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Toon Town Preview
By Simon "Auz" Austin

ToonTown Online is a new massively multiplayer online game from the mighty conglomerate that is Disney (or at least, their Disney Imagineering VR Studio). As with all thing directly under the Disney banner, it's aimed specifically for the children, and this brings with it a few interesting twists on MMOG conventions. It has currently left the first open beta stage and is again closed to the public.

Introduction

During the initial download, the plot is explained in an introductory movie. Scrooge McDuck accidentally unleashed the "Cogs" on ToonTown. The Cogs are robots from the humourless and drab business world, with names like "Flunky", "Pencil Pusher" and "Ambulance Chaser", and as such they cannot abide laughter and colour. As a result, they've started to take over ToonTown, replacing the colourful and cheerful buildings with their own grey concrete slabs. The Toons however are fighting back after the discovery that Cogs so hate laughter that if they can be made to utter a single chuckle, they will self-destruct on the spot. With an assortment of classic slapstick gags, the Toons are able to dispatch wandering Cogs and even, in groups of up to four, return Cog buildings to their natural state.

The Birth of a Toon

Players in ToonTown take the side of the Toons. Character creation is simple - you choose the species of Toon (from the cartoon staples of Cats, Dogs, Rabbits and Horses), body shape and size, clothing, skin colours and name. There are no attributes or skills to play with; all Toons are created equal. Once created, the player can choose to have Mickey Mouse give them an introduction to ToonTown - or drop straight into the action.

Players control their Toon using the arrow keys for movement, and the mouse to choose from the four icons in the corners of the screen. At the top left is the ToonTalker, which allows you to talk with other players (more of this later). Top right is your friends list, which allows you to find people easily in the game (you can teleport to them), and even to activate the chat features of the ToonTalker by making them a secret friend.

Bottom left is the Laffmeter, which might otherwise be described as your hit points. As Cogs can be affected by laughter, so Toons are by the tools of business. If a Cog weapon - such as doubletalk, or a bounced cheque - hits a Toon they lose Laffs. Losing all their Laffs will send them back to the playground to recuperate.

Finally, the bottom right holds the Shticker book, which gives the player access to a map of ToonTown, their current gag inventory, reminders of their ToonTasks and game options.

The Playground

ToonTown is divided up into playgrounds, each run by a Luminary of ToonTown. Players initially start in Mickey's playground, and can reach the others (run by Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and others) through the streets of ToonTown. Unlike the streets, the playgrounds are free of Cogs, and Toons can recover their Laffs there. Just standing around replenishes a Toon's Laffs, but they can also pick up items (such as Ice Creams in Mickey's playground) to speed their recovery. The playgrounds are also home to the trolley games, which you need to play if you wish to venture into the streets.

Trolley games, such as Minnie's musical version of Simon, or the cannon game where you try to fire your Toon into a bucket of water, allow you to earn Jelly Beans that can be used to purchase the gags you'll need to fight Cogs. Initially, Toons start with two types of gags: thrown and water, and then only of the lowest level of humour (standard pies and a squirting flower). They gain more effective gags (such as the water pistol) after successfully using the gags a few times.

The Battleground

Battles between the Cogs and the Toons take place in the streets of ToonTown (or later, in Cog-captured buildings). Up to four combatants can take part on each side, and it's all turn-based with the Toons getting the first go. Toons chose a gag to use and a Cog to use it on, and when everyone's chosen, the pies are flung. The gag will either miss, or do some "damage" to the Cog (multiple players choosing the same type of gag get a bonus) and if the Cog survives the first round, he gets to attack the Toons. Players with Toon-Up gags can replenish their fellows Laffmeters instead of attacking.

Toon Tasks

As mentioned, Toons only have two types of gag to start with, and they only get better versions of those when using them. Only by performing Toon Tasks will Toons gain new gag types and abilities. One early task allows the use of sound Gags, whilst later you can pick up the ability to jump back to a particular playground, as opposed to just the nearest one.

Tasks include delivering gags to other NPCs, defeating a certain number or type of Cogs or just visiting another NPC Toon in another area of Toon Town (who will often give you another task). Tasks are "stackable", that is, if you are asked to defeat two Cogs and to defeat two Pencil Pusher cogs, the two Pencil Pushers will count as the two Cogs. And being part of a group doesn't affect the achievement either - destroy a Cog on your own, or destroy it with three friends and it counts the same.

Where's the ToonTalker for "there's a cat on my keyboard"?

It's in groups that the most noticeable feature of ToonTown comes to light. As it is intended for children, the designers have had to consider the abuse that an open communication system can suffer, and have come up with the ToonTalker. By default, when you type into the chat system in ToonTown, all your speech will be heard as animal noises by the other players (so cat Toons go meow and rabbits have a cute squeak). There are a number of pre-defined statements that will be heard, so you can organize the troops with "Let's use throw" if you want everyone to pelt the Cogs with pies. The ToonTalker also supplies greetings; expression of delight and disgust and, in what is probably an unwise move, a selection of phrases along the lines of "You're a jerk".

If you already know someone outside the game, you can chat directly to him or her in game by the use of secrets. These are words you can give to your friends which they then enter into their game to "decrypt" your speech. There is no way to pass these in game, so as to prevent children from being tricked into giving them away.

Azliqer says "Hello"

Whilst the ToonTalker prevents the grossest abuses commonly found in MMOGs, the facility to name your own Toon can still provide amusement for the simple-minded. Since this is a beta, and free, this sort of thing will probably be reduced upon release, but currently there's often a noticeable number of the brotherhood of morons around. Disney may need to invest time in a heavy-duty name filter - or find an alternative naming solution.

Conclusion

ToonTown is initially a fun diversion, although the battles can become samey after a while. The grouping is well done, and doesn't penalize on-the-spot battles. The lack of clear levels in the skill progression is a welcome change from the usual modus operandi. The interface is easy to use, as it has to be for a child's game. The graphics are bright and clear, and the Cogs and their buildings appropriately otherwise. ToonTown is definitely a game for kids, but with perhaps enough to keep adults interested - especially if playing with a child.

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