Children?s entertainment pursues its migration
from the TV to the computer screen with the launch of Mini Match, a new virtual
world from Cartoon Network.
Mini Match is an online environment focused
around multi-player games where children can meet and play online games with friends.
The Cartoon Network claim that Mini Match is one of the
few virtual worlds focused on multi-player gaming. The virtual world allows a younger audience
to immerse themselves in a fully-fledged social gaming environment alongside classic
chat and exploration features.
?Mini Match opens up a
whole new world of gaming to our online audience?, said Paul Condolora, senior
vice president, digital for Turner Broadcasting System Inc.?s Animation, Young
Adults and Kids Media Group. ?The
action-adventure theme complements some of our most popular shows and provides
kids with a safe virtual destination for social gaming.?
Once they have created a customizable avatar,
players are ready to enter a variety of graphically sophisticated environments
based on familiar Cartoon
Network shows, where they can then
engage in a selection of social activities on offer. These are either competitive or collaborative,
ranging from spontaneous multiplayer ?tag? battles to social puzzle-solving. Activities are practised against the back-drop
of a mystery story that progressively unfolds the microscopic world in
which Mini Match takes place.
By chatting to each other, using a custom dictionary that automatically
edits out inappropriate word-content, kids can work together in order to
discover the key to the plot. Playing games is rewarded with points that
allow kids to further customize their avatars and acquire new in-game equipment
and abilities.
By offering an interactive and family-friendly online gaming venue based
on its own themes, Cartoon Network
seeks to reinforce audience identification with its branded content such as Ben 10 or Foster?s Home for Imaginary Friends.