Posted August 20th, 2008 by Hanniel "Lumina" Shariat
If parents were to join together and create the perfect MMO for their children to play, I think it would look a lot like Emerald Island. Not only is the game safe and educational but it encourages imagination by showing kids that they can make an impact in the real world too!
The vision that Emerald Island has for it's game play is unlike any other. They sought out to create a fun environment that promotes imagination and creativity through community. The goal of the game is to defeat the evil pirates who threaten to demolish the land. As soon as you start playing, the game makes it clear that you have to join together with the whole town in order to beat the pirates. Creating a sense of community seems to be a priority for Emerald Island.
Another thing that seems to be a big priority for Emerald Island is teaching children that our environment is precious. In the game kids have to buy and plant seeds in order for the land to be restored. After kids see that their actions can make a big difference for the land in the game, I think they will realize that they can do the same in real life.
But most importantly, Emerald Island has fluid safety measures in place. Not only do they have chat filters,
but they have "Pre-Selected Chat" that allows players to choose pre-selected words and phrases. But here's where Emerald takes it a step further with their "Pre-Approved Friend Chat". That means that players can communicate with their "real world" friends by exchanging a special code offline.
Overall Ten Ton Hamster was inspired by and impressed with Emerald Island. An MMO that takes the focus off fighting and killing and puts it on imagination and community is an MMO that i think any parent can stand behind.