Lisa Poisso
Articles by Lisa Poisso
MMO Family: A parent's look at Club Penguin
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Perhaps the leading name in virtual worlds aimed at the younger set, Club Penguin has taken its place as the starter game of choice for many a young online gamer. Ask around any elementary school, and you're bound to find kids who're playing this Flash-based browser game. We'd heard of the game too, of course -- but we'd never played. So let's take a look at how this virtual world of waddling friendlies stacks up against the rest of the kids' games we've reviewed in our Parent's Guide to Kids & Family Gaming.
MMO Family: A parent's look at World of Warcraft
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. World of Warcraft? Yeah, even folks who don't play video games at all have heard of this behemoth of MMO gaming. With 12 million subscribers worldwide, the WoW phenomenon has practically come to define an entire generation's worth of MMO gaming. While it's designed for teens and up, the game is so ubiquitous that you wouldn't have to dig far to find players of all ages, including many teens but also younger children as well. With a new expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, due for release on December 7th, plenty of kids (and grownups) will be angling for WoW in their holiday stockings. The question is: Is WoW a good fit for your kids? With good preparation and consistent parent moderation, it can be -- but if you don't play the game yourself or you take a more hands-off approach to gaming, you may want to wait until your little goblin- or worgen-to-be is well into the teen years. Join us after the break for an insider's look at WoW for younger children and teens.
MMO Family: Mind your massively multiplayer manners
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Kids are like sponges, sure -- old saying is old. But are online manners something you really want to leave to chance? Are the interactions your kids so intently follow online the manners you want them soaking up and using themselves? As parents, we know that the habits and attitudes that kids pick up today are what we'll find coming right back at us tomorrow. Teens who are used to trolling in games and forums will have a hard time modulating to a less strident tone in a business meeting. Kids who excuse a lack of scruples with "whatever -- it's only the internet" are due for a big surprise when a thoughtless instant message or careless lack of response to an email slams doors in their faces later in life. As parents who game, we all have hot buttons that set us off: the guy who always shows up late to raids, beggars, you name it. The point is: Have you talked to your kids yet about these behaviors? Are you explicitly (by both word and example) helping them not to grow up to be That Guy? I'm pretty sure we don't need a primer in online etiquette here at Massively, but I don't think it would hurt to share some of the things we wish Those Other Parents had taught their kids before turning them loose in our games. I'll share my dirty dozen after the break -- won't you share your own in the comments?
MMO Family: A parent's look at LEGO Universe
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Most kids who play video games have at least seen one from the LEGO franchise. There are a ton of them -- enough, in fact, for a whole page listing them. They're fun games; I'll bet you've played at least one of them, at least in bits and pieces in a demo somewhere. After all, who doesn't love LEGOs? Still, there was a decided "ho-hum" reaction among my team of young playtesters when I announced we were going to test the ropes of the brand new LEGO Universe MMO. Oh sure, they were willing enough, but it seemed there was always something shinier and more appealing to play on any given day than the game about good ol' LEGOs. Until they played LEGO Universe -- and had a (brick-)smashing good time.%Gallery-105603%
MMO Family: Parents as gaming gatekeepers
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Does your child have the emotional levels it takes to tackle certain MMOs? The idea of parents as gaming gatekeepers all too often comes down to simplistic, ESRB ratings-based rulings passed down from on high by relatively disengaged parents. Deciding what and how your child should play is far from a black-or-white decision. Last time in MMO Family, for instance, we looked at how to tell if your child is ready for MMO raiding -- yet far too many commenters missed the point, assuming (from the topic alone, we can only presume) that we advocate a laissez-faire attitude that allows kids to abandon their other activities and strands them in front of a keyboard during every free moment. Come on, folks, it's not a choice between letting kids play to the detriment of the rest of their lives vs. not playing at all. It's about gatekeeping -- and this is where you, the parent, come in. The truth is, categorically forbidding kids who're interested in video games to play at all is no more thoughtful or balanced an approach than throwing up your hands and letting them log in during every waking moment. Your role is to help children learn to balance their interests and lives, with as light or heavy a hand as may be necessary for your kids. This week, we've brought you some thoughts from a mother and son who've been there, done that -- together.
MMO Family: Is your child ready for MMO raiding?
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Does your youngster have ambitions to become an MMO raider? As a seasoned gamer yourself, you may find it hard to believe that your kids are already old enough to be chomping at the bit to battle the same bosses, to pore over the same strategies, to put themselves through the same scheduling wringer that you do. That's the thing about kids, though -- they want to tackle the cool stuff just like you do, especially if that's what they've grown up watching you raid. Is MMO raiding appropriate for your older child or teen? That's a matter only a parent can decide. The answer will be different from child to child, age to age and family to family. The best analogy I can offer is to treat this like a virtual team sport. Make sure your youngster has the bandwidth to support adding another focused activity to his schedule; from there, you'll want to help him choose the right team with a solid coach and assistants, supportive teammates and an age-appropriate challenge rating and social environment. A little direction from a tuned-in, gaming-savvy parent can help many young wannabe raiders realize their ambitions in an age-appropriate, balanced and enjoyable way.
MMO Family: A parent's look at Hello Kitty Online
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Hello Kitty Online is the first of our Parents Guide selections that's aimed squarely at teens and young adults rather than the kiddie set. Say what? We were surprised, too -- but given the mind-bogglingly persistent popularity of Hello Kitty among grownups with more discerning taste (and expansive wallets), it stands to reason that developer Sanrio would want HKO to reach as broad an audience as possible. What HKO brings to the keyboard, then, is less a kiddie game than a crafting-oriented, sunshiny, Hello-Kitty-themed version of an MMO. Sure, it's 2-D. Sure, it's free-to-play. But despite the precious proliferation of pink, you'll find gameplay that's more in line with traditional, fully developed MMOs -- a purrfectly friendly MMO choice for your teen daughter.
MMO Family: A parent's look at World of Cars Online
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. How could you not fall in love with a Disney/Pixar movie? I'm not sure that's even possible. Cars revved up belly laughs in the theater back in 2006, earning two Oscar nominations and raking in more than a dozen other industry awards. Kids were captivated by the feisty little car characters, and grownups chuckled at voicing from such high-octane stars as Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and even Cheech Marin. The MMO version of the franchise, which officially launched last month, pulls away from the starting line without this full tank of charisma. World of Cars Online hits on all cylinders yet somehow fails to throttle up into the type of completely engaging world we've come to expect from a Disney/Pixar creation. It's a 2-D, minigame-centric experience with lots (and we do mean lots) of point-and-click racing. Still, if you've got a young boy around the house who's hankering to burn a little online rubber, World of Cars is an inexpensive, kid-friendly way to do it.
MMO Family: The 10-step back-to-school gaming tuneup
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. We're going to make this short and sweet, parents: You probably shouldn't try to dodge a back-to-school gaming tuneup. Sure, talking about responsibilities and setting screen time limits is no fun. Kids hate rules, and parents hate having to play traffic cop. But back-to-school time means rebalancing languid, lazy summer schedules -- and if you're going to help your kids develop time management skills and a head for how to balance their own activities and schedules, this is the perfect teaching moment. Before we go any further, let's make it clear that hard-and-fast time limits aren't the answer for all or even many gaming families. What's important is to help young gaming devotees step back periodically for a checkup of how this compelling, sometimes time-consuming hobby is balancing out against the rest of their lives. Your goal is not to legislate from above but rather to help your kids regulate from below -- so let's take a look at 10 steps that can help them do exactly that.
MMO Family: Long-distance gaming with Grandma and Grandpa
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Back in my day (eons before even that prehistoric era when we trudged five miles uphill through the lava to kill Lord Nagafen, after sitting in the server's text chat room so our buff timers wouldn't tick down while the rest of the group was getting prepped), kids wrote letters to keep in touch with long-distance grandparents. We struggled almost as hard to read our elders' spidery, old-fashioned cursive as we did to figure out something relevant to say to these relative strangers. Then once a month, we'd be herded into the kitchen or hall (where most people's phones were back then) for the Dreaded Phone Call of Doom, during which we'd self-consciously mumble responses to people who couldn't remember which grade we were in or which of us kids was the swimmer and which was the ballet dancer. Talk about awkward... Today, cell phones and email make it much easier to keep a family in touch when its members are separated by miles. Still, it's hard for kids to develop a relationship of any depth with people they meet infrequently at best and with whom they share nothing in common beyond a few genetic jots and tittles. Until gaming came along.
Cory Doctorow talks gaming and sci-fi culture
Although Cory Doctorow doesn't self-identify as a gamer, he's certainly put in more than his fair share of /played at the keyboard and console. Doctorow's specialty, his uniquely savvy take on pop culture and technology, synthesizes ideas and spits them out to an ever-expanding internet audience. An activist and vocal supporter of Creative Commons, a journalist and blogger, and a new father along with his wife, gaming standout Alice Taylor, Doctorow is perhaps most widely known as co-editor of Boing Boing and author of such science fiction novels as Makers and Little Brother. Doctorow's latest young adult novel, For the Win, pries open the seams of the shady scene behind MMO gold farming. Its young protagonists are gold farmers and gamers themselves. Doctorow has woven his own experience and sensibilities with focused research to outline a world of gold farming that sprawls far beyond the lines of cartoon-image gold farmers that most of us have painted in our heads. We chatted by phone with Doctorow for this conversation about gaming culture and his recent fiction, plus a lengthy companion piece on gold farming at our sister publication WoW.com.
MMO Family: A parent's look at Fantage
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Now that we've established that kids aren't gaming snobs and will dig into a good Flash game with as much relish as we grownups attack any top-rung MMO title, let's look at another up-and-coming Flash title for kids. Fantage (short for "Fantastic Age") has attracted nearly 7 million users since April 2008 almost entirely by word of mouth -- how's that for kid power? I suspect the reason Fantage tickles my 9-year-old playtester's fancy is tied to the advancements she's been making with her real-life character this summer. The achievements are flowing: she's figured out how to use the Page Up and Page Down buttons to snag [Swimming in the Deep End], she's acquired her first epic mount [Big Brother's Hand-Me-Down Bike] and she's become fascinated with the possibilities of /dance... We're even breaking away from class-specific gear sets to farm all the mats for her [Tier 4 School Supplies] individually via hotly contested minigames all over town. So while she's still utterly captivated by the sparkling magic of a game like Pixie Hollow, this evolving little personality is hooked on Fantage's opportunities to show off her own style and personality via her avatar and accessories. Different game, different flavor -- so let's investigate the attractions.
MMO Family: Parents Guide helps you choose games for the family
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family. From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. When it's time to find just the right game for your family, turn to our growing Parents Guide to Kids & Family Gaming.You know what you like in an MMO -- but what about your kids? And what if you're looking for something the whole family can play together? We ask the basic questions for all the online games you may be considering for your family. What computer systems will it run on? How much does it cost? What does the game look and feel like? Who's the target audience? You'll find answers to these questions and more for every game in our ongoing series. What's more, we'll be updating the Parents Guide every time we run a new "A parent's look at" article.
MMO Family: Podcasts for gaming kids
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family. From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. Here's an offbeat idea for the kids on one of those endless hot summer days: Track down -- or better yet, try your hand at creating -- a podcast for their favorite MMO. Kids love to hear what other kids are playing, yet there aren't many kid-friendly gaming podcasts out there. "The thing about podcasts for kid's MMOs is that most kids don't really know much about what a podcast is," says Leesha Darkheart of Ravenwood Radio, a podcast about Wizard101. Do we smell a hero's title for the mom or dad who comes up with an idea for creating some of the coolest summer fun on the block? We just might -- plus a seal of approval for discovering yet another way to enjoy gaming as a family.
MMO Family: Video game violence provokes aggression in some kids but not others
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. Sensible parents have long recognized that the way kids react to video game violence varies according to their personalities. A recent post at Bitmob illustrated one parent's recognition of the innocence with which his four-year-old son approached an opportunity to play Grand Theft Auto. "I understand not every kid is like mine, so I wouldn't recommend that every parent allow their child to play Grand Theft Auto," he wrote. "But I would recommend that you listen and pay attention to your little ones to determine what they are capable of handling and what they are not ready for yet." Now, new research tells us how to determine exactly that. A report in the June issue of Review of General Psychology has pinpointed the factors that determine why violent video games provoke hostile behavior in some teens but not in others.
MMO Family: Screening "screen time"
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. One of the first topics we tackled here at MMO Family is how to tell when kids have had enough gaming time. As parents who game, we should be in a unique position to appreciate, respect and guide our children's attraction to games. But in the crush of day-to-day living, it's all too easy to let a few extra gaming minutes slip into half an hour ... past an hour ... into the evening ... into a habit that's begun eating away at family balance. Some families keep a rein on gaming overdoses by instituting strict limits on screen time. What's considered part of the screen time quota varies from family to family; TV time is the bottom line, with movies, internet use and gaming time lumped in or added on top according to each family's habits and needs. We talked to Dr. Kourosh Dini, author of Video Game Play and Addiction: A Guide for Parents (now available completely online) and himself a gamer, for some professional perspectives on how to keep things in balance.
MMO Family: A parent's look at Pixie Hollow
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. I wasn't planning to include a 2-D Flash game in MMO Family's initial sweep of children's games -- but then my daughter tried Disney's Pixie Hollow. Initially dismissive of the idea of slumming it in 2-D, she found herself utterly captivated by its magpie collection quests and friendly community of players. In the eyes of this 8-year-old road tester, Pixie Hollow delivers an enjoyable, social experience in an online world ... And I was forced to admit that this world suits her own interests as well as deeply immersive MMO worlds hold mine. We're not going to get into gender wars here. Obviously, some girls won't like the fairies theme, and we're sure grownups will continue their snarky debates over the game's recently added male characters ("sparrow men"). Beyond that, what's most apparent is that Pixie Hollow successfully snares both kids who are enthralled with the Disney Fairies franchise and those who simply enjoy a glittery, web-based spot to flutter and chatter.
MMO Family: Family night at the MMO buffet
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. It's no secret how rich the world of family-friendly MMOs has become -- or then again, considering the general lack of regard and awareness for them even among gamers like us, perhaps it is. Certainly, there's no denying the sheer quantity of kids' games on the market. Even an entire year ago, there were already more than 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds and MMOs either in development or on the market. A year later, as we recently reported, "... Blizzard's World of Warcraft has the most number of players in the U.S. out of all the MMOs it tracked, just in front of NeoPets and Club Penguin. Other MMOs in the top five include Disney ToonTown and RuneScape." From where this writer sits, eyeballing the list of possibilities for our ongoing Parents Guide series about family-friendly games ... It's going to be a long, long run, folks.
MMO Family: A parent's look at Toontown Online
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. Kids may not even realize they're playing an MMO (you know, one of those games that Mom and Dad talk about all the time and play after bedtime) when they log in to Toontown Online. All the traditional elements are there -- missions, combat, grouping, pets -- but they're all couched in the incomparable cartoon stylings of Disney. In fact, "couched" is probably the most apt descriptor possible, because Toontown is familiar and welcoming, just like that cozy couch you've been nestling into to watch Saturday morning cartoons for ... well, your whole life. That's not to say that the action in Toontown is laid back. It's anything but. Kids gobble up the zany, cartoon slapstick approach to "combat" (think cream pies and banana peels) and mini-games. In fact, they'll be so busy squirting the boss in the face with their lapel flowers that they won't even realize they're "working" on levels. This is kid-flavored MMO gaming at its candy-coated best.
MMO Family: The advantages of a family-friendly guild
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family. The benefits of so-called "family-friendly" guilds go far beyond the flexibility for an occasional (or perhaps not-so-occasional) "AFK, baby woke up" during raids. Having started out as a launch-era, Drelzna-camping EverQuest player, I now appreciate the evolution to a kinder, gentler schedule. When my guild finally made a conscious switch to a more forgiving schedule and philosophy, the relief in guild chat was palpable. It's not necessarily about the specific hours or the number of nights per week -- the family-friendly approach is more of a mindset that gives members room to breathe.