Following Moshi Monsters' public beta launch last week, Mind Candy CEO Michael Smith talked with Worlds in Motion about a range of topics on the educational MMO, including what separates Moshi Monsters from other 'tween-targeted virtual worlds and what the game offers to attract teenagers and adults.
Could you tell us a little first about Moshi Monsters and what distinguishes it from other virtual worlds?
Smith: Moshi Monsters is a social MMO. Users adopt their own little animated pet monster and then nurture it by solving the puzzles that it sends them everyday. They can interact with it in many different ways, as well as showing it off to friends via a variety of safe social networking tools.
Moshi Monsters is not a virtual world that users can wander around interacting with other users - that is a very crowded category, so we've concentrated on making a different type of play experience. The focus is much more upon the emotional connection between the player and their pet which we achieve through rich animations and a complex behavioral engine.
The communication elements are more akin to a traditional social network, like Facebook or Myspace, where users can add friends and leave public comments with minimal friction. The final difference is that there is an important stealth education angle that encourages kids to solve puzzles and expand their vocabulary while playing. The theory is that kids see this as all part of the fun, while parents and educators give it the thumbs up too.
Moshi Monsters is billed as a virtual world targeted at "little kids and big kids alike." What does the game offer to attract audiences beyond the 7-12-year-old set?
Smith: Most of our players are 7-12 year-olds, but we have a growing number of players outside this group, specifically teenagers and women in the 35+ category. We wanted to design a game that had broad appeal, so we created content that didn't feel as if it was just for kids. We've drawn a lot of inspiration from Pixar in trying to achieve this. There are other elements of the game that will appeal to older players, such as the widgets that we've developed for Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, that allow users to show off their pets to their friends within those networks.
You debuted a collection of cell phone monster charms (MoPods) back in August that users can buy and unlock a virtual version of. Will this or any other "offline products" be available in retail spaces outside of the UK?
Smith: The cell phone charms have very limited distribution in the US at the moment (primary source to get them online is Firebox.com) but we are planning to improve this in the future. We have ambitious plans for a wide range of offline products, all containing unique codes that unlock in-game items, but our focus in the short-term is on perfecting the online experience and getting a critical mass of players. We don't want to run before we can walk
Can you talk about any of the other toy tie-ins and "offline products" with offline incentives you have planned?
Smith: We've been approached by many different companies about product tie-in ideas and have been discussing everything from plush toys to puzzle books.
Moshi Monsters' currency, "Rox," can so far only be earned through playing puzzles. Will users have any other in-game or offline alternatives to earning Rox?
Smith: Yes definitely. We'll be expanding the number of stand-alone games and all of these will reward the user with Rox. We'll also be introducing trading and a more developed economy so players can earn Rox through the shrewd buying and selling of in-game items.
The game is free to play right now, but with a subscription model pending and promising "premium elements." Can you provide any details on those elements or the subscription model?
Smith: All confidential at the moment, unfortunately.
We've heard Moshi Monsters compared to other "pet simulation" software, such as Nintendogs and Tamagotchi, both of which "punish" players when they don't take adequate care of their pets, and in Tamagotchi's case, the pets even die. What consequences will children have to deal with if they ignore their Moshi Monster? Or don't feed it?
Smith: The pets don't currently die if neglected - they just get very sick and moody. They become rude to any visitors that stop by to chat to your Moshi Widget, or visit its room.
How are you reaching out to children to invite them to Moshi Monsters' public beta?
Smith: We've been doing a little PR, but that is about it. The initial take-up of registrations since launch last week has been pretty overwhelming, so we're being careful about putting too much load on the servers at this early stage. In the coming weeks and months we'll be looking to do more on and offline promotions with a variety of partners
What does Mind Candy have planned over the next several months while Moshi Monsters is in its public beta stage?
Smith: There are a lot of new features we want to launch so we're going to have our heads down developing those as quickly as possible.
