Hello Kitty Online is the official MMORPG based on the popular Sanrio characters. The game, currently in its beta stage, will launch in various territories throughout 2009, using a free-to-play model with optional premium upgrades. Players will explore and experience magnificent adventures in the magical and cute world of Sanrio Land as they interact with other players and more than a hundred Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, Cinnamoroll, and many others.

Hello Kitty Online is one of few MMORPG titles targeting a female gaming audience. Aside from redefining traditional MMO gaming with the inclusion of integrated social media services provided by SanrioTown, Hello Kitty Online connects the virtual world with real world charity events: during past beta events, Sanrio Digital translated player activities into real donations to charities such as UNICEF. Sanrio Digital intends to continue charitable initiatives as part of North American strategy for Hello Kitty Online.

How to play Hello Kitty Online Game:

Hello Kitty Game Set Up

First you must create a SanrioTown account. Once you have an account, download the game client and install it on your PC.

Log in to Hello Kitty Online using your SanrioTown username and password. Choose which server to play on, and the character creation process will begin. You can customize your character’s hair, hair accessories, facial features, clothes, shoes, and handheld items to set up your own original Sanrio toon. The customization options are diverse in order to ensure a well-varied game community.

Once you’ve finished customizing your character, you’re all set to take your first steps in Hello Kitty’s world.

Hello Kitty Activities

Hello Kitty Online is not just about… (more…)

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NASA faces the prospect of having an insufficiency of trained professionals in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration. The shortage of a highly skilled technical workforce is not a NASA-unique problem, but one faced by the Nation as a whole.

The Space Agency has therefore decided to tap into the ongoing trend of virtual worlds and MMOG’s.

Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations could permit learners to tinker with chemical reactions in living cells, practice operating and repairing expensive equipment, and experience microgravity, making it easier to grasp complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical problems. MMOs help players develop and exercise a skill set closely matching the thinking, planning, learning, and technical skills increasingly in demand by employers. These skills include strategic thinking, interpretative analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, team-building and cooperation, and adaptation to rapid change.
The power of games as educational tools is rapidly gaining recognition. NASA is in a position to develop an online game that functions as a persistent, synthetic environment supporting education as a laboratory, a massive visualization tools and collaborative workspace while simultaneously drawing users into a challenging, game-play immersion.

Watch our interview with NASA’s Daniel D. Laughlin, NASA Learning Technologies and Project Manager for NASA’s MMO Project.

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The Caribbean of 1720 is a world at war.
Pirates of the Burning Sea let’s players take part on their own terms.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is a new “T” for Teen 12+ rated MMO (Massively multiplayer online game) (also called MMOG) developed by Flying Lab Software. Capable of supporting thousands of players simultaneously, the game is played on the Internet and enables players to cooperate and compete with each other on a grand scale.

The game offers a variety of gameplay option, whether you want to join a major port conquest battle, pursue smuggling missions to help your side in secret, or organize your guildmates to bolster a port’s defenses in the face of enemy plotting. Burning Sea also allows players to maneuver their ship in real time, turning one way to unleash a broadside and then cutting back to guard damaged armor… Swashbucklers will find hundreds of handmade animations capturing every bold gesture in three fighting styles. Whether it is traditional Fencing, or dual-wielding showmanship known as Florentine, or the treachery of Dirty Fighting. (more…)

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Over the holidays we played Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Yes - the long delayed online game is finally up and running.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) created by The Walt Disney Company, based on their film series and theme park attraction of the same name. The game software is free to download, and players can choose either “Unlimited Access” for a $9.95 monthly subscription fee, or a free-to-play “Basic Access” version which restricts some of the game content and displays advertisements in part of the game window. The game is officially available to players in the United States only. Disney has announced plans for a United Kingdom release in early 2008.

We found the game (for the most part) enjoyable, however (more…)

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A Massively Multiplayer Online Game (also called MMOG or MMO) is a computer game, which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously by using an Internet connection. MMOGs include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres. Most MMOGs require a monthly subscription fee, but some can be played for free.

MMOGs exploit the players’ social skills and offer support for in-game guilds or clans. Joining a clan places one within a social network, which provides access to resources, knowledge, and help needed to accomplish many game related goals. In addition, banding together with like-minded players seems to fulfill a human desire for social interaction. Taken together, these two factors can vastly enhance the gameplay experience of many players.

Chat/Messaging: Instant messaging allows players to write simple text messages to each other. A player can send a message visible to everyone, or restricted to just the player’s team. Voice communication: Being able to talk to your team during a match and change tactics instantly gives an obvious advantage, but it is also widely used for chatting outside of competitive play. Such features sadly lend themselves to abuse. Immature players use it as a method to be obnoxious, disruptive and sometimes insulting.

Children friendly MMOGs
Disney’s ToonTown Online, VMK, Club Penguin, Whyville.net, NeoPets, Nicktropolis and Webkinz are examples of popular Kids MMOs on the Internet today. (Click each title for our KidConfidence review). These MMOs do not offer voice communication and limit chat to predefined phrases or a sanitized open chat where players can only type words that are on the game’s list of allowed words. We found these safety measures reliable, however we highly recommend parents to play with their children, at least for the first couple hours to make sure that you and your children feel comfortable in the MMO environment.

MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game)
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, known as MMORPGs, are perhaps the most famous type of MMOG. Most MMORPG’s feature “heroes” controlled by the player, that can complete quests, obtain new equipment, and learn new abilities as they advance in level.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online
Pirates of the Caribbean Online is the most anticipated MMO of the year. The game is expected to allow each player to create his/her own customized pirate character (up to four pirate characters), battle other pirates, and complete pirate-themed quests both on ship and on land. Disney’s Mike Goslin said the game will feature interactions with the main characters from the “Pirates” feature films, both heroes and villains. Common MMORPG features such as player guilds and a virtual economy have also been announced. This game is expected to appeal to a very broad audience which comes with it’s own set of problems such as online safety, chat, voice communication and last but not least level of difficulty. KidConfidence will post a detailed Video Review covering all aspects of the gamed as soon as the final version goes online.

World of Warcraft (WoW)
The most successful MMORPG is World of Warcraft (Wow) by Blizzard with 8.5 Million subscribers as of March 2007. WoW has become increasingly popular with kids as young as 8 years. KidConfidence recommends WoW for players ages 12 and older due to the games complexity, fantasy violence and unmonitored chats. World of Warcraft received a “T” for Teen rating by the ESRB. The game lets players control a character avatar within a gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters, and performing quests on behalf of computer-controlled characters (also called NPCs—non-player characters). The game rewards success through money, items, and experience, which in turn allow players to improve in skill and power. In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players of an enemy faction, including both duels and fights.

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