Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Best MMO for kids/tweens?
My boyfriend asked me tonight if I knew of any good F2P games that'd be appropriate for his daughters. They range in age from 10 to 13 (eldest is almost 14, going into Highschool next year) and all of them are pretty 'core about fantasy. He prefers getting them all into the same game so as to save on HD space. I suggested (based on either communities or graphics):
LoTR
DoMO
Kitsu Saga
Allods
Mabinogi
Perfect World
I don't know if Atlantica might be too much for the youngest, but I think her preference is just making a metric buttload of characters and not actually playing them. The eldest likes killing everything in sight and roleplaying. (He thinks the graphics of Maple Story would be a major turn off for her, which I take to mean Dofus is out as well.) Any thoughts?
Comments
While I have never played the game myself, I am 33 and its target audience is a LOT closer the age group you are asking about, Wizard101 seems to win award after award as one of the best family friendly MMO's on the market today. That said it might not satisfy the needs of all your children given its theme and playstyle so looking around for others wouldn't hurt, perhaps the recently released LEGO Universe might be what you are after.
im not sure any of those games are really suitable for young children.. at least not without a fair bit of supervision.. at least i wouldnt feel comfortable letting any of my family (of that age) loose in them.. ideally you'd be looking for a game that has a degree of 'moderation' .. its possible that Dofus is maybe the game looking for.. although there are a few others around too.. a lot of MMO's these days have adult content/themes so its best to research them.
Hello Kitty Online
Wizard 101.
Not quite F2P though.
Check you can afford it (It's very cheap IIRC) and then try it (first areas are free).
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
Check out Wizard 101 and Free Realms. That's what u want right there. Now I must go. Somewhere somebody else needs my help;)
Wizard 101 is a good one. Or sign up for this up and coming game called Glitch: http://glitch.com/
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
Send them to the playground and let them play with other kids. Best mmo they can get.
I definitely agree about kids needing to get out, though these girls all already participate in track and softball, their father just cancelled their wow sub because they were only playing for a couple hours a month. (They also won't be playing unsupervised.) Will probably suggest something like Free Realms for the youngest. The eldest would likely be offended at the suggestion (she's that age).
Anyone know if the Runes of Magic community is alright? I didn't like the title due to it feeling so similar to WoW, never gave it much of a chance.
Thanks for the feedback.
Free Realms and Wizard 101 are the two I always hear people saying that both the parent(s) and their children enjoyed.
As for some of the games you mentioned, I can't really suggest them as good choices, but I don't have much to go by so i'm assuming a lot on their "level" of gaming.
LoTR - pretty standard mmo formula, but if they aren't too familiar with how these games work it might be a bit too much, it's a very large world and you kind of get spammed with quests/deeds. After awhile you also need to either purchase content packs, or grind out deeds to earn points to buy them (don't see either going over well for kids or parent :P).
Kitsu Saga - This game has some pretty complex feature reguarding the Kitsu's (pets), which are kind of the main focus of it.
Mabinogi - Combat in this game has a pretty steep learning curve, it is much more complicated than just clicking on something, you need to know when to block, counter, or attack, can't just go in guns blazing.
Perfect World - Avoid it, plain and simple.
Just because it's FTP does not mean that it's a good game for kids. For me it's very frustrating getting deep into a game and loving it only to hit a road block when you get to about level 10.
If your on a budget, I would suggest going to a local EB Games store and picking up a $10 offline game. Nothing is free with mmo's nothing !........Wizzards 101 would be the best choice for an mmo. But let me tell you that free players can't leave the strting city, and it's packed with kids that are frustrated after just a few days of play not being able to advance. However if you watch there web site they run promotions from time to time, like $4.94 for the first month.
FTP is a stupid idea, that will yield you nothing soon after you start !
Hm, something else they might like are Dragonica and Lunia.
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/342
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/304
They are a bit different, being side scrolling and all, but quite fun, easy to play, and have a pretty unique look to them.
That is actually an interesting point. I think a lot of character forming, development of social skills and learning happens during that age, so maybe putting them in front of a grindy computer game is not the best idea? Would actually be interested to hear whether any research as been done on that, but from a pure gut-feeling point of view, I wouldn't recommend MMO gaming for kids, at all.
I think Wizard 101 would be best for kids. It has good children protection systems on place so that you can have even young ones playing without worrying so much about what they see in chat, and the gameplay is fun. It also doesn't have an endgame you could lose your whole life into.
But a 500gb HD costs only 50$ and can hold about 50 different MMOs. Why does he need to save up so much HD space that they can't pick different games?
Depends what you want for and if its going to be very strictly monitored by the parent and not rely on the games company.
No MMO can ever completely stop paedo's or idiots no matter how hard they try.
A MMO is no safer than letting your kid go out and play the recent 12 year old who faked her death to be with her 18 year boyfriend met through WOW is just another testemant to that.
No doubt yet again the games company will take the blame when its lazy parenting A: using a virtual babysitter and B: Not policing the activity online of their own kid.
If your a responsible parent and will monitor your childs activity and still force them to get some proper outside time then something like Lego Universe is good fun.
Iphone/Ipod touch/Ipad. Pocket ledgends. That way they can play it outside with their friends
Please keep it to game suggestions. The OP didn't ask for parenting advice and that's neither here nor there.
To give feedback on moderation, contact mikeb@mmorpg.com
I suggest a wollipop
(or Guildwars since the girls could eventually dress up their toons and look cool).
The PVP community in Guildwars is terribad but I doubt that they would ever be interested enough to enter those chats. The PVE is very kid friendly and they have stuff to bleep the cursing.
NEWS FLASH! "A bank was robbed the other day and a man opened fire on the customers being held hostage. One customer zig-zag sprinted until he found cover. When questioned later he explained that he was a hardcore gamer and knew just what to do!" Download my music for free! I release several albums per month as part of project "Thee Untitled" . .. some video game music remixes and cover songs done with instruments in there as well! http://theeuntitled.bandcamp.com/ Check out my roleplaying blog, collection of fictional short stories, and fantasy series... updated on a blog for now until I am finished! https://childrenfromtheheavensbelow.blogspot.com/ Watch me game on occasion or make music... https://www.twitch.tv/spoontheeuntitled and subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvqULn678VrF3OasgnbsyA