University of Southern California

USC Network Culture Project

USC Annenberg School for Communication

Virtual Worlds: Virtual World Directory: Club Penguin

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	Club Penguin 04.25.08

Club Penguin is a virtual world designed to let children play and interact with one another in a moderated and safe enviornment.

It was developed by and independent company which was bought by Disney. The site launched in 2005. By 2007, there were 700,000 subscribed users, and 12 million activated accounts. The game’s young users have penguin avatars that live in igloos and can interact with other penguins and earn virtual coins. Popular items to purchase are igloo decorations, clothing and puffles, which are small creatures that can be kept as pets. Users that purchase subscriptions can buy more things and travel to special, members-only areas.

 

 

Basics

Publisher: The Walt Disney Company, developed by New Horizon Interactive

Launch Date: 2005

URL: http://www.clubpenguin.com

Number of registered accounts: Over 12 million users

Target Audience: Ages 6-14

Cost and subsequent subscription fees: Disney’s Club Penguin is free to download and play. Users can purchase full membership to Club Penguin, which allows them full access to all areas of Club Penguin, as well as the ability to buy clothing and furniture for their igloos.

General Description: Disney’s Club Penguin is a 2D virtual world where children can safely socialize and play online with other members as virtual penguins. Players create their own penguin avatar then waddle around through the 2D environment, joining in on games, chatting, and buying clothing and furniture. Each penguin is given an igloo to add furniture to and customize.

Technical

Platform: PC, Macintosh, Flash enabled browsers

2-D, full 3-D, or other: 2D virtual world

Special hardware required (upgraded video card, sound card, etc): None

Language availability: English

Option for authoring (can users create and build?): Users cannot build or create in the Club Penguin world. All clothing and furniture items are developed by the design team and distributed through in-world NPCs. Users are given an igloo, similar to a house, to design and arrange as they see fit.

Design tools available: Not applicable.

Search (does the world offer a way to search users and/or places?):

Security (is there protection against hacking, identity theft, or theft of IP?): No personal information is entered so personal information is not at risk.

Can the virtual world be accessed through mobile devices: No.

Can the virtual space be accessed offline: No.

Is the world persistent? (Does the world continue when the user logs off): Yes

Legal & Management

Entry (what personal information is required?): Email address and birthdate.

Is a free trial account available (if so, what are the account restrictions)? Free memberships can download and play club penguin for free, access a limited number of penguin colors, and can receive items at official monthly club penguin parties. Free accounts show up in world as Penguin####### instead of a permanent name. Free members cannot purchase clothing of furniture items or access member only parties.

Are there age restrictions: No

User Profiles (what do they contain?): There are no user profiles.

Privacy management (protecting personal data, information sharing with other companies): No personal information, besides birthdate and email address, is given to Disney. Personal information is not shared with other companies. Club Penguin is a child safe zone, so personal information is fiercely protected in-world. Email addresses, phone numbers, profanity, and locale names are filtered from open chat in world to protect its users.

If a premium membership exists, what benefits are there to upgrading? Paid members can access a permanent penguin name. Paying members can furnish their igloos, access all areas and games, and can purchase clothing upgrades. Club Penguin is heavily based on consumerism; children strive to purchase objects that impress and set them apart from other members. There is a caste system in place due to the restrictions on free accounts, one can easily tell a paid account from a free account by attire and items owned.

Can access be restricted to designated groups? Full members can access all areas of the game. Free members can only access a limited amount of the game’s areas and content.

Intellectual Property management (who owns users' creative works?): Not applicable.

Are there in-world moderators: 24 hour moderators are on duty in Disney’s Club Penguin.

Management of abusive behavior: Users can be banned, silenced, or suspended by in-world moderators depending on the severity of the offense.

Virtual Space

Avatar description (are they customizable?): Users can choose a color of Penguin as the only distinguishing feature of their avatar. Names are unique and no two players may have the same name. All names must be approved by Club Penguin for use.

Is in-world property ownership available? Users are given an igloo, and subscribing members can add furniture to decorate their igloo.

What are the common meeting spaces (and how many do they accommodate)? Club Penguin is made up of many linked zones and buildings. Some places can be accessed by simply clicking on the map, and some must be walked to on foot. Some areas are only available for special events or parties. There are over 14 zones with their own buildings and games for players: everything from acting to fishing to racing.

Video or animation capabilities: Not applicable.

Are there any restrictions on what users can create in their "owned" space? All objects are created and distributed by Disney, so content is controlled. Users can merely rearrange objects in their own personal space.

Example of a prominent corporation present in the virtual world: Club Penguin is free of outside corporate influence.

Socialization/Communication

Does the world include in-world instant messaging? No.

Out of world instant messaging? No.

In-game email? Yes, users can send penguin mail to their friends in-world. Postcards can be sent to users, even when they aren’t online.

Blog space? No.

Screenshot or photo albums? No.

Can other users be blocked or ignored? Yes, there is an ignore button. Using the ignore button will ignore the targeted user for the current session. You will not be able to see the user’s chat or animations once ignored.

Is there language filtering? Profanity and attempts to give personal information, such as location or email address, are filtered.

 

Economy

Does the virtual world have currency? Club Penguin uses virtual coins as its currency.

How does the user obtain currency in-world? Users can play games within the world to obtain coins.

Can a user convert real world cash to in-world currency? No.

How does the company assist with in-world trade? (Official commerce sites/auction sites/etc): Users cannot trade items in Club Penguin, only purchase them from virtual shops.

Does it cost money or currency to upload user created content? Users cannot create content.

Educational Presence

Prominent educational, government and corporate organizations known to be using this product for educational purposes: None

Examples of areas in which instruction is currently offered: None

Are there special privileges for instructors? Not applicable.

Are there virtual classrooms or meeting areas? Not applicable.

Strengths of this product as an educational or learning tool: There has been a debate to the consumerist nature of Club Penguin and teaching consumerism to children. On one hand, parents and educators believe that Club Penguin teaches children the value of working for money; by completing a task in Club Penguin, the children earn coins and can then buy their rewards. It also gives children an opportunity to experiment with their creativity in home design; whereas a child’s room in real life may be messy and unkempt, their virtual igloos are designed to be presentable for their virtual friends. Also, children are using it as an afterschool activity to play with school friends. Managing coins in Club Penguin helps improve children’s math and money management skills as well. On the other side of the coin, cheating has become rampant in Club Penguin as of late, and children have been downloading cheat programs that give them free coins. Critics claim that Club Penguin is not only teaching children cheating, but consumerism as well. There is segregation between free users and paying users that can be seen by appearance, and each user tries to obtain the newest, best, and most expensive item to become popular.

 

Links to some institutions or organizations currently using this product for learning:

* A mother writes about how she came to let her son use Club Penguin

(URL) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2007/11/01/fapenguin101.xml

 

Opportunities for Philanthropy

Prominent educational, government and corporate organizations known to be using this product for philanthopic purposes: Disney runs its own charity from within Club Penguin, benefitting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and Free the Children

Are there zones or areas reserved for promoting real life issues? None

Do users find the virtual world an appropriate place for philanthropy? Club Penguin was created as a safe haven for children to play online. Disney created its own fundraiser for the holiday season, called “Coins for Change,” where users could donate virtual coins to real life charities of their choice. Disney then divided $1 million dollars between the top three charities, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund and Free the Children.

Links to some institutions or organizations currently using this product for philanthropy:

* Children and Philanthropy

(URL) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/29/AR2007122901848.html

* Coins For Change

(URL) http://www.clubpenguin.com/company/news/122707-christmas-wish-coins-for-change.htm