Club Penguin
| Club Penguin | |
|---|---|
| File:ClubPenguin.png | |
| Developer(s) | New Horizon Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | New Horizon Interactive |
| Designer(s) | New Horizon Interactive |
| Engine | Adobe Flash |
| Platform(s) | OS Independent (Web Based Flash) (Flash 7 Required) |
| Release | October 24, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Club Penguin is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game for children developed by New Horizon Interactive. Using cartoon penguin avatars, players can converse, play minigames, and participate in other activities with one another in a snow-covered virtual world.[1] Club Penguin was first made available to the public on October 24, 2005[2], and has since expanded into a large online community.
Club Penguin shares similarities with other popular online environments like Habbo Hotel and RuneScape. Club Penguin is primarily designed for children age eight to fourteen,[3] and has been qualified for the Better Business Bureau - Kid’s Privacy Seal of Approval. [4] Club Penguin was also awarded the "Editors Choice" award from Children's Technology Review Magazine.[5]
Though the game can be played for free, many of the features are not available unless a subscription is purchased.[6] The monthly subscription is $5.95.
Gameplay
Environment
To navigate and explore the environment, players use the mouse to click on the location they wish their penguin to travel to. Buildings and rooms can be accessed by clicking and moving one's penguin to the door or entrance.
Each player is provided with an igloo for a home. Members have the option of opening their igloo so other players can access it via the map.
There are many places in Club Penguin. They include: Mountain, Ski Village, Sports Shop, Ski Lodge, Lodge Attic, Town, Coffee Shop, Book Room, Dance Club, Dance Lounge, Gift Shop, Cave, Boiler Room, Mine, Plaza, Pizza Shop, Pet Shop, Ice Rink, Snow Forts, Beach, Dock, Mine Shack, Lighthouse, Dojo, Iceberg, The Beacon and the Head Quarters (HQ). These areas are not all on the map but are still accessible to all players. One exception is the Headquarters, which is both hidden and inaccessible to players who are not Secret Agents. Club Penguin is regularly updated with special events, such as the holidays Halloween, Christmas, and Easter, on which new updates or exclusive items may be provided.
Secret agents
Secret Agent status is available to all players, whether members or not, who have played for at least 30 days. These "agents" are encouraged to inform players of upcoming events and guide new members around the game. They are also asked to help keep Club Penguin safe and report anyone who is being disruptive or using offensive language; agents are not, however, official moderators.[7] Secret agents are able to perform randomly occurring "Top Secret Missions." Successful completion of such missions yields items for the player card inventory. In addition to eligibility for Top Secret Missions, agents have "spy phones" to travel to places in Club Penguin,some of which are not available on the map. A player banned twice in the same year is not eligible to become a Secret Agent. Secret Agents can enter the HQ and have access to exclusive information and items including a manual/catalog titled The F.I.S.H (Factual Information Spy Handbook). Players become agents by answering a series of Club Penguin-related questions accurately.If a user answers the questionare correctly,next time they log in to the website they receive their agent status,and spyphone.
Chat
Club Penguin provides two options for inter-player communication. Ultimate Safe Chat allows players to select phrases from a list, similar to old text-adventure games. With Standard Chat, players may type any message, subject to censorship by a word filter. [8] Each game instance (computer server) offers a particular type of chat, with about a 1:11 ratio of Ultimate Safe Chat to Standard Safe Chat availability.
Membership
Players who become members (by paying $5.95 per month, $29.95 for six months, or $57.95 USD for a year) get many benefits. They may buy anything from shops, own multiple puffles,enjoy early access to new parts of the game, buy furniture for their puffles, and have access to all puffle breeds. Members also have access to Members only Parties hosted by Club Penguin.
Non-membership
Club Penguin provides a non-membership option. Although such play is free, it does not include all of the benefits of being a member. Even so, over the last year, Club Penguin has given out over 19 free items at parties for all players. Non-members may still buy a single blue puffle,buy colors,and can go anywhere.They may also receive and use items given out partys that are for non-members and members.
Puffles
Puffles are small balls of fluff which each player's penguin may have as pets; they're available from the Pet Shop in blue, purple, green, pink, or black.A red puffle is speculated to come because a picture in the light house shows rock hopper with a red puffle on his solder. Non-members have access to only one blue puffle; members may own up to 10. When a player logs out, each puffle saves in its current position and is exactly the same upon the next login.
- Care and Feeding
Puffles need to be fed with pet food which costs 10 coins. If not fed, puffles won't sleep, take a bath, or play, and will refuse to be walked. Continually neglected puffles will run away. Puffles expect to be fed after a walk and will otherwise get upset.
- Walks
Players may walk puffles with them around Club Penguin; puffles will also do a small dance when their player dances. Walking a puffle may be done by selecting one's player card and clicking the leash. Puffles may be returned to the home of the player, where they reside when not being walked.
Minigames
Various minigames are available for play in Club Penguin. Single-player minigames, which generally earn the player more coins, include Cart Surfer, Ice Fishing, Astro Barrier, Bean Counters, Puffle Roundup, Jet Pack Adventure (recently introduced), and Ballistic Biscuit. Multi-player minigames in Club Penguin include Find Four, Mancala, and Sledding, which reward players with up to roughly 30 coins per game. In most single-player minigames, one tenth of the final score is the number of penguin coins received. In Jet Pack Adventure, the amount of remaining fuel determines an additional coin reward. Minigames are located throughout the Club Penguin World.
References
- ^ Leibowitz, Wanda, "Kids' Games Online for Free: A Parent's Guide to Safe, Positive, Non-violent Sites for Young Gamers", Associated Content, July 6, 2006 (URL last accessed September 14, 2006).
- ^ Club Penguin - It's Launched!, Club Penguin Developer Blog, October 24, 2005 (URL last accessed on September 8 2006).
- ^ "Who is Club Penguin For?", Club Penguin Q&A for Parents, URL last accessed on October 3 2006.
- ^ Club Penguin Secures BBB OnLine Kid's Privacy Seal of Approval, Club Penguin, Press release, April 24, 2006 (URL last accessed on September 4, 2006).
- ^ Club Penguin proud of "Editor's Choice" award from Children's Technology Review Magazine, Club Penguin, notice in right sidebar (URL last accessed on November 22, 2006).
- ^ Gutner, Toddi, Teaching Internet Safety to Kids, BusinessWeek Online, July 27, 2006 (URL last accessed on September 24, 2006).
- ^ "Identifying Moderators", Club Penguin Help Guide, URL last accessed November 22, 2006.
- ^ "Is It Safe?", Club Penguin Q&A for Parents, URL last accessed October 3, 2006.
External links
- The Official Club Penguin Website by New Horizon Interactive
- Miniclip's Forum for Club Penguin
- Miniclip's Club Penguin