Free Realms

Finally, something you will want to play with your kids!

There are a lot of casual, web-based kids games out there. Is there room for one more?

If the developer is SOE, then yes. Let me tell you why.

I have looked at a great many of these games, primarily because I’ve been asked to write about them for other sites. Some are not worth installing. Some are “ok”. Some are good. In all honesty… none are great. The one I like best is ToonTown (Disney), but even it gets repetitive, and fast. Would I play any of them? Heck no.

So what can SOE bring to the genre? Experience in developing fully-fledged, far-ranging game environments. They know how to keep content interesting over the long term. With EverQuest and EverQuest II, they perfected the art of releasing new content to keep people interested. If they can do the same for FreeRealms, they will have it made.

So who is Free Realms aimed at?

The official line is ages 8 to 16, but I can see people both younger and older than that playing Free Realms. Here are two of my favorite targets for Free Realms marketing.

Meet Trevor and Warren, the sons of my best friend, Wren:



They are smart kids. They love games. They like to watch Wren playing EQII, and often offer amusing commentary that I can hear over the headphones. They are the future of online gaming. Well experienced in tabletop and console games of all sorts, they have recently been given their own (used) computers.

Meet Wren. She is a very protective Elfink mother and does not like her kids playing the equivalent of junk food, and she is well aware that they are not ready for the full-on, heavily text and communication based MMOGs such as EQII, WoW, or LOTRO, but she wants to be able to play together with them.



We have considered making new characters to play with her boys in EQII, but the mainstream MMOGs are not easy to learn and can be frustrating for the pre-teen crowd… not to mention having to put up with (and explain) the idiots online who can ruin anyone’s gaming experience by spouting invective. The foul language blocker traps only the words, after all, not the intent.

From the makers of EQII? I am not dropping cash to pay for a whole new computer!

I was pleased to see that the system requirements for Free Realms will be on par with WoW, for that makes the game far more accessible to lower end systems… let’s face it, the kids are NOT getting mommy or daddy’s state of the art system, they will get the one they no longer use for their cutting edge games! The game will initially be released for the PC, followed by a console release (PS3).



So what’s it really like?

Do you see any ads on my site for SOE? Not one. So trust me, I am expressing my real, unbiased opinion here.

Many of us have seen the occasional still or short trailer of Free Realms. At the SOE Community Summit, lucky buggers like myself had a chance to see a very long film, demonstrating actual mini-games ("quests" for you MMOG geeks). Laralyn McWilliams, who presented the piece, stated more than once that it was not a "fantasy game", but in spite of the lack of swords and wizard robes, it looked like my idea of fantasy, far removed from everyday grime and hard edges.

We initially watched as the avatar traveled through a snow-covered area with patches of bright green growth poking through, visited some penguins, and then followed along to a mine. In each case, I could not help but think of the artistic style as "Disney meets WoW". In other words, it is pretty, colorful, and offers immediate eye appeal.

Free Realms has gone with a very minimalist interface, reminiscent of that used by the Mac. Most facets of the UI are barely seen, until you hover over the right area on the screen, when they suddenly pop up. The character screen itself is done in a Facebook style, with friends, achievements, inventory (unlimited inventory, I might add!) and other information all easily accessible. The character information will be accessible through a web client as well as within the game itself – crafting can also be done via the web client, outside of game.

Players will not be restricted to leveling a certain class at all. Changing your focus and abilities is as simple as selecting a new outfit from the pop-up menu at the bottom. You are a mailman – poof! Now you are a ninja!

Different quests… errr, mini-games will require different skill sets, so you will be changing professions regularly. Each quest offers achievement awards, and can be completed in many ways for different awards, employing solo or group play and with varying objectives.

The mini-games are all tied in with collection quests (this will also make Wren’s ears perk up!), and completing tasks will count towards collections. For example, you can run around and collect all the Mountaineering badges for your Exploration collection, and this without ever having to enter combat.

Combat? Right, there is combat, but done in classic kid’s style, with no blood, no dead bodies lying around with tongues hanging out and eyes staring into space. Mobs will go poof in a cloud of smoke when defeated, while player characters will merely be knocked out.

Being knocked out on combat means that you lose a life counter. Once you run out of life-counters, you can no longer finish the mini-game you were working on, although you lose nothing and can just try again. If you are in a group, your teammates can continue to finish the objective and then you will also get credit. This would be useful for particularly challenging encounters.

At launch, there will be two races, human and fairy, with male and female offered for each. Three other races are under development but will not be released at launch.

The player characters have a clear anime influence, but are extremely well modeled and animated. There is nothing cheap, flat or clunky about them. Character creation offers a stunning array of customization in face and hair, which is unheard of in children’s games. I really wish I had some images to show you!

Those of you who have read about the game before or seen fleeting trailers will have noticed that they feature player housing. This will not be available at launch, however, and I suspect it is more likely to be a part of future optional (possibly purchaseable) content.

I like me some parental controls

Oh yes, you will have control, juuuust about till the time your kids leave for college. Free Realms offers full-featured and flexible parental controls for every aspect of the game, including (or most especially) chat and the friends list. Games for children + internet = safeguards in place to protect your child’s identity and gameplay.

I am a little vague on the communication methods the game will use, but my general impression is that players will use modular chat, similar to that found in ToonTown. That is, you choose sentences or parts of sentences, rather than typing things out. I always worry about the awkwardness of this sort of thing, and look forward to trying it out.



Ok, so what’s this gonna cost me?

That brings us to the revenue model for Free Realms… as one might guess by the name, the game is free, to some extent at least. There will be certain areas and activities open to all to try. Following that, those interested in the game will encounter a combination of subscription (price not announced yet) and optional micro-transactions. I was happy to hear that the game will be listed on Station Access as well, which makes it a no-brainer for any current Station players who have kids. Ah, and there will be family subscription rates offered!

The items I saw available as micro-transactions included clothing and pets. There were LOTS of clothing options available for purchase, and the best news was that you CAN try them on before buying! The prices shown were 99 cents per item, but of course that, like everything else, is subject to change. It looks like the prices will be well within reach of a child’s allowance or wee savings. In my personal test group, the cash that Warren and Trevor spend on MTG cards may end up being shared with this game. They can afford a few add-ons.

I did not see pet prices, but there are a great many of them available, and they range from majestic deer to silly skellies to adorable cats and dogs. The collective “Awwwwwwww” that went up when the small puppy slide came up should be some indication of their cuteness – keep in mind this was a room full of jaded gamers who have seen it all. We melted. Very embarrassing – we immediately lost all cred with The Agency team.

The pets can be customized to some extent, and arrive young and with a built in personality. The players will train and feed their pets and raise them to their full potential. I am sure this will be a very popular part of the game.

I plan to get at least one goat, myself. Oh... uhhh... yeah. I think I am going to try this game. Just so I can hang out with Trevor and Warren. Yeah.


The Brasse Line: Free Realms is the first online kids MMOG that I have seen that I think adults may enjoy playing along with. Kudos to SOE for taking all of the best from other games in the genre and drenching it in a hefty dose of EQ-style goodness with none of the level grind. I predict a very successful game if the release version carries through with what we saw on March 8th.

If you have kids, I'd love to hear your comments about the game concept. Come post for me.

Images courtesy of Sony Online Entertainment and Free Realms. NO TOUCHY! Photos graciously provided by Patrice "Wren" Sartor and her purebred gamer breeding program.