Massively^™

We can all agree that the concept of a Harry Potter MMO has probably been shopped around the gaming industry a few times by this point. This has of course lead to rumors of such a game being in development. Recently these rumors -- and they are just that for the time being -- have popped up again after Turbine received 40 million in funding from various sources, which included some links to the Harry Potter franchise.

Being a topical blog, Mystic Worlds tossed its hat into the Harry Potter MMO ring, saying that the game may not be what some people are expecting -- if it's actually being made. The theory being that because the books are focused primarily on a younger audience the games will follow a similar path. If Turbine was to make a Harry Potter MMO chances are likely it would be a fairly straight-forward -- and well made -- adaptation that would be tailored towards a younger audience. It would be nice if the game was set after the original books and in a slightly more grown-up world, but somehow we doubt that's going to happen. Either way, we'll be playing such a game regardless -- it's just what we do.

SocioTown, a newcomer to the browser-based MMO scene, has an interesting take on letting users control who can play in their spaces. Outside the Box Software, the developers of SocioTown, are placing the ban hammer firmly in the grasp of players who can actually boot uninvited guests from their virtual homes. That's right: Ban hammers for everyone! Players can choose between ways of kicking people to the curb: 'toss out', 'punch out', or even 'bat out'. This video shows what it looks like, as obnoxious couch tourists and close talkers are booted one after another. If you've ever had a houseguest who just wouldn't take the hint to leave, you'll know what this is all about... it might even be cathartic.

Animax Entertainment is a full-service creative studio that specializes in character-driven digital content. Animax is the company behind TyGirlz.com and Beanie Babies 2.0, virtual worlds that accompany lines of plush toys, and has new ventures in the pipeline for the virtual space. In preparation for its new projects, Animax has appointed Sabri Sansoy to the position of Chief Technology Officer, where he will spearhead Animax's expansion into MMOs and virtual worlds.

Sansoy, formerly the vice president of interactive entertainment technology at GSN (Game Show Network), was chosen by Animax for his past experience with convergent media. (And presumably not for his attempt to fly around the world in a hot air balloon!) "Animax is a leader in building cutting edge interactive applications with a robust portfolio of innovation, exceptional talent, and exciting business opportunities in the pipeline. I am very honored and excited to contribute to the growth and success of this company," Sansoy said of his appointment. If the new offerings from Animax Entertainment are anything like what they've produced in the past, we're likely to see 'play' with more lines of toys extending into the virtual realm through interactive narratives, that place where toys and games meet.

For literally generations now, we've had to endure those ongoing discussions regarding the harm of video games on children. Now with almost the entire industry being online, children are able to interact with other people across the world. This, of course brings up a whole new array of problems when it comes to protecting our children from harm.

In a recent article at Yahoo's Shine, this subject is approached in a way that keeps its distance from the usual mainstream doom and gloom we read regarding online games and parenting. Instead, readers are invited to share their own experiences with their kids and video games or online games. The comments are (mostly) interesting, and give a glimpse into how some parents are conquering this battle. Also, there's a link to a survey conducted by SOE regarding what parents think of their kids playing video games, and how it affects the children's school work and social lives.

Frank Yu over at Gamasutra wrote a piece recently that didn't exactly slip through the cracks, but was certainly overshadowed by more pressing concerns that affected online gaming in Asia. Yu's 'China's Forgotten Gamers' -- from his China Angle column -- is a look at the invisible population of gamers in the country that industry demographics simply cannot account for. In North America and Europe, subscriptions, registered downloads and box sales provide an accurate picture of who's playing a given title; China is a different story altogether. Credit cards are nowhere near as prevalent among the Chinese as they are abroad; box sales have largely been a failure due to piracy. Added to the mix is the fact that not everyone can afford to play games legitimately, and so some Chinese gamers find ways to play outside of the system.

Although the reported numbers of gamers playing the various titles in China are large, Yu says, "In China, we track game players by subscriber or registration numbers, or by the amount of money they spend giving companies revenue. If they don't register or pay money, they are somewhat invisible to the industry or, from the business viewpoint, irrelevant."

The BBC recently sponsored a study on how children interact in virtual worlds, and its findings are promising. Their research reveals that virtual worlds provide a safe environment where children can try new things, largely free of real world consequences. According to the BBC, "Virtual worlds can be a powerful, engaging and interactive alternative to more passive media."

The BBC tapped Belgian game maker Larian Studios to create Adventure Rock, a virtual world filled with 'creative studios' aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 12. The research was carried out by Professor David Gauntlett and Lizzie Jackson of the University of Westminster, who looked at the ways children used the world as new explorers in Adventure Rock.

Frustration and disappointment was squarely behind the creation of the kid-friendly online space Club Penguin. Co-founder and general manager Lane Merrifield was sick and tired of the MMO industry's "cynicism" when it came to children. Merrifield and his partners went forward with the gamespace as a side project, a world unsupported by VC money or expectations.

GamesIndustry.biz sat down for a chat with the man, and delved into the context behind one of the most successful kid-oriented titles on the market. In his words, he'd be "silly" not to be surprised by the game's runaway success and the purchase by Disney. The human element, he offers, has been critical to their success. "Merrifield also thinks that there is an over-reliance on technology that ignores the human element, which is why they've decided to devote two-thirds of the company's staff to positions such as safety moderators and customer service. 'We know the limits of technology, even though I would put our filtering software up against anybody's, especially because of that human element - we're adding 500 to 1000 words every day to the filters, simply because of slang that works its way into the language.'"

In a wonderful, feel-good-story-of-the-year type of article, Richard Bartle, the father of online gaming, has written a laudable rant in the Guardian, essentially informing the old school haters that they're officially obsolete. You know the ones -- every reporter making a quick buck off of the party line that videogames are dangerous to our psyches; every politician riding the easy ticket of attacking our hobby in the name of protecting the children; every concerned parental activist group calling for the heads of the developers who worked on our chosen pastime -- Bartle has given them notice.

In his delightfully-worded article, Bartle reminds us all that these witch hunts are generational: previously, it was television; before that, the enemy was rock 'n' roll, comic books, even the novel. People fear what they don't understand, and aggression is what they employ to mask that fear. Every previous generation seeks to destroy the entertainment of the new generation, and for our age, it's the videogame that's under fire. Bartle understands this and quite calmly uses this knowledge to signal an end to the previous generation's influence. Yet he doesn't just condemn, he also offers a way out.

Some members of the gaming community were offended by the content of a BBC TV special written by psychologist Tanya Byron. The special spent a fair amount of time addressing the issue of game addiction. Among other things, it suggested that World of Warcraft addicts have some things in common with heroin or cocaine junkies, and even called WoW "a childish fantasy game."

Gaming addiction is a real problem that needs to be addressed, but it's difficult not to cringe when comparisons like that are made in a society still rampant with misconceptions and prejudices about the medium. That said, don't start demonizing Tanya Byron just yet.

With the advent of the next generation of social networking MMOs on the rise, and the retirement announcement of Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, we can't help but wonder what is the real definition of an MMO these days? Where is online gaming headed, and what is there a real demand for anymore?

After VMK's closing announcement last week, users let it be known that they were not happy with Disney's decision. As we reported yesterday, there were several comments concerning the fact that taking down this virtual world was like taking down their real world. Many of them were not only fiery and disparaging, but the retorts to these comments were even more dramatic. Yes, this happened on the internet! Can you believe it? The fact is, this makes us wonder if we're approaching dangerous ground with the immersion factor of these virtual worlds, especially as they pertain to our children and their interpretation of the world. The real world, that is.

Here's a recent news item from the Contra Costa Times, about a kid who played way too much World of Warcraft: "[World of Warcraft had become] the one place he was joining the world. Bringing him back to the real world took months of therapy, a wilderness camp and boarding school." Months of therapy, a wilderness camp and boarding school -- could the cure be worse than the disease? The article describes him as a "tween" -- between the ages of ten and twelve. So let's break it down. A middle schooler was allowed by his parents to spend as much unsupervised time playing World of Warcraft as he liked, such that it was the only thing he did. A game the parents would have had to pay with their credit card each month, along with the initial cost of the game. The parents didn't notice their son had become withdrawn for such a long time that months of therapy, a wilderness camp and boarding school became the only options. Who was really to blame?

Blizzard knows that their game is addictive; they've even gone so far as to create parental controls for the game. Parenting support groups urge children to be restricted to just a couple of hours a week on the game. Given there is so much concern about children playing computer games of any sort to excess... how is it Blizzard takes the blame? Before World of Warcraft, it was EverQuest. Before EverQuest, it was Dungeons & Dragons. It can be hard for parents to keep tabs on their children; their natural desire is to give their children space to mature and learn how to take care of things on their own. But any sort of parents should be able to tell when a game, or depression, a fight with a friend or any of the thousand things that get too serious has gone beyond what a child can handle. Waiting until a problem has become so severe that boarding school and months of therapy are the only solutions are not Blizzard's fault. It's the parent's.

The MMO industry as we know it today hasn't been around very long, really. Still, we can see definite generational shifts, particularly between the current crop of foul-mouthed, immature children (of all ages) we might label 'griefers', and the older, more stable cadre of players who just want to enjoy their hobby in peace.

The generation of kids being raised on MMOs have the dubious honor of receiving input from both of these spheres. What will they become? Respect can be taught, but kids are mimetic; they'll copy behavior they find amusing. Is there a chance that griefers can grow out of their abusive tendencies and learn to behave? What will it take for that behavior to evolve?

Last year, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown commissioned the Department of Children, Schools, and Families to write a report on, among other things, the potentially harmful effects of the internet and video games on children and young people. Many harbored fears, based on past precedent, that this report wouldn't cast the game industry in a particularly flattering light. Despite these fears, the study, called the Byron Report, is not quite as damning as we might have thought.

In particular, the chapter on online games identifies the fact that the discussion about online games and children should be moving away from seeking to find causal links between games and harm in favor of finding ways to empower children to make smart choices when it comes to games. At the same time, they recognize that its in their nature for children to push boundaries, and parents have to be willing to overcome their lack of awareness (with the help of retailers and the game industry in general) in order to police their children's online behavior.

While we don't agree with all the recommendations of the report, which include some more Big Brother aspects like regulating content on the internet, we think that online games at least got a pass.

[Via Terra Nova]

Well, maybe not you, exactly, but an undetermined number of content creators have received a message from Jesse Linden, stating that Linden Lab is interested in updating their current line of default avatars ' ... to better reflect the rich and diverse content available inside Second Life.' While this is a great idea, it appears that the receivers of this message are to compete for the contract, which will be paid in American dollars, rather than L$.

One wonders how inclusive LL is willing to be, given exactly how diverse content tends to be in SL. Will new users be able to choose Gorean avatars? Robots? Children?

[Via Vint Falken's blog]