Disney's "Toontown Online,'' a new multi-player game designed for children and families, is much like a real-world Disney theme park: cute and safe, if occasionally stifling in its sugary charm.
Officially launched Monday after eight months of testing and tweaking, "Toontown Online'' (
www.toontown.com) isn't cheap at $9.95 a month. But there's enough amusement value for any fan of kid-friendly computer games to subscribe for at least a few months; there's also a free three-day trial membership for those who aren't sure.
Disney at least deserves credit for trying to create an online game that involves something more than slaying medieval trolls. Swords-and-sorcery themes have so far dominated the emerging category of "Massively Multi-player Games,'' or MMPs, where thousands of players can simultaneously interact in an virtual online world.
"Toontown Online,'' as the name implies, is all about cartoon characters; such Disney regulars as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy even make occasional cameo appearances.
Individual players become toons, animated characters who must work together to defeat the evil Cogs, misguided robots who want to take the fun out of Toontown.
The toons confront the Cogs using nothing more lethal than cream pies and bottles of seltzer water; the Cogs respond no more violently than spin in a frustrated circle when defeated before exploding into pieces. Toons overwhelmed by the Cogs merely become "sad'' and must recuperate in a Cog-free playground until their happiness is restored.
Disney has also come up with a clever solution to the vexing problem of keeping MMP players safe from online stalkers.
Toons can only communicate through a feature called "SpeedChat,'' a list of canned phrases such as "Hello,'' "Bye'' and "Let's go!'' There's no way for a stranger to initiate a conversation that goes beyond the phrase list, so children are protected from suspicious adults.
A related feature called "Secret Friends'' allows unrestricted text chatting via keyboard between toons, but only by exchanging a password with a friend outside of the game -- in person, for example, or by phone or electronic mail. Parents can also lock out children from making Secret Friends, to keep little ones extra safe.
Disney doesn't suggest an age range for the game, but I'd say children as young as 7 or 8 should be able to master Toontown on their own. Children as young as 3 or 4 might also enjoy the game, although they'll need parental assistance, at least in the beginning.
"Toontown Online'' will run on almost any Windows computer; there are no plans currently for a Macintosh version, and it runs only on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. You get started at the "Toontown Online'' site, where you sign up for an account with a credit card and then download the game's software -- a process that takes only a few minutes with a broadband cable modem or DSL line, but requires an hour with a dial-up phone connection.
Once you're playing, almost all the work of displaying the toons and the world of Toontown is done by the computer, so
"Toontown Online'' runs just as fast with dial-up as broadband.
The first step is creating your toon, which can be a dog, cat, mouse, horse, rabbit or duck, customized from a wide selection of body types, clothing styles and colors. You also pick a name for your toon, but must wait a day or two for humans in Disney Online's customer service department to verify your choice isn't obscene or otherwise inappropriate.
I signed up last week, when "Toontown Online'' was already in its final form, and created a lanky dog wearing a green Hawaiian shirt. He was initially called Sea Green Dog until Disney cleared the name I'd chosen: Kobuk, in honor of my real-life dog.
Kobuk the toon began his adventures in the playground, a safe haven where you learn about the ways of Toontown, SpeedChat with other toons and ride a trolley to reach ``mini-games'' where you win jellybeans for buying more pies to throw at Cogs. Moving toons through the landscape and the games requires nothing more than pressing the right-left and up-down arrow keys on the keyboard.
I then went from the playground to Toontown Central, which looks like a cartoon rendering of the streets in Disneyland, where Cogs wander about. If you bump into a Cog, either accidentally or on purpose, a showdown begins. You select which ``gag'' to use against the Cog, either a pie or the seltzer bottle at first, with more sophisticated gags as you gain experience.
You don't control the actual throwing; the game decides randomly whether you hit or miss. There are four kinds of Cogs, whose response is based on their background. A "cashbot'' might try to hit with a bounced check, while a ``lawbot'' will hit you with a blast of legal jargon. The Cogs also hit or miss at random; you have no control over the outcome.
If you outlast a Cog, the frustrated robot shakes in frustration before exploding. You then get points that add up over time to get the more powerful gags. The ultimate goal is defeating "bossbots'' that require a coordinated assault by a group of experienced players.
Disney estimates it takes 200 to 400 hours of playing time to overcome every possible Cog opponent, and "Toontown Online'' is constantly adding new Cog villains to hold the attention of dedicated players.
But you don't have to confront Cogs to have a good time. The mini-games -- catching falling apples, playing tug of war, swimming through underwater rings and more -- are lots of fun. Within the next few months, Disney will introduce a virtual catalog so you can decorate a home for your toon and will also make it possible for toons to embark on a lucrative career -- in fishing.
I found all this activity amusing, especially at first. The store fronts in Toontown Central have clever names -- "The Kaboomery: If It Explodes, We've Got Loads!'' and "The Hogwash & Dry'' -- and there's always peppy music in the background.
But running back and forth from the playground to Toontown Central, fighting Cogs and then recharging gets tedious after awhile, and the music grows annoying. I also found myself frequently wanting to send my own text messages, not just canned SpeedChat, to other players. I'm an adult, so I'd like "Toontown Online'' to offer me the option of spontaneous chat with other adults who are willing to interact with strangers -- a move Disney says it is considering.
By: Mike Langberg Mercury News
Contact Mike Langberg at
mike@langberg.com
Thur. Jun. 05, 2003
Source:
TheState.com 
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