otakon 2005 that they have plans to add poker at a later date. Note : It has been confirmed. The game appears in the navigation header but, unfortunately, it redirects you back to the home page.
Advanced Journals - in the Template Previewer for the GAIA Journals, Rion. Journal mentions that, "Also, many templates have customizable features, like colors and fonts. Please note that some customizations are a bit confusing, and are only available to advanced users (who have paid the fee to upgrade their journal)". This is evidence that there at some point will be released a buyable Advanced Journals feature.
Journal Store - One idea for Gaia Journals is to have a store where you can buy various upgrades for it. Some of the upgrades would be the ability to change the background color on certain templates, like how the beta test moderators were allowed to.
Music Store - Not only will there be a store to buy musical instruments for your avatar, but it's rumored that you will be able to buy 'music notes'. With these notes it might be possible to put together a tune for inside your house (note: this is only a rumor).
RPG/Quest System - The Gaia Online Role-Playing game will allow users to participate in both individual and group/guild quests, where they may possibly gain exclusive items. Some of these items may be parts used in combinations to create equipable items for the user's avatar. Two Quest items have already been confirmed. Angelic and Demonic Backwings will be earned through a difficult quest. In the RPG you will do task for various NPCs.
Class System - Even before the Battle System comes out, users will be able to choose their job class. No definite classes are known. A significant amount of weapons and fantasy/role-playing related clothing may be released alongside the class system. Some currently released items, such as the Staff of the Angels, Demonic Pitchfork, and Fire/Ice Gauntlets, have been confirmed as probable weapons. It was recently mentioned that Gaia-specific classes, such as "Spammer" may be added in addition to traditional RPG professions.
Battle System - A fully-functional battle system designed to allow users to engage in interactive battles against monsters, and later on possibly even other users. Said to be based on Final Fantasy Tactics, the battle system will likely be isometric grid-based, much like how Gaia Homes are. The battle system will incorporate the class/job system and weapons which can be equipped to the user's avatar. While many users are eagerly anticipating the release of the battle system, just as many others are worried about the influx of new users that this will bring to the site, causing inflation in the pixelated items. Many users are also worried about the server issues that both the new feature and the aforementioned increase in new users will probably bring. There has been no confirmed information about the structure or flow of the battle system. However, at AnimeExpo 2005, B5 is quoted as saying that because they are still in very early progress of the Battle System, nothing can be officially confirmed.
Digging Game - Originally there was to be a digging game that was hosted by an old miner named Reinhart. Currently it has been cancelled because it was too similar to Minesweeper, however Reinhart is supposed to still be released. As to whether or not the digging game will eventually be released is unknown.
Pets - Even as a vast amount of users on Gaia Online are anti-pets due to the belief many have of the inefficiency of NeoPets, an equally vast amount of users on Gaia Online are interested in a pet system being introduced. The user L0cke, a member of the administrative staff, has stated that the pet system Gaia Online will have to cater to the audience of Gaia Online, not NeoPets, as they understand that each site appeals to different audiences (note: this does not mean pets will be released on Gaia, it is not confirmed).
Personals - While the Personals were open in the past, they were closed due to difficult moderation of the forums. In the future a newer, efficiently designed and reconstructed Gaia Personals will be released (Note: this is only a rumor).
Gaia Locations - Not much is known about this feature, except that a beta version was accessed by a user and leaked.

List of Gaian NPCs

Barton Town
- Ian - Former owner of Barton Boutique. Was arrested for setting fire to the Gambino Mansion during Halloween 2k5.
- Rufus - Ian's talking and barking cat. Is currently in charge of Barton Boutique.
- Rina - Hostess of Towns, guide in the new profile system, owner of the Flower Shoppe, and an expert in bouquet making.
- Leon - Keeper of the Gaia Guild Network, older brother of Rina, and member of the G-Team
- Agatha - Owner of Barton Jewelers.

Bass'ken Lake
- Old Man Logan - Owner of The Ole Fishing Hole. Can make hats out of fish and some trash. Member of the G-Team.

Isle de Gambino
- Johnny K. Gambino - The previous "Most Powerful Man in Gaia", an aristocratic man, most likely from a wealthy bloodline. Presumed dead.
- Gino Gambino - Son of Johnny K. Gambino, and heir to his wealth and power. Fussed over by many fangirls (and some fanboys). Is also The Masque, Gaia's first superhero.
- Bucho - The Gambino family's Head of Security.
- Sasha - Owner of Gambino Outfitters.
- Ruby - Owner of the Gambino Hat Store.
- Peyo - Ruby's kid (Father unknown) and creative maker of paper hats.
- Meredith - The faithful banker.
- Lex - Host of Gambino's Casino.
- Becky - Host of Prize and Joy.

Durem
- Anna Corinne Von Helson - A member of Gaia's second aristocratic bloodline, and one of the self-proclaimed "Most Powerful Women in Gaia". Presumed dead.
- Marie Von Helson - A member of Gaia's second aristocratic bloodline, and one of the self-proclaimed "Most Powerful Women in Gaia". Presumed dead.
- Edmund - Owner of H.R. Wesley. Member of the G-team.
- Moira - Owner of Durem Depot. Can make inks out of bugs.
- Vanessa - Owner of Salon Durem.
- Geebus - Doorman for the Gambino Mansion in Durem.

Aekea
- Liam - Owner of Crate and Apparel. Builder of robots, and local pretty boy.
- Josie - Host of Housing Commission in Aekea.
- Bildeau - A robot that works at The Faktori. Sells wall paper and floor tiles.
- Bloudeau - A robot that works at The Faktori. Sells furnitures. Seems to love humans.
- Ribateau - A robot that works at The Faktori. Sells doors, windows, and shelves. Seems to hate humans.

GAIA Towns
- Bogie - The mad robot who stores your bugs, and can apparently taste them.
- Feebie - The depressed robot who stores your trash, and gets sick because of that.
- Yappie - The happy robot who stores your flowers.

Events
- Cindy Donovinh - Gaia's No. 1 (and only) news reporter, working for GAIA 9 Action News.
- Jack - The Halloween Spirit.
- Chick - Appearing in the Gaia Olympics 2k4.
- The Sniper - The person who shot Gambino on April 1, 2005.
- Easter Rab-bot - The cyborg rabbit who gives out Easter Baskets, at Easter.
- Santa Claus - The old man who gives us Gifts, at Christmas.
- Mrs. Claus - Owner of the S CORP Guild whom gave us elf clothes at New Year's Eve

G CORP
- Grunny - A green rabbit.
- LabTech013 - One of the early G-CORP LabTechs. He was killed before Halloween because he knew too much.
- LabTech062 - One of the early LabTechs.
- LabTech101 - One of the early LabTechs. He had a somewhat upbeat personality, despite being a relentless worker. Most famous for randomly shouting "I LOVE working in a SECRET UNDERGROUND TEST FACILITY!!!"
- LabTech123 (Doctor123) - One of the two surviving Labtechs after the mansion incident. He is absent-mindedly cheerful, and it is speculated that he worked a desk job, perhaps as a filing assistant. He's also the man who re-created the G-Virus.
- LabTech126 - One of the early LabTechs.
- LabTech137 - One of the early LabTechs.
- LabTech138 - One of the early LabTechs.
- LabTech247 - One of the early LabTechs.
- LabTech722 - A big Gambler at Gambino's Casino.
- LabTech909 - He's addicted to coffee.
- LabTech912 - The only LabTech who bought a Vial of Unknown Liquid. Unlucky her, she thought it was a combo perfume & lotion that would make her skin perfect forever.
- LabTech957 - He held a Home Internet Theatre, but no one showed up.
- LabTechX - Original supplier of the Vials of Unknown Liquids that cured Zombieism. Later he realesed all the Grunnies from the lab in the Gambino Mansion.

S CORP
- ElfTech003 - A very sensitive elf who collects rubber bands.
- ElfTech013 - He was killed before Christmas because he knew too much.
- ElfTech062 - Overseeing manufacturing; it's his last Christmas before retiring.
- ElfTech101 - A new employee of S CORP, very gullible and bad at keeping secrets. Also screams "I LOVE WORKING IN A SECRET ARCTIC TEST FACILITY" (Much like the LabTech with the same number)
- ElfTech123 - Not an internet-savy elf - he orders lunch for his fellow employees.
- ElfTech126 - A new employee of S CORP, he seems to have a crush on ElfTech912 and doesn't like the cold.
- ElfTech137 - Recently moved into S CORP's R&D department. Can't keep the ladies off him because of his red eyes.
- ElfTech138 - Has built a shrine to ElfTech137.
- ElfTech247 - He seems to know more about what's going on than the other elves.
- ElfTech319 - Business as usual. An elf with a solid routine.
- ElfTech369 - She tries to make sure her fellow elves maintain a healthy diet.
- ElfTech403 - Elf who is very in tune with astrology. Loves bananas.
- ElfTech404 - He is the inventor of various poorly-conceived foods, and an avid Larry Pottar fan.
- ElfTech571 - He's worried about the current goings-on, but hopeful that things will turn out fine.
- ElfTech722 - He was the The Amazing Elf, until the police started searching for him. Then he changed the name to The Amusing Elf so he could continue his Magic shows in secret.
- ElfTech909 - Spends most of his time putting toys together.
- ElfTech912 - A new S CORP employee, she's very excited about her job and loves snow.
- ElfTech957 - Recently transferred to the night shift and has been cleaning a lot lately. Has a crush on ElfTech369.
- ElfTech977 - A very introspective elf.

NPCs yet to come
- Reinhart - The NPC of a Mining Game which was never released.
- Natasha - One of the NPCs in the Tattoo Parlor.
- Devin - One of the NPCs in the Tattoo Parlor.
- Jack Rackham - Found by a user who tried to make an account that name.

External links