Which MMOs are Kid-Safe? A Parents Guide to Massively Multiplayer Games
There is no shortage of Massively Multiplayer Online games for adults, with titles like Age of Conan, World of Warcraft, Star Trek Online, and City of Heroes. While its great that adults have a nice selection of options for their gaming dollar, what about children? Most adults would rather not have their kids playing Age of Conan, which depicts half-naked women and copious amounts of beheadings and severed limbs.
Graphic depictions of violence are only one aspect of MMOs that may concern parents, while others may be far more worried about language and predatory adults with too much time on their hands. What you will find below is a list of current MMOs that are kid-friendly. In all cases, these games were built for kids and will offer as safe a gaming environment as you can hope to have on the Internet. Nothing is perfect and no system is fool-proof, so active parental monitoring is always a good thing. Games appear in order of popularity.
The most popular MMO with kids is Poptropica. Best of all, its free, though you can buy your child credits for the purchasing of special items. Kids can create their own character, known as a Poptropican, and travel across islands. Players will use problem-solving skills as they uncover various mysteries, explore new areas, acquire digital comic books, watch movies and even compete in head-to-head competitions with other kids.
For kids between the ages of 6-13+, Webkinz is a commercial venture that ties into an existing toy-line, so know going in that you’re dealing with a gateway drug, i.e., play the game and find your kid asking for a real-life Webkinz toy. Commercialism aside, kids really enjoy Webkinz, a virtual world where they can adopt and care for pets, take part in fun activities and even decorate their own home.
RuneScape has been around for what seems like forever, boasting a mammoth player base and huge game world for kids to explore. RuneScape is more like a traditional MMO, presented from a top-down perspective. While kids under 9 may be in over their heads, older kids will find Runescape to be a great bridge to more difficult games like World of Warcraft. RuneScape is highly addictive and has a sizable adult player base. Fortunately, you can have the chat feature of RuneScape disabled until you child turns 13 years of age.
Club Penguin is published by Disney, so you know you’re in good hands right from the start. Kids will find a wide-range of activities in Club Penguin and parents can set chat limitation and amount of play time per day, ensuring your kid gets the old homework done.
Wrath of the Impromptu Book Critic
Hot on the heels of his previous gaming philosophy book, The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy (you can read our review here), editor Luke Cuddy has followed suit by assembling various members of academia and all-around gaming junkies for his next book in the gaming philosophy series, World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King.
It would seem that WoW would be a perfect fit for philosophical discussion, what with the constant accusations of the game’s addictive properties as well as its real-world defying economy, and for the most part, this is true.
Like Zelda and Philosophy, WoW and Philosophy organizes itself into individually written chapters that attempt to tackle a specific topic relating to WoW using philosophical tools. For instance, WoW’s economy is studied to determine whether it is the perfect or ideal form of capitalism, and if so, whether it can be reproduced in the real world.
Though each chapter is written by a different author, often causing the quality and consistency of the book to vary, the chapters are broken down into sections to help facilitate out-of-order reading based on specific topics. The book even prefaces each section with humorous quest-based introductions, complete with aged-looking paper laying out your objectives, that claim to give you +5 Intellect! and other rewards after reading. It’s a nice little touch that’s meant to reinforce the authors’ hands-on understanding and experience with WoW and help them connect with the reader beyond an academic-based approach.
Getting down to the actual content of the chapters though, I find that the book is a bit haphazard. At times it feels like each author is attempting to appeal to a specific WoW player at the point of being boring or going over the top for other readers. For instance, Chapter 5, “A Mage in Motion,” is written from the viewpoint of a mage in game – not the player behind the keyboard. The author then unfolds a philosophical discourse between the mage and the higher power controlling said mage – the player behind the keyboard.
While the chapter’s style can at least be noted for its novel approach to discussing philosophy, the conversation between the mage and the player regarding the laws of physics just isn’t as interesting as the more straightforward chapters.
Chapter 20, “Future Pasts of Magic and Deceit,” is simply all over the place. The authors jump from one topic to another without warning or transition and at the end of the 8-page ordeal, you’re left wondering what the hell you just read.
Which MMOs are Kid-Safe? A Parents Guide to Massively Multiplayer Games
There is no shortage of Massively Multiplayer Online games for adults, with titles like Age of Conan, World of Warcraft, Star Trek Online, and City of Heroes. While its great that adults have a nice selection of options for their gaming dollar, what about children? Most adults would rather not have their kids playing Age of Conan, which depicts half-naked women and copious amounts of beheadings and severed limbs.
Graphic depictions of violence are only one aspect of MMOs that may concern parents, while others may be far more worried about language and predatory adults with too much time on their hands. What you will find below is a list of current MMOs that are kid-friendly. In all cases, these games were built for kids and will offer as safe a gaming environment as you can hope to have on the Internet. Nothing is perfect and no system is fool-proof, so active parental monitoring is always a good thing. Games appear in order of popularity.
The most popular MMO with kids is Poptropica. Best of all, its free, though you can buy your child credits for the purchasing of special items. Kids can create their own character, known as a Poptropican, and travel across islands. Players will use problem-solving skills as they uncover various mysteries, explore new areas, acquire digital comic books, watch movies and even compete in head-to-head competitions with other kids.
For kids between the ages of 6-13+, Webkinz is a commercial venture that ties into an existing toy-line, so know going in that you’re dealing with a gateway drug, i.e., play the game and find your kid asking for a real-life Webkinz toy. Commercialism aside, kids really enjoy Webkinz, a virtual world where they can adopt and care for pets, take part in fun activities and even decorate their own home.
RuneScape has been around for what seems like forever, boasting a mammoth player base and huge game world for kids to explore. RuneScape is more like a traditional MMO, presented from a top-down perspective. While kids under 9 may be in over their heads, older kids will find Runescape to be a great bridge to more difficult games like World of Warcraft. RuneScape is highly addictive and has a sizable adult player base. Fortunately, you can have the chat feature of RuneScape disabled until you child turns 13 years of age.
Club Penguin is published by Disney, so you know you’re in good hands right from the start. Kids will find a wide-range of activities in Club Penguin and parents can set chat limitation and amount of play time per day, ensuring your kid gets the old homework done.
Wrath of the Impromptu Book Critic
Hot on the heels of his previous gaming philosophy book, The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy (you can read our review here), editor Luke Cuddy has followed suit by assembling various members of academia and all-around gaming junkies for his next book in the gaming philosophy series, World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King.
It would seem that WoW would be a perfect fit for philosophical discussion, what with the constant accusations of the game’s addictive properties as well as its real-world defying economy, and for the most part, this is true.
Like Zelda and Philosophy, WoW and Philosophy organizes itself into individually written chapters that attempt to tackle a specific topic relating to WoW using philosophical tools. For instance, WoW’s economy is studied to determine whether it is the perfect or ideal form of capitalism, and if so, whether it can be reproduced in the real world.
Though each chapter is written by a different author, often causing the quality and consistency of the book to vary, the chapters are broken down into sections to help facilitate out-of-order reading based on specific topics. The book even prefaces each section with humorous quest-based introductions, complete with aged-looking paper laying out your objectives, that claim to give you +5 Intellect! and other rewards after reading. It’s a nice little touch that’s meant to reinforce the authors’ hands-on understanding and experience with WoW and help them connect with the reader beyond an academic-based approach.
Getting down to the actual content of the chapters though, I find that the book is a bit haphazard. At times it feels like each author is attempting to appeal to a specific WoW player at the point of being boring or going over the top for other readers. For instance, Chapter 5, “A Mage in Motion,” is written from the viewpoint of a mage in game – not the player behind the keyboard. The author then unfolds a philosophical discourse between the mage and the higher power controlling said mage – the player behind the keyboard.
While the chapter’s style can at least be noted for its novel approach to discussing philosophy, the conversation between the mage and the player regarding the laws of physics just isn’t as interesting as the more straightforward chapters.
Chapter 20, “Future Pasts of Magic and Deceit,” is simply all over the place. The authors jump from one topic to another without warning or transition and at the end of the 8-page ordeal, you’re left wondering what the hell you just read.
The Top 10 Most Dangerous World PvP Areas of WoW
Going outside. It’s quite dangerous. Just ask a World of Warcraft player. Gang fights, turf disputes, trade swindling, imposing authorities, Mr. T. – and we’re not even talking about WoW yet.
So imagine what happens when you mix those things, rampant drug and alcohol usage, internet anonymity, a cross between GTA-style violence and Harry Potter-style witchery, 13-year-olds, and good old FPS teabagging. You get a rather dangerous place called a “PvP Realm.” Roughly translated for those who haven’t yet mastered WoW-speak, it means “open season on your ass.” But since Blizzard has yet to debut its patented in-game butt cup (available soon for only $10, limit one per account) to shield your character (aka toon) from unwanted posterior intrusions, you’ll have to settle with my $5 “Don’t-even-think-about-going-there” tour guide, provided to you free of charge.
So, without further adieu, I bring you, ranging from “hunting guide for Dick Cheney” to “sparring partner for Chuck Norris,” the top 10 most dangerous world PvP areas of WoW.
[A quick note to WoW players not yet accustomed to the sheer lunacy of PvP realms:
PvEers - pretend every zone not exclusively controlled by your faction is simply one of those magical places you call a "battleground," only with flight paths.
RPers - replace "you" with "thou," and "teabagging" with "a sampling of ye olde family jewels."]
#10 – Karazhan
Above: A typical Tuesday night outside Karazhan in 2007.
The old level-70, 10-man raid instance from Burning Crusade may be responsible for many things – starting a new approach that made making raid instances more accessible, causing Blizzard to incorporate 10-man options for all of its raid content in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion – but it will always be known for giving us one startling revelation above all: meeting stones and ganking go together like hookers and the clap.
Sure, Karazhan may not be much of a hot spot anymore, what with the level cap being raised to 80 and all, but back before WoW’s second expansion launched you couldn’t hover around the instance’s meeting stone on a weekday night for more than 10 seconds (let alone during the weekend) without getting gang raped by numerous members of the opposing faction.
The fact that both Horde and Alliance had to summon their raid members face-to-face while some dickweed rogue decided to run his own Sap-a-thon would often cause an arms race that rivaled the Soviet/American nuclear weapons buildup during the Cold War. The first side to amass a full 10-man group – or simply a larger group during more pressing moments – instantly waged full-scale war on the other side.
Beer, weed, energy drinks and A.D.D. all combined with impatience over waiting on that last raid member who just wouldn’t seem to get out of Warsong Gulch no matter how many times you told him. And when more raid groups started showing up, it simply boiled down to who wanted it the most, and who simply wanted some Tier 4.
But assuming your raid somehow succeeded in neutralizing all nearby hostiles, you’d still end up waiting on that supposed second tank your resto druid said he found in trade chat over 30 minutes ago. Thankfully, you could always fall back on dueling your guildies while you waited.
Chances of teabagging: medium.
The Scurge of MMO Account Hacking
As MMOs increase in popularity, an alarming number of people are having their accounts hacked on a daily basis. The problem has become so epidemic that its overall weight is dragging down respective customer support centers as they attempt to placate irate and confused customers. In some cases, it can take weeks to retrieve your character and if you’re lucky, you may get your items back.
Now, the vast majority of these problems could be avoided if gamers used their heads, but with the increased casual appeal of your typical MMO, we’re finding more players who simply don’t know better until it’s too late. It’s a hell of a way to learn. How are hackers getting account information? A variety of ways:
1. You get an email that looks like it’s from the Customer Service department of the MMO in question, asking you to update account information. You click the supplied link and are taken to a site that looks legit. Unfortunately, it isn’t…and you have just supplied all relevant account information to a hacker.
I get these emails on a daily basis. Here’s what one looks like (DO NOT CLICK THE LINKS!):
Blizzard Entertainment -> Legal -> Terms of Use
A 3-hour probationary suspension is pending on this account, awaiting confirmation from a specialist. A final warning has been issued. The investigation will be continued by the Account Administration team to determine the any further suspensions. If the account in question is found in violation of the EULA and Terms of Use, further action will be taken. Be aware that any additional inappropriate actions may result in the permanent closure of the account.
Thank you for respecting our position on this matter.
================================================
** We request that you verify your legitimate ownership of the account here:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/login/login/
Blizzard staff will verify your account information submitted in two days, please do not modify your account information during this time . It will not affect your game uptime.
1.) WHY DID THIS HAPPEN AND HOW CAN I STOP IT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?
which state that your Password is to be kept confidential at all times and you are solely responsible for the security of your Password. You may not disclose your Password to anyone, or allow your Password to be used by anyone other than yourself and/or your one (1) minor child. This includes, but is not limited to, compensated third parties accessing the account to advance characters in any way.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Password, and you will be responsible for all uses of your Password, whether or not authorized by you. Also, note that the security of the Account is your responsibility. Furthermore, Blizzard Entertainment does not recognize the transfer of Accounts, and any authorized transfer of the World of Warcraft software (as set forth on the worldofwarcraft.com website) will result in the permanent deletion of the Account attached to that software. You may not offer any Account for sale or trade, and any such offer is a violation of this Agreement and may result in suspension or termination of the Account.
To help ensure that no viruses are present that may threaten your account, please regularly scan all computer systems that you use to remove all viruses, including Trojan files, spy-ware and key loggers. You can find links to scanners in our article about computer and Internet security tips at http://www.blizzard.com/support/?id=msi0504p. Also be sure to change your account password regularly at
https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account.
2.) I SENT MY SUBMISSION, NOW WHAT?
We will contact you again once your submission is received and processed. If you do not receive a reply within 48 hours of sending your submission, please resend it and notify us at http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa/?id=eSupport000. If you send your submission by postal mail, please allow time for delivery. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience.
Only Account Administration is able to assist with account retrieval issues. To learn more about how Account Administration is able to assist you, please visit us at http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowaa/.com
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and your continued interest in World of Warcraft.
Sincerely,
Amanda
When you receive an email with a link, hover your mouse over the link and analyze the URL that appears in your browser. Chances are extremely high the URL points to a shady site, a site that is named in such a way that it fools you into thinking it’s legitimate.
World of Warcraft Movie Now on Fast-Track?
All hell broke loose yesterday in the world of Spider-Man, with Sam Raimi leaving his directorial position for Spider-Man 4 and Tobe Maguire retiring from the costume. As such, Sony canned the script they were working on and are now going in a completely different direction. Unfortunately, the direction indicated by Sony’s press-release indicates we may be in for a terrible film.
“Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.”
High school? So this is going to to be Twilight with Spider-Man?
Color me completely uninterested.
On the upside, Sam Raimi is now a free man and that means he has all the time in the world to devote to the cinematic version World of Warcraft, which Mr. Raimi signed on to adapt last year. At that point, Sam indicated he would begin production of World of Warcraft after the next Spider-Man movie. With no Spider-Man movie, Sam can now accelerate his plans on Warcraft.
There is one little problem though: a small movie called Avatar. Avatar has raised the bar so high in terms of world-building and effects that Mr. Raimi will now have to at least equal, if not surpass, the visual wonders delivered by James Cameron. Sam will have to channel new abiltiies, for he has never worked on a project of this magnitude, despite the huge budgets on Spider-Man. Warcraft is a whole new beast that comes saddled with massive expectations and a fan base that will hunt you down and murder you in your sleep if you screw up this adaptation.
World of Warcraft Players Are Loving the New Dungeon Finder Feature
I haven’t played World of Warcraft in a long time, mainly because I could rarely find anyone to group and raid with and guild politics always rubbed me the wrong way (get a life people). Recently Blizzard tried to address folks such as myself who tend to solo but would still like to venture into a dungeon now and then without standing around for 4 hours looking for a group.
Enter “Dungeon Finder”, the overhauled Looking For Group feature that radically alters how players can tackle WoW.
What’s it do?
- This feature has replaced the Looking For Group tool and provides all-new dungeon party creation functionality.
- Players can join as individuals, as a full group, or a partial group to look for additional party members.
- Groups using this tool will be able to teleport directly to the selected instance. Upon leaving the instance, players will be returned to their original location. If any party member needs to temporarily leave the instance for reagents or repairs, they will have the option to teleport back to the instance.
- Players can choose the Random Dungeon option.
- The Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Frost no more than once a day.
- The normal Wrath of the Lich King Daily Random Dungeon option will award two Emblems of Triumph no more than once a day.
- Continuing to complete Wrath of the Lich King Heroic instances using the Daily Random Dungeon option will award players two additional Emblems of Triumph each time.
- Daily Heroic and normal dungeon quests have been removed. These quests have been replaced with weekly raid quests (see the “Quests” section for details).
- Level-appropriate rewards will be offered to players who choose the Random Dungeon option for pre-Wrath of the Lich King dungeons.
- Players can be placed in a group for a random dungeon no more than once every 15 minutes.
- Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player’s inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed). A pop-up notification will display any rewards earned through the Dungeon Finder.
- Instead of choosing a random dungeon, players can also choose specific dungeons appropriate for their level range. Multiple instances can be selected at one time. The feature no longer limits the choice to look for only 3 dungeon groups at one time.
- Pick-Up Groups
- Cross-realm instances are now available and use an improved matchmaking system to assist players in looking for additional party members. As with Battlegrounds, the realms in each Battlegroup are connected.
- As part of the matchmaking system, some of the more difficult dungeons will have a minimum gear requirement. Players also need to meet the requirements for dungeons that require attunement, such as keys or quests. If a player does not meet the requirements for a particular dungeon, a lock icon will be displayed next to that dungeon. Hovering over this icon will display the requirements which have not been met.
- Only conjured items and loot dropped in a dungeon for which other party members are eligible can be traded between players from different realms.
- A Vote Kick feature will be available in the event a member of a party is not performing to the expectations of the other members.
- Players who leave the group prematurely are subject to a Deserter debuff preventing them from using the Dungeon Finder for 15 minutes.
- If an existing group loses a member, the leader will be asked if he or she wants to continue the dungeon. Choosing to continue will automatically place the group back into the Dungeon Finder queue.
- A Player will not be placed in a group with people on his or her Ignore list.
- Players who take part in groups who have one or more members who have been matched with them randomly from within the Dungeon Finder will receive extra rewards, up to and including the coveted Perky Pug non-combat pet. The more random players with whom one groups, the faster the pet can be obtained.
- The Need Before Greed loot system will be the unalterable default looting system for pick-up groups in the Dungeon Finder and has been updated.
- Need Before Greed will now recognize gear appropriate for a class in three ways: the class must be able to equip the item, pure melee will be unable to roll on spell power items, and classes are limited to their dominant armor type (ex. paladins for plate). All items will still be available via Greed rolls as well as the new Disenchant option should no member be able to use the item.
- Players will be able to roll on items with a required minimum level higher than a player’s current level.
Erik ‘Pro Plaintiff’ Estavillo assures us he won’t sue anyone else, giving half his money ‘to God’ [update]
![99964_lawsuitthegame580pxheaderimg Erik Pro Plaintiff Estavillo assures us he wont sue anyone else, giving half his money to God [update]](http://wii.wowgoldit.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/99964_lawsuitthegame580pxheaderimg.jpg "Erik Pro Plaintiff Estavillo assures us he wont sue anyone else, giving half his money to God [update]")
Erik Estavillo has been given a handful of nicknames by the press recently - he listed “Professional/PSN Plaintiff,” “The Serial Suer” and a few others when he spoke with Joystiq this morning. He assured us though, time and time again, “That WoW lawsuit, that’s my final lawsuit. So people know, I’m not suing any more companies.” In case you missed it, Estavillo is currently engaged in four separate lawsuits - one with Microsoft, one with Nintendo, one with Sony (in both Federal and State court), and one with Activision Blizzard. “One lawsuit for each major console maker and one for the PC, so four total,” he clarified to us.
Aside from seeking money (anywhere from as low as $180 to $1 million, depending on the case), we asked Estavillo what his intentions were behind launching the multiple lawsuits. “What I wanted to do was exploit the weakness of each console and show that they’re not impervious to flaws … each console has a flaw and they should fix it,” he said. During the interview as well as in some of his court filings, Estavillo claimed to be suffering from a variety of psychological maladies, and has repeatedly stated that he uses online gaming as his primary form of communication. “I told this other interviewer and it’s true - I actually have no friends. I rely on online gameplay for socialization.”
Though he’s yet to win a case, his first (by default) could come as soon as December 3 - the end of Sony’s 30 days to respond to a summons. If he does, that would mean $180,000 and a “no contest” ruling against Sony. Though he said he’ll keep some of the money he may win, he noted that, “Half the money I get is gonna go to God. I’m giving half the money I get to CBN [Christian Broadcasting Network], local churches, charities, or poor people on the street.”
We talked to Estavillo about a variety of other topics - from what games he plays to why he’s subpoenaing celebrities instead of experts - but due to sheer length we’ve broken the rest of the interview out after the break.
Update: Erik Estavillo emailed us this evening to say that Sony has responded to his summons, thus closing out the possibility of a default settlement. The first hearing will be in early 2010.
Erik ‘Pro Plaintiff’ Estavillo assures us he won’t sue anyone else, giving half his money ‘to God’ [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New Genre in Development: MMOZ (Massively Multiplayer Online Zombie game)
The zombie masses have spoken, and they have demanded (or so we’re led to believe) their own piece of the social gaming phenomenon, the dreaded MMO genre.
Evidently gamers have been held back all these years by Medieval-themed fantasy MMOs, and Seattle, Washington-based Undead Labs (a creation of former Blizzard and NCsoft employee Jeff Strain) is here to rectify that problem by amassing a “whole lotta zombies, because the world doesn’t need more dragons.” I guess dragons and warlocks have been done to death in gaming, but not zombies.
But, to be fair, the zombie MMO concept is something different for a change, even if it’s only a new spin on an overdone topic. Strain left NCsoft last summer to form this ambitious new company, and he says his ideas for the MMOZ came to him while watching zombie movies with his friends.
“Every time I see a good zombie movie with friends, we spend days debating our strategies for surviving the zombie apocalypse,” said Strain. “The police station, or the supermarket? Garden rake, or staple gun? Bach, or the White Stripes? I’m a game developer, so I’d probably be useless for anything other than ghoul bait, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to build an MMOZ that lets us put those strategies to the test and find out for sure.”
Mindless, wandering, flesh-eating masses go hand-in-hand with the MMO genre, and there’s quite a bit of irony in choosing zombies as the subject for a genre that often involves turning gamers in soulless, monotonous, anti-social drones (I speak from experience here).
So when and where will this online social zombie apocalypse be arriving? We don’t know so far, but one thing is confirmed: it’s coming to consoles (which consoles remains in the air). The title is being created from the ground-up by Strain, who formed the initial team for and kicked off development on World of Warcraft, and who founded ArenaNet with fellow Blizzard leads Mike O’Brien and Patrick Wyatt back in 2000. So if anyone can pull this project off, it’s probably Strain.
Undead Labs is currently hiring, so if you’re interested in all things zombie related, check out their website at www.undeadlabs.com.
Top 10 Best Selling Games
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