ElbTec Topas gives portal and community operators a customisable, integrated marketing tool intended to combine advertising, customer retention and entertainment.
The core concept is a story-driven game structured like a virtual scavenger hunt. ElbTec Topas creates a world in which players control virtual characters. They can pick up, collect and use objects, send messages to other players, and solve tasks alone or together. The available actions expand as the game progresses: characters learn new commands, meet others, improve their skills and put collected items to use.
A reference implementation of an adgame based on ElbTec Topas was available as a demo at http://www.archebots.de. Its player character, called “Bot,” appears in a fantasy world.