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AuthorMessage
Survivor
Jul 19, 2009
1
Hi,

I pay for my daughter to play this game, and it doesn't seem that hard to comprehend however I have a few concerns/questions and I'm not sure where to go.

I like the features and being able to control the chat function, I decided to allow her to play this game because she is so young and there is peace of mind knowing that she cant be harrassed or bothered by people. I know alot of people who play various MMORPG'S mainly WoW and I see how ridiculous these people act in these games and it seems like regardless of the age limit to games, there are still people "like that" HOWEVER...


Her inability to chat with people, which is what I want, seems to be crippling in a sense that she is unable, as am I, to complete certain tasks that shouldn't be so ridiculously hard. The kids are already having to go against 2 NPC'S and it seems very much like this game FORCES THEM to group in order to achieve what should be simple task/quests. I really wish that you guys would understand the concept that some people want to solo game, or solo quest. Also she is young and although smart enough to understand and manage the game and level her little girl to 14, the social aspect of the game would be too much for her to even understand even IF I felt comfortable with her talking to people.


So I guess mainly I'm wondering why are certain things so hard? When this game is desinged for children? Why do I as an adult feel as though a game made for kids is also "forcing" those kids to interact with strangers in order to enjoy thier paid service?

Please, if anyone can maybe better explain to me how I can help her, she is just a little girl and she gets sad when she cant finish things or "dies" and I really don't want to see her upset when she should be enjoying this game.

Defender
May 29, 2009
196

well, the game itself is targeted to ages 6 to 106, not strictly speaking, it's not just a kids game (like toontown, buildabearvill, etc.) W101 is basically a card game when it comes to battles and as such it can be as simple or complex as you make it.

There is a strategy portion of the game that may make it a bit more difficult for younger kids against tougher opponents. But I will say, the game certainly can be done solo. Going against multiple NPCs doesn't require multiple people. What it does require is some strategy is spell casting though -- when to attack, when to shield, who to attack, etc.

I am a parent too and my son plays this game -- sometimes with me, sometimes by himself. He does struggle a bit by himself but is learning some of the strategy pieces.

W101 doesn't force you to work with others. You don't have to make friends, in fact, you can turn the Accept Friend Requests off. However, I do think teamwork is something that kids can learn from this game and that's not a bad thing. There are some things, certainly in the real world, where working with others makes it easier.

My son is very young and can't even read yet. The only thing he really ever even says in menu chat is "Hi" and "Thanks". But in group play, he has learned to see what spells other people are casting and against which opponent so he chooses his spells accordingly. As far as communicating with others during battle is concerned, that's probably the major piece of it.

good luck and i hope you and your daughter continue to enjoy this game.

YasminBean wrote:
Hi,

I pay for my daughter to play this game, and it doesn't seem that hard to comprehend however I have a few concerns/questions and I'm not sure where to go.

I like the features and being able to control the chat function, I decided to allow her to play this game because she is so young and there is peace of mind knowing that she cant be harrassed or bothered by people. I know alot of people who play various MMORPG'S mainly WoW and I see how ridiculous these people act in these games and it seems like regardless of the age limit to games, there are still people "like that" HOWEVER...


Her inability to chat with people, which is what I want, seems to be crippling in a sense that she is unable, as am I, to complete certain tasks that shouldn't be so ridiculously hard. The kids are already having to go against 2 NPC'S and it seems very much like this game FORCES THEM to group in order to achieve what should be simple task/quests. I really wish that you guys would understand the concept that some people want to solo game, or solo quest. Also she is young and although smart enough to understand and manage the game and level her little girl to 14, the social aspect of the game would be too much for her to even understand even IF I felt comfortable with her talking to people.


So I guess mainly I'm wondering why are certain things so hard? When this game is desinged for children? Why do I as an adult feel as though a game made for kids is also "forcing" those kids to interact with strangers in order to enjoy thier paid service?

Please, if anyone can maybe better explain to me how I can help her, she is just a little girl and she gets sad when she cant finish things or "dies" and I really don't want to see her upset when she should be enjoying this game.

Defender
May 28, 2009
176
Play with her. That is the best advice I can give. You will have a lot of fun with this game too. Get in there and put together a character and go on quests together. Otherwise, I have to say that she will eventually find other friends that she can quest with and her character will eventually get strong enough. You can solo the game with the exception of a very few dungeons. It takes longer and it is more difficult, but it can be done.

Survivor
Jun 14, 2009
15
My daughter was also finding the game hard once she got to Krokotopia. I started watching her play and realized she didn't really know what the stats on cards and equipment did and was instead just wearing things that looked cool :)

She was more concerned with color coordination than with making a powerful wizard. I ended up making an account and figuring out what everything did and helped my daughter understand also.

Right now we're in Marleybone and having a blast. We haven't died once and between her Death Wizard and my Storm Wizard we've haven't hard a really tough battle yet.

So I would advise the same thing, get in there and play with her. It's a lot of fun and I have to say I'm hooked. We've even made an event out of it. One day a week, no matter what, I order out and we play non-stop for 2-4 hours.

Survivor
Jun 25, 2009
10
Well, i`ll answer one thing about the interact with strangers thing. I am a member that uses text chat and i thing that interacting with strangers that aren`t mean and threatening is an extremely big part of making wizard101 really fun. I agree that if the user is young, he or she should use menu chat. But when that user gets to a higher and more responsible age like thirteen or fourteen years old, he or she should be able to use text chat. I honestly think that just playing wizard101 without anybody real to interact with would make it A LOT less fun for the player. Wizard101 doesn`t force you to interact with strangers but they want the players to have more fun and have friends on wizard101 that can help you in fights, talk with you, play with you, and do other things. In a lot of reasons, interacting with people in wizard101 makes the game really worthwhile. Just make sure that all of the friends are not mean. Hope this helps. - Brian Iceshard. Level 33 thaumature.

Survivor
Jul 29, 2009
11
I am just a player on this game and i am paying for this acount and my parents were afraid of the same thing like what they say to you and what kind of conclutions the game may bring. I do not like all the language some people say in the games but you have to toataly ignore that behavior and just focuss on the game itself because it is a fun apropriate game. I understant if you do not agree with me but you can report to wizard 101 about some language or being inapropriate. I hope this info helped with your concern.

Defender
Dec 14, 2008
101
well menu chat is an easy solo all the way until she gets to dragonspyre....
dragonspyre has many towers about 10-12 if I had to guess.
this will be almost completely and utterly impossible for someone with menu chat..... so you may eed to help her during that period and for the rest it is really easy to solo..... even big ben and the counter's...... especially with marked locations.