Hello everyone!

I’m pleased to announce the new project that I’ve been working on the past two months!

Shifted - a virtual world, social network and more!

I’ve banded together a small team and we are beginning to work on the development of the site and have quite a host of features planned. Please note that this is not an 18+ website and will not feature adult content.

There will be an interactive world to explore, NPCs, shops, quests, events, and more!

A major defining feature we are working on is an in-house character builder, so you can create your own avatar/fursona and tweak it to your liking! This includes interchangeable parts for ears, mouths/snouts, eyes, body shapes, clothing, colours and much more! We are hoping to design this to be very robust so users can completely customize their experience.

Along with this feature, we are also looking to add a User Generated Content system. Users will be able to create items, such as a tail design, jacket, shirt, etc, and submit it for review. If it’s all good and approved, they can wear the item, and even sell copies of it to other users!

For the social aspect, we are building a forum that integrates with the main site. On this forum you will be able to post to get in-game currency to spend at NPC shops. When submitting a post, you will be able to set your avatar’s expressions to help set the tone of your post. Users who have multiple avatars saved can also choose which one they’d like to post as, for those who wish to RolePlay as multiple characters.

We won’t be revealing everything just yet, however! We have many ideas and features we’d love to work on!

For those who don’t know much about me, I was one of the co-founders of Weasyl, along with Kihari (the founder), who is also working on the project with me. Since working on Weasyl, we’ve learned quite a lot and are ready, ambitious, and itching to work on our next big thing.

One thing that we will be providing as development goes on is a public roadmap and transparency reports so we can inform users what stages we are at, what’s all being worked on, who is on the team, and more. We want to offer as much disclosure as we can and look forward to any feedback to help us shape Shifted.

Right now, we are currently looking for the following:
Front-end developers; we’re not great at UI and making things look pretty.
Back-end developers; we can always use a few more! Currently, are using Python, Flask, and SQLAlchemy, however, requirements may change.
Artists; we’re looking at creating our avatar components and items with vector images (SVG), so if you’re proficient with this or would like to give it a shot, let us know!

We are currently using the following tools:
Discord - team communication/discussion via text
Wekan - kanban board to keep tasks organized/prioritized
Gitea - self-hosted git server for project development

Please note that like Weasyl, this is a volunteer-driven project and we cannot offer payment at this time. If you’re looking at something to tinker with in your free time and want to brush up on your skills, we’re happy to have you on board!

We do have plans for a Patreon and other systems* to help cover hosting/business expenses with excess going towards developers based on their overall contributions. This financial information will be publicly accessible so you know where your funding goes.

*monetization will never be predatory, forced, or make you feel pressured in order to use the site - we don’t believe in these methods and are focused on delivering a positive user experience first and foremost

If you have any questions, please let me know! If you’d like to join the team, please contact me at one of the following places:
Discord - .bat#0001
Twitter - @theDotbat
Telegram - @dotbat
Email - ierrored[at]gmail.com