Introduction to MMO Games for Kids - Harmless Fun?
An MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game is played on the internet, set in a virtual world in which many people are playing and interacting with at the same time. Currently the largest MMO in North America, certainly the most talked about MMO, is World of Warcraft (WoW). Besides WoW, however, there are several MMO games targeted at and marketed to children; recently I started reading about these "kid-friendly" MMOs and I started to wonder what impact an MMO would have on children and their creativity. There are several MMOs out there for kids. There are free versions (free-to-play) and subscription versions, but they're all built around one principle: MMO games can make BIG money. How do they do this? They are experts at creating an atmosphere that gets you to open your wallet and they employ psychological tools that promote addictive behavior. Many adults have a hard time spotting this, how can you expect your kids to? MMO games - The ...
