GardenParty
GardenParty: An Interactive World for Kids
(30.03.2009, 06:06:42) GardenParty is an interactive world for kids set in a beautiful natural environment. The idea is to 'Grow your own Fun' ? which is essentially what you do. We got this opportunity to take an interview about the details of GardenParty.
Hello, thanks for taking our interview. First off, would you please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your company?
Asylum Entertainment is a games developing company based in London. For the past 15 years they have been developing fun and creative games specifically for children. They primarily have designed and developed games for platforms such as the playstation, Wii and Nintendo DS, however recently decided that the online world was something they would like to investigate and delve into more.
How will you describe GardenParty to our readers, especially to those who have never heard of it before? And what do you think will be the greatest attraction for them?
GardenParty is a fun and interactive world where children have the ability to chat, play games and take part in a variety of activities all hosted within a safe and moderated environment. The idea is to 'Grow your own fun'. A simple economy of playing games to earn orbs, leads to spending those orbs in the shop to buy seeds and growing those seeds into an array of wonderful items, and this is only part of the fun of GardenParty. We have noticed that, depending on the child, GardenParty has something which they love. Some love the games, some love the chatting, and others love the trading side of things as the opportunity to buy and sell items from other players is something which Gardeners really enjoy. Where as others simply love all features.
GardenParty is an enjoyable online environment for 6 to 12-year-old players. Why do you focus your attention on this age group instead of others?
For the past 15 years, Asylum Entertainment have focused the majority of their game developing within the children's market. This has led them to be a leader in designing and developing fun and compelling games for children. With this great experience behind them, it seemed fitting that they should develop their very own and first online world, independent of their other projects. Beyond this, with young children themselves, the creators felt that places they were happy for their children to safely play online were few and far between and set out to create this safe environment for not only their own children but children worldwide.
As we know, children are always too young to play complex and confusing games. Is GardenParty easy to pick up? How do you guide a newbie to take a close look at your game during gameplay?
Given Asylum's experience in developing games for children, GardenParty is of course extremely 'kid friendly'. It is easy to pick up without any help, however we recognize the need for in-game help. With that in mind, Peppy the owl is located throughout the game and can be easily clicked on for a quick step by step guide. If this doesn't suit the player, Gardeners of course can speak with our moderators who are present 24/7 or even the rangers who are specially selected Gardeners who have shown great personality and proven to be incredibly helpful to all new players. They can be recognized by their brown ranger hats which have a yellow star on them.
What about the features in GardenParty? What do you think will be the most impressive experience?
Gardening is the feature which differentiates GardenParty from other online world for kids. Children absolutely love planting their seeds and watching them grow into new and wonderful items they can use or give away to their friends. There is always an element of surprise involved which is something which children really love. When they plant a hat seed for example, they will never know what kind of hat it will grow into until it has fully grown. As well as this, GardenParty has many reward features, for instance, trophies are awarded for reaching certain levels within the game – it is a fun factor which the Gardeners love and gives them a sense of achievement.
What about pets? How many pets at most can I have in the game? Are there any rare pets or rare items?
At the moment there are 4 pets to collect. Three of them can be bought in the shop, and one is rescued from the space mission. There is minimal functionality with the pets at the moment, but Asylum recognize the popularity of pets and are working hard to create more features involving the pets.
We are really amazed at the graphics which are really cute. Should we install any plug-ins or can we play directly through the browser?
GardenParty is a browser game in Adobe Flash, meaning there is nothing to download and all that is needed is a Flash player which is generally used for a whole range of websites, so it is more than likely that your computer will already have this installed.
GardenParty is currently in open beta. If you don't mind, can you share with us how many players have taken part in the test? And what's the feedback?
We cannot, at this time, comment on the number of users, however all feedback from both children and parents has been incredibly positive. Many children saying their parents didn't let them play on online worlds till they came across GardenParty. This is something we strive for: For parents to put their trust in us and for the children to have a really enjoyable time playing.
How long do you expect GardenParty to stay in beta? Will there be more updates before GardenParty is officially launched?
There is no OFFICIAL launch date as of yet, however the estimated launch date is for early 2009 – so expect news in the not too distant future.
Thanks again for the interview! To finish the interview, what else you'd like to say to our readers?
GardenParty is an experience like no other. The world is engaging, attractive and fun not to mention safe. Children love to take part in activities, growing, chatting and playing games, whilst parents are assured safe in the knowledge that the world is highly moderated with a sophisticated word filter. For any more information, visit our homepage.
Come join the fun and grow your own fun!
This article was originally published by our partners from BBGsite.
Autor: Redaktion
