Filed under: Kids

Do you love the pets in Free Realms as much as Game Designer Margaret Krohn? If you just can't get your fill of all things furry and scaly in Free Realms, you'll be very happy with the new pets.

Haven't seen them yet? Well, for starters there is now a sad little spider named Mister Munchy, available in five different colors. He's got the blues and being adopted would cheer him right up. Are you more of a dinosaur fan? Several new dinosaurs are available as well, including Screech the Raptor -- who seems a lot friendlier than the Jurassic Park variety -- and Crackers, who is having a bit of an identity crisis. If you're more the traditional sort, there are new ponies available as well, bringing the total to thirteen.

All of the new pets are available now, so make a visit to the Marketplace and see what you'd like to add to your collection.

One of the more family-oriented MMOs currently on the market, Wizard101, celebrates Valentine's Day via its annual Friendship Festival, a concept that some of us can enthusiastically get behind. Its approach has been heralded by the return of the vendor NPC Valentia Heartsong, selling special holiday items in exchange for the game's microtransaction currency, Crowns. But in an effort to get players feeling just a little bit more friendly, the game's staff is running a special contest to give away some of the holiday items for free.

Every day until February 12th, the team will select one of their followers on Twitter at random, contact them via Twitter, and ask for their Wizard101 account name. That means that entering the contest is as simple as following the game @Wizard101. The prize is handed out at noon each day, which means there's still plenty of time for the game's players to get in on the fun and get a little something extra. And besides, following a game you enjoy on Twitter is good practice anyway. Fan of the holiday or not, it's hard not to like a friendly gesture such as this.

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

Next in our look at kids' MMOs is Ether Saga Online, winner of a 2009 National Parenting Publications Award for tweens and teens video games. Compared with the freewheeling, open-ended approach of Free Realms, ESO presents a more traditional MMO face. Even so, you probably weren't expecting a work of classic literature -- but that's in fact what you'll get. ESO, which was first developed for Chinese players, is based on Journey to the West (often known in the West as Monkey), considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. All that, and it's free to play, too.

Free Realms has released its January Ask a Dev video, and it's another fun one. Game Designer Margaret Krohn and Lead Character Artist Matt Case are back to answer more questions from Free Realms players, this time with a slightly more personal angle added.

They began by talking about some of the new Marketplace and Coin Shop items coming up, including housing items, pets, and clothing. Matt and Margaret both hinted at new housing locations and decorating items in the future, so we'll be keeping an eye out for those.

The video explored a different series of questions next, starting with "How was your holiday break?", and then spending some time exploring the things that Matt and Margaret like the most in game, what they've been having fun with in Free Realms, and their favorite things about working for Sony Online Entertainment.

Follow along after the jump to take a look at the video for yourself!

One of the things that's different about Hello Kitty Online, beyond the pink hearts and stars motif, is that the game ties in with some great charitable causes. Now Sanrio Digital has announced the "Food for Friends 2" guild competition, an event that lets guilds compete for Loyalty Point prizes for use in the Hello Kitty Online item mall while helping people in the real world. Players from select regions (North America, Europe, Singapore, Malaysia) who participate in Food for Friends 2 will generate real money donations (from event sponsors) through their gameplay that will help disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

Food for Friends 2 runs from January 21-30 and getting involved is very simple. Players can log in and head on over to Hello Kitty Online's version of London to speak with an NPC named Cinnamaroll. He's collecting crafted consumable items for the needy. The more people from your guild who donate these items, the higher your guild's point standings increase.

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

This week, MMO Family begins a gaming-savvy look at some of the most popular kid MMOs. You know what you like in an MMO – but what about your kids? And what if you're looking for something the whole family could play together? Today's gaming family can nibble from a whole feast of MMOs: games for grownups (we can help you fence off areas for kids who want to play what Mom and Dad do), games for the little ones, games for tweens and teens, and games for everyone to play together. When it's time to find just the right selection for the kids, we'll help you reticle over the most likely targets.

First up: Free Realms from Sony Online Entertainment.

Nexon America's long-running MMO MapleStory is introducing two new areas to their players, less than two months after an extensive content update with a brand new class and storyline.

Players can now explore Nett's Pyramid and the Abandoned Subway, party quest areas available soon to all mid-level players. Nett's Pyramid is an ancient-Egyptian themed area full of pyramids and hieroglyphics, along with plenty of creatures such as mummies and skeletons to battle. The Abandoned Subway is a gloomy underground map full of creatures waiting to attack those brave enough to venture in.

The new areas are great for hunting and leveling, and will allow players to experience the "Monster Survival" feature, as well as some nice extras. Players who manage to clear all stages in one of the new maps will be rewarded with bonus maps, medals, and buffs.

The content will be introduced to MapleStory soon.

The holidays are over -- everyone can breathe a collective sigh of relief now -- but there are some gifts that keep on giving. Charitable donations always go up during the holidays, and with the rise of microtransaction stores, games are better able to get in on the generosity. Wizard101 was one of the many offering an in-game carrot for donating to charity, the tiger-striped Meowmodon mount. Aside from having an adorable name, it inspired enough players to purchase it that raised $126,000 for charity.

The total amount received will be split evenly between Child's Play and the Austin Children's Shelter, to suppport both the worldwide community and the area surrounding the KingsIsle headquarters. The company seems quite pleased with the results, and it's a testament to both the community and the game that a free-to-play game could raise such a substantial sum for two excellent causes. The offiicial announcement can be found on the official Wizard101 site, to no great surprise. Congratulations to the players who took part, and we can only hope this effort will be repeated in the coming months -- free-to-play item malls donating to charity have certainly made an impact this holiday season, certain hiccups notwithstanding.

Hello Kitty Online, the excruciatingly cute free-to-play MMO from Aeria Games, has a catchy new theme song and trailer video sure to get stuck in the heads of little girls worldwide (and probably their mothers, who were around when Hello Kitty was cool the first time.)

"The World Is Saying Hello" trailer gives a tour of the game, visiting some of the different areas such as the Sunbright Express train station.

So what about that earworm of a song? Well, it's Hello Kitty Online's new theme song, and what you hear in the trailer is only part of it. To get the full version, you have to go play the game. The full song can be heard at one of the places featured in the trailer, so head over to Sanriotown and good luck tracking the full song down! For now, enjoy the video trailer after the jump.

Back in December, we talked a bit about Funcom's new studio SweetRobot, which will be designing games for a much younger market than the Age of Conan crowd. Pets vs. Monsters is the first offering from the studio, with the promise of more to come. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas took some time to sit down with gameindustry.biz and discuss where the company stands now, and how that has influenced their decision to explore this new opportunity.

Of course, Funcom had to employ some cost-cutting measures in 2009: "...it's become almost a default thing for businesses in the last year it seems." Tapping into the vast tween market could be a very lucrative move in the face of those measures -- while their cash reserves are more than comfortable, gaining new subscribers is the way to keep the company moving forward.

Make no mistake - the grownup side of Funcom isn't going anywhere. Age of Conan is here to stay and The Secret World is still coming, but Funcom is also giving plenty of attention to their more casual new studio as well. The full interview can be read here.

One of the features that Free Realms players enjoy is the ability to throw a great party. It's such a popular feature, the Free Realms team has decided to expand it a bit with the addition of two great new items: party planners and party locations.

It's pretty simple. Party planners are now located in Sanctuary, Lakeshore, and Briarwood, and talking to any of them will send you to a brand new party area, complete with decorations and cake. (Make sure to click on that cake - it holds a few surprises that you'll enjoy.) The Sanctuary party planner will transport you to a party location behind the Pixiewood sign, Courtney Lakebash in Lakeshore opens up a treehouse party area, and Briarwood party planner Mandy Vide has a party set up in the towers above Tanglewood fort.

Of course, party planners are only available to members, but they can invite anyone they choose to their party, member or not. Make sure you check out all of the new party locations, and have fun!

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

It's inevitable: whatever bright, shiny game you are playing, the kids will want in on the action, too. Granted, some games just aren't made for sharing with kids. (This mom saw her Age of Conan debauchery relegated to late-night sessions after the kids had gone to bed.) But most MMOs make perfectly fine sandboxes for the kids, once you've helped shape a kid-sized mini-world within.

The thing is, young children enjoy MMOs differently than older kids and adults. The things that float their little boats are likely to seem completely pedestrian to you. Kids devour character creation. They enjoy exploring starting zones and picking "their" own houses, inns and shops. They like to dress up (you did take Tailoring, didn't you?). They think killing 10 rats is grand fun -- and just as fun the next time, and the next, and the next ...

Part of the reason that these things are so enticing to them is because they're part of the game that you play. Just because your youngster isn't quite ready for the main course of your favorite game doesn't mean the game is completely unsuitable for kids. We'd never recommend buying an MMO specifically for a child who's not ready to tackle its main content. But if you're already playing a game that your kids think looks fun, why not let them join in at their level? It's not necessary to hand-hold them through every moment. Keep reading for simple ways to help younger children enjoy big MMOs in a smaller, more kid-friendly way.

Snowmen in the Snowhill area of Free Realms are nothing new, but lately they're a little different. While they've got the basics of snowman fashion down -- top hat, scarf, sticks for arms -- these days they don't look quite as jolly and friendly as one would expect a snowman to look.

They got a bit aggressive during the holidays, and began attacking adventurers on sight, providing a fun new challenge for Free Realms players. It seems to have been a hit with players, and it looks like their feisty new attitude is here to stay. A note on the Free Realms site yesterday informed players "No one knows who made the snowmen or who cast the magic spell that animated them, but they are here to stay."

So if you enjoyed duking it out with the snowmen, and think you'll want some frosty cool hunting grounds in the summer months, Snowhill might just be your new favorite place!

It looks like MapleStory isn't the only one seeking to draw in some new players over the holidays. Free Realms has released two eye-catching television commercials, set to air over the holidays.

Both spots aim for a thirty second intro to all things Free Realms, with the first one focusing on holiday events and the second a more general view. All the bases are covered in these whirlwind tours of the game: cool costumes, houses to decorate, pets, monster fights, jobs, and more.

There is a heavy emphasis on "free" and "with your friends", which should hold a hefty appeal to the tween and teen set as the holiday vacation from school starts to drag out a little bit next week. There is a brief text disclaimer about halfway through: "premium content and membership available for purchase," which offers a tempting suggestion for kids who haven't decided what to do with that Visa gift card they got from Aunt Judy in Oklahoma.

Both commercials can be viewed at the official site.

You know that whole cliche about wanting a pony as a Christmas or birthday gift? Thanks to Sony Online Entertainment, you can finally fulfill that wish for yourself and your friends. You can also fulfill their wish for a dragon, a dinosaur, a pegasus, or a unicorn while you're at it. Free Realms has introduced all of those animals as new pets in the game and they come with a variety of colors and emotes, from a fire breathing dragon to a dancing Tyrannosaurus Rex that blows bubbles to a unicorn that...wait, is that rainbow what we think it is?

You can decide for yourself with the alternately adorable-and-hilarious behind the scenes video from the Free Realms development team, depicting the creative process and the auditions for new pets. Free Realms Producer Andy Sites describes the search for the perfect new pet, and shows off the winning choices. Follow along after the jump to view the video, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.