[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]
Over the past couple of days, we spent plenty of time in the snowy playground of New Horizon Interactive's Club Penguin, playing minigames, saving up to buy Puffles, and being handily trounced at multiplayer sledding. So what's the big picture here?
Club Penguin is targeted at kids-- and that seems to be exactly who's playing, without surprisingly few noticeable exceptions. The only way to estimate, of course, is by evaluating the type of conversation that goes on-- and unsophisticated parlance could be just as likely due to poor computer literacy or poor command of the English language, not necessarily youth. Nonetheless, chatters seem to be pretty evenly distributed fifty-fifty between those restricted to "Ultimate Safe Chat" and those able to compose their own messages.
The surprising thing is that relatively little conversation is actually going on, and it can be rather difficult to find another penguin simply to talk with. Perhaps the very limited communication is due to strict moderation. I was slightly tempted to raise a rude little ruckus just to see how strict it really is-- despite Club Penguin's claim that moderators patrol the areas, I never saw one in several play sessions, though users can report violations any time by clicking a big "M" icon on their screen. The world of Club Penguin seems so wholesome and adorable I was loath to disrupt it, though-- and besides, who wants to offend children on purpose? Aside from a single snowball fight over a boy, with some mild sniping accompanying (think grade-school playground fight), penguins mostly ambled about aimlessly, with occasional directionless commentary (lol's the word). The major draw of Club Penguin seems to be the games-- and the coins.
The average penguin was sporting several thousand coins' worth of clothing and accessories, by my estimation, and based on the time I spent playing, that's anywhere from ten hours of mini-game time on up. Perhaps that's the reason for the limited conversation-- they're kids with a mission, there for the single-minded pursuit of wealth and status, going back and forth from the coffee bean counter game to the gift store next door. Which is a little unsettling, actually, but speaks volumes about the draw of Club Penguin and what it's got over simple single-player minigaming. Not only can the kids earn prizes, but they can show those prizes off in the form of fairy wings and fancy penguin hats-- and express their personalities to one another at the same time.
Highlight? A penguin decked out in full pirate regalia, on the Club Penguin pirate ship, repeatedly typing "YARR", and enjoying little else.
