Notes

MMO Family: Family Night At MMO Buffet

MMO Family is your source to help you build a gaming-specced family ... From advice on how to balance gaming and family life to finding appropriate niches for each member of the family, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family, and for the entire family.



It's no secret how affluent the world of family-friendly MMOs has grown -- or then again, considering the general lack of awareness of them even among us gamers, perhaps it is. There are a lot of games for kids available on the market and it's clear. In the year before, there were already over 200 virtual worlds geared towards kids or MMOs under development or available on the market. We recently reported that "... Blizzard’s World of Warcraft had the highest number of players in the U.S. Out of all the MMOs that it tracked, just ahead of NeoPets, and Club Penguin. Other MMOs that are in the top five include Disney ToonTown and RuneScape." Calistomebel.com From where this writer is in the midst of examining the list of possible games for our ongoing Parents Guide series about family-friendly games ... It's going to be a lengthy, drawn-out process, folks.



Beau Hindman, a child-friendly game designer, wondered last month if games designed for children were being taken with the seriousness they deserve. "Do the experiences they offer match the experiences that one could get from an adult game such as Darkfall or Vanguard? Are games for children to be dismissed as games and to be played for a few minutes and laughed at? Beau believes they do and we are with Beau.



MMO Family wouldn't be a news feed that is geared towards children's games. We wondered if readers hadn't noticed how popular and well-designed these games are. Take Free Realms, which was the first game featured in our Parents Guide series. Free Realms is celebrating its first anniversary this week, having just crossed the 10 million registered players mark. Our look back at FR's first year -- the friendly and social atmosphere, the collectables and achievements added, the mini-games, the mounts, and of course the inexpensive subscription fees -- paints a picture of a something-for-everyone approach to kids' games that works for grownups looking for less frantic, theorycrafted gaming action, too.



The home of MMO Family's intrepid game-testing adventurers for kids (it's slavery, we inform you! ) The after-school fun is all about the new features coming to Wizard101. Players are playing mini-games featuring pets and wing mounts that can increase speed by as much as 40%, and collecting items to create furniture, treasure cards and gear. A puzzle-themed mini-game is available for iPhone. MMO Family's testing team is eager to find out what's coming up with the Wiz101 expansion. It will include a brand new pet system that allows players to breed, customize, race, and have their pets participate in battles. It's the pet advancement system you've been waiting for, and it's right in a game that is geared towards children.



Of course, no one can deny the juggernaut that is RuneScape which is a game geared towards older teens. RuneScape just introduced the largest update in the game's history. What's that? Are you looking for a game that can create content on the fly to test your character? It's over here in RuneScape which is now offering randomly generated "customized rooms" that can be adapted to the skill level and abilities of players who play.



Of course, not all children games are able to provide this kind of depth. The ones that don't offer this level of depth, make up for it with well-crafted games. Kung Fu Panda World (yes it's based on the film) and is currently in sneak peek mode, is part of an explicit goal at DreamWorks Animation to increase the quality of browser games. Even Disney's Pixie Hollow, a sweet small 2-D game we've been eyeing for an forthcoming Parents Guide, is evolving. The inclusion of male "sparrowmen" in fairy stories is a novel option, that allows for a wider audience and less controversy about the origins of and the species of the creatures.



If your children are keen to play with you but you don't like the idea of putting them in an age-appropriate area in your MMO (although should they wish to play with you in the same way we suggest you try it again) Don't discount "kids games. Some of the crafting systems are more complex (and they're more diverse and enjoyable) than the ones you'll find in your standard adult action or fantasy MMO. There's depth of content: combat, collection/achievements, exploration, pet and housing management. The graphics are sure to not suck. The company? You'll meet a lot of other adults who are addicted to these games, too. This isn't theorizing for Elitist Jeerks, but fun for the whole family that even a skilled gaming parent can enjoy. Yes, indeed.



Do you have a young fairy or sparrow man in the family? Keep an eye on our upcoming Parent's Guide to Pixie Hollow, next time on MMO Family.



MMO Family offers advice on MMO gaming of the family, for the family, and for the family. Send us your comments and questions about gaming and parenting to Lisa (at) massively (dot) com.


Website: https://calistomebel.com/