Pandanda - A Virtual World for Kids

Pandanda is an online social networking game that was launched in 2008. It is currently a live site that is aimed at children from ages 6 to 14. The site was originally tested in beta mode for free until the program worked out its kinks and programming issues. The site is a cute-looking, innocuous children's website with cuddly non-threatening red panda bears and small forest animals - much like children's stuffed animals or animated animals on a preschooler's television show. Members choose a red panda as an avatar and move through the site chatting with other avatars.

There are several membership levels. Children can test drive the website with a free membership; however, this limits the activity they can have in the virtual world. Paid memberships begin at $5.95 per month with discounts for a 6 and 12 month membership. A paid membership allows players to enjoy the full features of the world. The site also has a currency in place for members to get memberships for free called Panda Gold. Members can earn this currency by filling out surveys, watching videos or completing offers. Panda Gold can also be exchanged for the main currency on the site simply called 'coins'. The website is the base for the game. There is no file downloading to operate the game. The website is only available in English.

Features

New members of Pandanda choose an avatar in the form of a red panda bear to be their online personality. They choose a home for their panda and can alter it to fit their personality. The main focus of the world is for players to earn 'coins' to pay for their panda's life in the virtual world. Players buy their avatars food, clothing, shelter and household items. The coins unlock these features and also unlock opportunities for players to interact with other players. Members can chat about their pandas with other members in a chat room and make friends with other players. The mascot for the website is called Henry. He is the panda bear who acts as the host and the face of Pandanda.

What's Good

Pandanda is a fairly innocent website that will appeal mainly to boys and girls well below age ten who are interested in friendship with other children. The pandas are designed to appeal to small children and appear as non-threatening. The facial expressions are kind and pleasant. The company who produced the website was successful in designing an innocent-looking atmosphere for children. There are no adult themes in the virtual world or on the website. There is no violence, drinking, smoking, drug use, sex or offensive language.

The main focus of Pandanda that will earn the respect of parents is the children's ability to grasp and handle financial concepts. The players must be responsible with their coins in order to care for their panda. Purchasing goods can be construed as a negative in reinforcing overspending and commercialism; however, parents can be proactive and teach their children the value of money and how to spend it wisely. This is a lightweight virtual world - bland and harmless.

What's Bad

The age range that Pandanda is going for seems to be a bit out of touch with the graphics. The design of the characters may be fine for post-kindergarten children, but children over the age of nine will find them juvenile. The website is very static with little movement. It would be a major improvement if the animal's movements could be better choreographed. Users have found issues with the chat pages being mildly offensive. Inappropriate language can be posted unless it is caught and removed by a moderator.

Beyond being responsible with money, there is very little educational value attached to this virtual world. The average design and cookie-cutter approach to the creation of the virtual world may leave parents scratching their heads as to what exactly they are paying for. This company needs to update the website's graphics and not try to overreach their demographic.

Online Safety

The website has done a good job of promoting online safety. No personal information is ever displayed online. There are two chat modes: safe chat (the child clicks on a predetermined chat message) and standard filtered chat (the child types in their own message which is moderated). Parents can easily access the company's safety information. Pandanda encourages parents to monitor their child's online experience have an open discussion with them about online safety.

Aldric Chang is a creative entrepreneur who is at the moment building virtual worlds for kids and running a Singapore digital marketing agency. His creative accomplishments span across the production of several hundred animation projects, casual games, music compositions and cartoon animated series.

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Club Penguin - Kids Virtual Worlds

Club Penguin is massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG) that was launched in October 2005. It was developed by Club Penguin Entertainment and purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2007. The website consists of online games and activities for children from age 6 to 14. The site has a typical Disney-looking feel to it with cartoon penguin avatars that children customize to use as their online personality. The game has also spawned physical video games for Nintendo and books.

Children can try the website for free; however, this limits the activity they can have in the virtual world. Paid memberships begin at $7.95 US per month. 6 months is $39.95 US and 12 months is $59.95 US. A paid membership allows players unlimited access to all games, themed parties, priority server access and new activities. A unique part of the website is the Coins for Change program. This program is an online charity where players donate their 'coins' for various real-world charitable causes. The website is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Features

Club Penguin exists in a winter virtual world where children choose an avatar in the form of a cartoon penguin to be their online personality. They choose a home for their penguin which is an igloo. Both the igloo and the penguin can be customized with accessories to fit the player's personality. Igloos are on the world's map so other players can find them. Players can also own pets called Puffles. If not taken care of, they run away and must be replaced. The Club Penguin Times is a virtual newspaper where players can submit writing, art and jokes.

When players log into the game, they first arrive in 'The Town' which hosts typical stores found in any town. Themed parties such as Christmas or Halloween happen once a month and are available to members only. The main focus of this virtual world is for players to earn 'coins' by playing games. These 'coins' allow players buy their avatars food, clothing, shelter and household items. The chat feature was originally only a small part of Club Penguin, but has recently been expanded. Members can chat about their penguins with other members in a chat room and make friends with other players. The use of emoticons is a large part of the chat feature.

What's Good

Club Penguin is a fairly innocent website that will appeal mainly to children well below age 10 who are interested in friendship with other children and simple games. The penguins are designed to appeal to small children. The facial expressions are kind and pleasant - those that would be found on a children's cartoon show. Disney and the developers were successful in designing an innocent-looking atmosphere for children. There are no adult themes in the virtual world or on the website. There is no overt violence, drinking, smoking, drug use, sex or offensive language. The games use math and reading to enhance a child's basic skills.

Disney must be commended for spending a lot of time and effort to keep the chat system safe. Ultimate Safe Chat allows only pre-scripted phrases. Standard Safe Chat blocks all profanity and inappropriate behavior even if users try to get around the filters. Words not previously approved go into a queue for review before they are posted. Moderators are plentiful. Having a chat system on a children's virtual world can be socially meaningful and Disney has done a good job in keeping it safe.

What's Bad

The age range that Club Penguin is going for seems to be a bit out of touch with the graphics. The design of the characters may be fine for post-kindergarten children, but children over the age of 10 will find them juvenile. Parents may find an increased level of consumerism as players that move through the game will learn how to acquire things for their avatar and their home. These are small quibbles for a generally good virtual world for children.

Online Safety

The website has gone above and beyond to provide a safe atmosphere for children. No personal information is ever displayed in chat - even if a player is a boy or a girl. Even the open chat (which is usually a candidate for inappropriate behavior) is strictly moderated. The section for parents is very thorough. Parents are encouraged to be highly involved in their child's online life. All personal and credit information that is collected follows the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

This review was written by a responsible parent and media professional who runs a kids virtual worlds review website. Click on the links for more useful reviews on cool kids games.

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An Accessible Virtual World for the Totally Blind? Could It Really Happen?

Virtual worlds have been around for many years and have become a staple in the gaming community. Some of the more popular titles of virtual worlds include Second life, World of Warcraft and Planet Calypso just to name a few. These virtual environments, however are not accessible for the blind at all because they lack the proper kinds of extra audio information needed for someone to navigate the world and interact with it.
For example, in Second life, if a resident wants to build themselves a virtual home on a piece of land and they cannot see the screen, the implementers could include audio voice prompts that would allow the resident to choose the kinds of flooring to go in their home for example, or whether they wished to include a porch or a deck on their home to entertain guests. If they wanted to purchase some items to go into their new home, this same voice prompt could give them a browsable list of items that the shop has for sale, and then the person could press enter on their chosen item and thereby make the purchase, placing the item in their inventory.
Looking at Planet Calypso as another example, if the player wished to make their way to the door of a building, or a door within a building, the builders of the game could create tones or other types of sounds to indicate dors nearby along with a voice prompt saying "door," whenever a key was pressed on the user's keyboard. Another example for Planet Calypso could be a feature where the player could board a space ship, ad once an empty seat has been located by using voice prompts on either side of the player's speakers informing them of seats on their left or right-hand-side, the person could then step to that seat and choose to sit down from within a list of options and then buckle his or her safety belt by pressing the operate button on the seat which could automatically be done after the person has seated themselves properly.
We as blind people cannot only play video and computer games, but we can also play virtual worlds if given the right kind of technology and equipment in the virtual world, and yes, contrary to some people's popular belief, blind have just as much capacity to learn to play video and computer games as the sighted community does, we are not stupid nor do we need to be put in special education classes. I sincerely hope that this article has served to open your mind as to what these virtual worlds could be like for the blind, and I hope you realize that we can play them right along with you if we are given the right chance and opportunity. There do not have to be any barriers as far as the sighted and blind communities are concerned, we can all play and interact together on the same level as the rest of you.
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