Ten Ton Hamster

Ten Ton Hamster had the the privilege to interview the creator of the new MMO Emerald Island. If you read our review, you know that we are excited about the new attitude Emerald Island is bringing to online gaming. This game is definitely turning out to be one of our favorites! It's still in Open Beta, so make sure you read the interview below to find out about all the exciting upcoming changes.

Interviewer: Hanniel “Lumina” Shariat

Interview: Scott Mathews: Creator

1. What makes Emerald Island different from other MMO's

1: The story. Kids are going to participate in this world, shape its future and help save it from the evil Pirats. Although you can, Emerald Island is not just a place to run around in and play games. You will participate in this adventurous community with your fellow Seedizens. Save Emerald Island!

2: The quality of production. This is Fluid Entertainment’s 14th title, and the team has been together for ten years. Anything from the art – which was hand-drawn and inked - to the opening musical number backed by a full score – sets us apart.

2.What inspired you to make an eco-friendly MMO for kids?

I personally have been ‘environmentally conscious’ since I graduated from college in 1988. Anything from recycling to composting to driving a hybrid. In 2003, Fluid built one of the first-ever serious software games, which taught driver’s education students about environmental consciousness. It was sponsored by Ford Motor Company and the EPA. That is to say, eco-friendliness has been a long held belief around here, and we’re happy to see it come to full fruition in Emerald Island.

3.The game is Beta now. How's it coming along?

Very good. What’s out there in beta now for the kids is version 35. Internally we’re at V42, and we’ve made many strides in the area of polish. We’ve closed roughly 450 bugs over the summer and things are looking quite solid. Lot’s of new ideas in the pipeline too, so stay tuned!

4.What are some safety features in place for chat?

Great question. I won’t give away any of our company tech secrets at this time, but let me say that we’ve come up with a very elegant solution that allows kids to chat safely yet openly. For now, let me break it down into three overall categories:

(1) “Canned chat” Chat by selecting pre-canned phrases and words from a list. Nothing innovative here. Standard stuff by now.

(2) “Bubblechat” This is a new way for your Avatar to…let’s just say….emote. ;) I suspect this will be a big hit with the kids.

(3) “Safe chat” This is chat as we commonly understand it, but with a highly sophisticated filtering engine in place. We’ve worked with educators on this particular piece and we’ve nailed it. It will set us apart.

5.Tell us more about Tamino.

Ha! Tamino is the hero of Emerald Island. As the seven islands of our world are being overrun by Pirats, Tamino gave out the call to all the clans of the world. Rally and take a stand on the last island – Emerald Island! A great battle ensued and nobody knows what happened to Tamino. But I am giving too much away….log in and see if you can’t find out his fate.

6.The Mini games are awesome, are you planning on having more?

Thank you. You know we’ve built some great ones here internally and also worked with some super folks who are external to Fluid. The guys at Pixeljam are just awesome and I hope to keep getting their stuff into our world. And of course, we have a TON still in development. That’s the beauty of an MMO – you get to keep developing for it even after you launch it!

7. What additions can we expect for Player Housing?

We have 6 unique houses available now for sale – including a 3-story castle that you add on to one level at a time. It’s totally cool. We now have over 200 objects you can decorate your house with. More houses and objects are constantly in the works. We have some great new ideas for these objects in the works - being able to interact with them in unique and interesting ways.

8. Tell us a little about the Planting System.

It’s an active gardening simulation designed for kids. There are roughly 100 unique plants you can grow and take care of. Fruit trees, flowers, herbs, even a giant beanstalk. Each plant needs a different amount of water and time to grow. Once they grow to maturity, you can harvest your plant and take it to the farmer’s market and sell the produce for coins. It’s a great way to earn money in the world.

<.strong>9. Will there be more character customization once the game launches?

There will be more characters added all the time. Shortly after launch we will introduce an age-appropriate leveling system to the characters, where each level has unique abilities.

10 .What's your favorite aspect of the game so far?

My favorite aspect of the game is the privilege to work on it! I love what I do! Other than that, knowing that I am creating something entertaining for kids, but also something that is non-violent and non-destructive. That feels good in today’s world.

11. Please tell us about Fluid Entertainment’s partnership with Trees For The Future.

We really wanted to walk the walk on the green theme, and not just talk the talk. Our partnership with Trees for the Future is just the first step on this path. Through the partnership, Trees for the Future plants 10 trees for every person who participates in the Emerald Island beta. We want to inspire kids, get them to think big and to realize that they can make a difference in the real world.

Click here to play the open beta now!