Toontown Online
Toontown Online (more commonly known as Toontown) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by The Walt Disney Company and billed as the first such game intended for kids and families.[1] Designed for children as young as seven,[2] the depth of the game's content has drawn in many older players as well.[3] Toontown's 3D virtual world takes its theme from the colorful style and humor of classic animated cartoons, packaged into an online game experience that is designed to be social, non-violent and kid-safe.[4]
First introduced in the United States in 2003, Disney has since produced versions of Toontown for the United Kingdom (which has a different homepage but uses the same game servers), France, Spain, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Disney does not release figures on the number of subscribers, but Disney's VR Studio head Mike Goslin stated in mid-2005 that "we have nearly 10,000 people playing simultaneously during our busiest times."[5]. In May, 2007 independent internet research firm Comscore estimated Toontown Online had nearly 1.2 million users.[6]
The Toontown game software is available as a free download or in a retail box version (containing a software CD-ROM and a two-month subscription), the latter available since Autumn 2005.[7] Both require a subscription fee beyond an initial trial period. Prompted by advertisers' increasing interest in advertising in virtual worlds, a free version with limited features was released in August 2007[citation needed] after being in testing since May.[6] The next phase, an entirely ad-supported version of the game, is expected to be released later in 2007.[6] Windows Vista is not supported by Toontown, but Disney is working on a Vista update for the game.
Gameplay
In the game, each player takes the role of a Toon — a cartoon character based on an anthropomorphic animal: a dog, cat, mouse, duck, rabbit, horse, monkey, bear or pig. Players choose the species and customize the look of their toons when they first start the game. The game tutorial explains that Toons must work together to rid the streets from the ongoing menace of the "Cogs" — robots dressed in business suits who are trying to transform the bright and cheerful Toontown into a gray, corporate world. For example, when a Cog enters a building in Toontown, it changes into a "Cog building" — a drab gray office building.
To battle the Cogs, Toons use "gags" — silly weapons that are reflective of the slapstick humor found in classic cartoons: cream pies, seltzer bottles, banana peels, dropping anvils, squirting flowers, and so on. Perhaps just as appropriately, both the Cogs' names and their weapons are taken from business slang: Micromanager, Spin Doctor, Red Tape, Power Tie, and the like. By defeating all the Cogs found in a Cog building, it reverts back into a Toon building. Defeating Cogs also earns experience points for the player in various gag tracks, eventually leading to new and more powerful gags.
The game plays like other RPGs using a simplified interface. (The game designers have claimed that Toontown is "easy to learn but difficult to master".)[3] Nearly all activities in the game utilize only the mouse and the arrow keys on the keyboard. At the beginning of the game, a "Toontorial" teaches the new player how to move, how to battle Cogs, how to communicate, use gags, and how to complete the first set of required tasks. Battles with Cogs are turn-based: the Toons attack, the Cogs counter-attack, and so on until one side is victorious. When it's the Toons' turn, the player simply clicks on the gag they wish to use, followed by the target, assuming the gag requires one. A successful attack will reduce the Laff Points of its target, leading back and forth until one or the other has none left.
Teamwork is encouraged in Toontown since low-level Toons frequently need the help of others to complete difficult challenges or perform certain tricks. For example, "Toon-ups" (healing gags) cannot be used by a player on their own character, so to be healed during battle one usually needs another player to use a Toon-up. Some gags also work better when used in combination with certain other gags; for example, a "trap door" gag is useless until another Toon "lures" the Cog towards it. A "drop" gag (such as a falling anvil) is much more likely to hit if the Cog is first "stunned" by another gag. Conversely, some gags are much less effective when combined with certain other gags; a dropped piano will always miss a Cog that has been lured away from his original spot.
As many as four players can team up together for typical Cog battles. The game also has several boss battles in which up to eight Toons can participate. In simple battles, any Toon can walk in on the battle and participate, provided there aren't already four Toons doing so. For building and boss battles, the latter held inside Cog HQs, the participating Toons must all enter at the same time, after which the building is sealed until the battle ends.
Toontasks
Advancement in the game requires completing "Toontasks", tasks assigned by the non-player characters scattered about Toontown. Completing the tasks earns additional laff points for the player's Toon (up to a maximum of 132), new gags, jellybeans (money), and a variety of other benefits. Tasks range from simple delivery missions to clearing one or more Cog buildings entirely. The easiest tasks are in Toontown Central, while some of the more challenging tasks are at Donald's Dreamland and The Brrrgh. Some tasks are required for a Toon to advance in the game, while other tasks are optional. Completing a task also heals any damage the player has taken.
Some tasks are designed to encourage teamwork between strong Toons and weaker Toons. For example, a strong Toon may receive a task to help low-level Toons defeat cogs or cog buildings. To further promote teamwork and helping others to complete tasks, the game allows each Toon to teleport (using a portable hole) to the exact location of a friend, even if that friend is in another district.
Playgrounds
Playgrounds are the areas of Toontown that are permanently safe from Cogs. In the playgrounds, Toons can receive new Toontasks, turn in completed tasks, buy new items, play trolley games, or go fishing. Each playground features one of Disney's classic animated characters (Mickey, Donald, Sleapwalking Donald Duck, Daisy, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy or Chip n' Dale) as a non-player character.
Toons also use the Playgrounds to heal after they have become injured in battle. "Death" in this game is referred to as being "sad"; a sad Toon teleports to the nearest playground automatically to heal and restock. Playgrounds heal Toons slowly, but scattered around them are various "treasures" that speed up the process.
There is a playground in each "neighborhood" of Toontown: Toontown Central, Donald's Dock, Daisy Gardens, Minnie's Melodyland, the Brrrgh, Donald's Dreamland, Goofy Speedway, and Chip n' Dale's Acorn Acres. Each playground and neighborhood share a unique theme. Each playground (except for Goofy Speedway & Acorn Acres) connects to two or more neighborhood streets that contain Cogs and Cog buildings. The difficulty increases with each neighborhood passed.
A new outdoor-themed playground, hosted by Chip n' Dale, was added on September 12, 2007. The playground's name, Acorn Acres, was decided by a customer vote. Acorn Acres has a miniature golf course where Toons can play golf with friends to earn trophies and laff points.
Cogs
According to the story of Toontown, the Cogs are business-loving robots bent on forever changing Toontown into a business empire. They come in four types: Bossbot (wear brown suits, symbol is a tie), Lawbot (wear blue-grey suits, symbol is a gavel), Cashbot (wear green suits, symbol is a dollar sign), and Sellbot (wear maroon suits, symbol is a bar graph). Cogs come in varying strengths, ranging from the "Level 1" cogs (which require 6 hit points to defeat), to strong "Level 12" cogs (which require 200 hit points to defeat).
In early versions of Toontown, an introductory Flash animation showed a back-story of the Cogs creation: Gyro Gearloose invented the Cogs for Scrooge McDuck. In his greed, Scrooge didn't wait for Gyro to come into the room; he thought that since a very tall robot in the corner was made for him, the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign didn't apply. As is expected, he wired the huge robot wrong. The result was the robot walking over to a machine, pushing some buttons, and making Cogs. It is implied that the robot is still making them, as Cogs fly into Toontown in an endless cycle.
Cog buildings
Cogs sometimes enter Toon buildings to take it over. The standard Cog office building then replaces it, and the elevator doors open up. Above the elevator are several lights, which determine the number of floors the building has, up to a maximum of five. Four Toons may enter, going through the floors defeating Cogs. Once at the top floor, the Toon(s) face a "boss" of the building, which is generally the highest level Cog in the building. After the boss is defeated, along with any other Cogs on that floor, the building is then replaced by the old Toon building. A Toon can earn either a bronze, silver, gold, or spinning star above their head by defeating a set number of Cog building floors in the same district. Once a Cog building is freed, "portraits" of the Toons who saved the building are displayed inside.
Cog HQs
As players reach the mid- to higher-level content in the game, they will be assigned Toontasks related to the three 'Cog Headquarters' in the game. A fourth headquarters, Bossbot HQ, is scheduled to be added, but no information on it is available. The HQs are large areas that are permanently controlled by cogs and headed by a giant-sized cog boss. As many as eight toons can battle together to defeat a Cog HQ boss,though it is possible for a single toon to defeat a Cog HQ boss,the battle isn't easy for the toon.
Sellbot HQ (abbreviated SBHQ) is controlled by a boss called the VP (Vice President). Sellbot suit parts are earned by defeating the factory foreman (Skelecog) of the Sellbot Factory. Merits are earned by defeating additional Sellbots anywhere in Toontown. The VP battle consists of two long rounds of Cog and Skelecog battles, followed by a cream pie-flinging round to drive the VP down the ramp, and eventually players attempt to defeat the VP in order to rescue a NPC Toon (usually a shopkeeper) who is being kept in a cage. Before being allowed to join this battle, each player must first earn a complete Sellbot "cog suit" plus a set number of additional Sellbot "merits". The reward for defeating the VP is an "SOS card", a one-time-use special ability that can be summoned during a future Cog battle.
Cashbot HQ (abbreviated CBHQ) is controlled by the CFO (Chief Financial Officer). As with Sellbot HQ, the CFO battle has the prerequisites of a complete Cashbot "cog suit" plus a set number of Cashbot "cogbucks". Toons usually go in the three Cog mints (the coin mint, the dollar mint, and the bullion mint) to get more cogbucks. Cog suit pieces are earned by completing specific tasks in Donald's Dreamland. The CFO battle consists of one long Cog round, followed by a round where players must pick up "goons" and "safes" with magnetized cranes and fling them at the CFO. The reward for completing this battle is a "Toons of the World Unite" phrase, a one-time-use special ability. These phrases are: "Toons of the World, Gag up", which gives a variety of gags when used; "Toons of the world, Toon-up", which heals Toons; and "Toons of the World, Spend Wisely", which gives other Toons jellybeans.
Lawbot HQ (abbreviated LBHQ) is the most recent of the HQs to be added to the game. It is controlled by a boss called the CJ (Chief Justice). Before fighting the CJ, Toons complete a set of tasks given by Professor Flake in The Brrrgh to earn a Lawbot cog suit. After that and every time a Lawbot is defeated, the player will earn a set number of Lawbot "Jury Notices". The battle consists of a long Cog round, followed by a cannon round to seat Toons on a jury, followed by a round to throw "evidence" books into a scale of justice while avoiding books being thrown by cogs. The reward for defeating the CJ is an ability to summon a specific Cog, Cog building, or Cog invasion.
Bossbot HQ (abbreviated BBHQ) is not out yet, but there is much speculation about it.
Non-combat activities
When players want to take a break from battling Cogs, Toontown offers several lighter activities, including:
- Trolley games
- Trolley games are short, arcade-like minigames that one can play solo or with up to three other Toons. They are called trolley games because one must hop on a trolley car in the playground to begin playing them. They include a Pac-Man-like "Maze Game", Tug of War, Tag, "Match Minnie", the Race game, the Catching game, the Cannon game, the Ring game, Toon Memory Game, Jungle Vines, Treasure Dive, and Toon Slingshot. Toons earn jellybeans (the in-game currency of Toontown) based on how well they score in the games. Some of these games can only be used if two or more players are playing, like the Tag game, the Race game, and Match Minnie.
- Fishing
- There are fishing ponds in every playground, on every street of Toontown, and at every player's estate. Toons can catch fish via a simple game, then sell them for jellybeans to a NPC Pet Shop clerk. Seventy different species of fish currently exist in the game, and players earn a laff point for each ten new species that they catch. Several species are ultra-rare and/or can be found only in particular ponds. Every Wednesday is "Bingo Wednesday". Toons on each pond share a bingo card and try to complete it by catching different fish species before a timer runs out.
- Toon Estates
- Each toon has a house which they can decorate and furnish with a variety of items than can be purchased from a weekly "Cattlelog". Toons can also purchase new clothing, new SpeedChat phrases, new emotions, etc. from the Cattlelog. These items can also be purchased as gifts for friends. There are thirteen Cattlelogs in a series, with each series focusing on a certain theme (Western, Underwater, etc.). Toons can also visit their estates to train and play with their pets (called Doodles) as well as play games using cannons. Each toon also has a pond at their estate for fishing.
- Gardening
- Toons can grow and maintain a garden of flowers, statues, and "gag trees" at their estates. Different species of flowers can be grown by planting different combinations of jellybeans. There are forty types of flowers, and a player earns a laff point and a trophy for each ten species grown. Bloomed flowers can be sold for jellybeans. Gag trees can also be grown, and the gags picked from these trees have higher-than-normal damage capability.
- Kart Racing
- Toons can race against each other in Goofy Speedway, an area that consists of six different race tracks (along with their reversed versions) plus a shop that sells cars and car accessories. Similar to Nintendo's Mario Kart games, racers can collect and use obstacles (pies, anvils, speed-boost, banana peel) on each other during the race. Thirty racing trophies can also be earned, and for each ten the Toon will earn another laff point. Every Monday, the Grand Prix is held, in which Toons can win many more tickets than usual as well as special trophies.
- Miniature Golf
- Located at Chip n' Dale's Mini Golf (Inside Chip n' Dales's Acorn Acres), Toons can play miniature golf to earn trophies which can be redeemed for laff points (one for every ten trophies up to a total of three). There are three courses: "Walk In The Par", "Holesome Fun", and "The Hole Kit and Kaboodle".
Updates
Disney has continued to add new game areas and new content to Toontown since its launch. Major additions to the game have included the Cog HQs,[8][9][10] Goofy Speedway, and Chip n' Dale's "Acorn Acres" playground. Disney also sponsors a variety of online Toontown game events and contests, often tied to popular holidays.
ToonFest
Disney Online organizes an annual real-life gathering for Toontown fans called ToonFest, not to be confused with an unrelated cartoon festival called Toonfest (officially "Walt Disney's Hometown Toonfest") held annually in Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri.[11] Disney Online's ToonFest includes themed activities and games, trivia and costume contests, previews of upcoming features, and developer Q&A panels. The first gathering, ToonFest 2006, was held at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California,[12] while ToonFest 2007 was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.[13]
Online safety features
Since this is an online world where kids and adults interact, Disney implemented several unique features in Toontown to keep children safe from inappropriate conversations or behavior. First and foremost, there is no open, uncensored chat in the game. Most players communicate with each other entirely via "SpeedChat" — a pre-defined, safe list of phrases that are accessed via a series of drop-down menus. The menus are designed to cover most communication needs (plus several silly phrases), but players can add additional SpeedChat phrases to their menu by purchasing them from the Cattlelog.
To communicate beyond the restrictions of SpeedChat, there is "True Friends" chat. If two or more players already know each other outside the game world (e.g. real-life friends, relatives, or online friends from another game or website), they can become True Friends with each other after completing a one-time process involving a six-digit secret code always starting with TT. True Friends can communicate with each other in Toontown via a free-form chat window. These messages are automatically filtered to remove vulgar language and other words that Disney has deemed inappropriate. Furthermore, these chat messages are viewable only by players who are True Friends with the message sender; other nearby players see these messages as gibberish animal sounds (barking, meowing, etc). Parents have the ability to restrict the True Friends capability of their children's toons via a set of Parental Controls. A "Friends List" is provided in the game which allows a player to track the status of his True and non-True friends, up to a maximum of fifty.
Naming a Toon is also controlled to prevent names that contain inappropriate language or real-life personal details (such as age and hometown). Most players use the built-in Toon name generator, which allows them to construct a name by clicking on one or more pre-approved "toony" words ("Super Pinky", "Princess Rainbow Twinkletoon", etc). If a player chooses to submit a custom name, they must wait for someone at Disney to approve it. Custom names that are rejected will sometimes be approved if they are tried again. Names are not unique — multiple Toons can have the same name.
In keeping with the friendly, cooperative spirit of Toontown, the game designers intentionally left out some of the less-friendly features that are sometimes found in other MMORPGs.[4] For example, Toontown contains no PVP battles, hence one player cannot "kill" another. Players are also unable to sell or trade items with other players, presumably to avoid issues with potentially unfair transactions. As with any multiplayer game, however, certain actions can be considered annoying or otherwise unwanted.
History and awards
Both Toontown Online and its game engine (called Panda3d) were developed by Disney's Virtual Reality Studio, a team of technologists and artists at Walt Disney Imagineering that is now managed by the Walt Disney Internet Group. The VR Studio had previously created virtual reality attractions for the DisneyQuest "indoor interactive theme park" at Walt Disney World.[3] Beta testing for Toontown occurred between 2001 and 2003, and Toontown was officially launched on June 2, 2003.[1]
A German-language version of the game closed down on June 29, 2006.[14] It had been available to customers of Germany's T-Online broadband service since November 2004.[15] A message posted by T-Online on the game website explained that customer levels had not met their expectations.
Toontown Online has won several awards, including:
- Computer Gaming World, 2003 MMORPG Game of the Year
- Webby Awards, 2003 People's Voice Award, Kids Category
- Parents' Choice Foundation, 2003 Silver Honor
- Children's Software Review, 2003 All Star Software Award
- WiredKids, 2005 Safe Gaming Award
- 2005 Webby Awards "Webby Worthy Selection"
References
- ^ a b "Disney's Toontown Online To Launch June 2003" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. 2003-05-05. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "What is the appropriate age for Toontown?". Toontown Online FAQ. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
- ^ a b c Goslin, Mike (2004-01-28). "Postmortem: Disney Online's Toontown". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Mine, Mark; Shochet, Joe; Hughston, Roger (2003). "Building a massively multiplayer game for the million: Disney's Toontown Online" (PDF). ACM Press. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Animating Toontown With Mike Goslin". Design Mentor Training, Vol. III, No. 2. 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Shields, Mike. (2007-07-09). "Disney Moving Toontown to Ad Model" Mediaweek, via mediaweek.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ "Sony Online Entertainment's Platform Publishing Label Bringing Disney's Toontown Online To Retail This Fall" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. 2005-08-25. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Disney's Toontown Online Expands With Launch of First Cog Headquarters" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. 2003-12-19. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Disney's Toontown Online Expands with Second Advanced Gameplay Area" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Action-Packed Lawbot HQ Offers Challenging New Adventures" (Press release). The Walt Disney Company. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ziggy Artist, Other Cartoonists, Gather For Tribute at Disney Birthplace" (Press release). Walsh Public Relations. 2005-09-12. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^
"Thousands of 'Toons' to Gather at Disney Studios in Burbank for FirstEver 'ToonFest'; Disney Channel Stars Among Attendees at August 26th Fan Event Dedicated to Disney's Toontown Online" (Press release). Disney Online, a division of the Walt Disney Internet Group. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Disney's Toontown Online Hosts ToonFest 2007" (Press release). Disney Online, a division of the Walt Disney Internet Group. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "ToonTown Online gets shut down in Germany, characters deleted". Warcry's Razorwire. 2006-07-05. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "T-Online and Disney to bring "Disney's Toontown Online" to Germany" (Press release). T-Online. 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Toontown Online official website