Franktown Rocks: MMO for Your Kids

While we parents think our children are not only adorable but very intelligent little gremlins, there are just some things that are beyond those Einstein-ish brains of theirs. Take massively multiplayer online role-playing games, for example.

Oh, sure, I’ve heard and read about the three-year-old girl who can play World of Warcraft and the kid who beats the crap out of lazy adult players in player-versus-player matches. Heck, my little girl, who turned four years old this year, played Fly For Fun for a year before throwing in the towel. But do these wonder kids really play these games the way they are meant to be played?

Enter Franktown Rocks!. Although it’s not the first massively multiplayer online game that caters to children that has hit the market in the past few years, Franktown Rocks! bears watching.

I gave Franktown Rocks a spin with my daughter Cesky earlier today, and she liked it. One feature of the game she took an instant liking to is the interactive musical instruments section where players are asked to try out virtual instruments such as guitars and drums. Here’s a screenshot:

Yes, they sound almost like the real things they are modeled after.

Southeast Asia is indeed fortunate to have mobiusgames bring in Franktown Rocks! with the help of Brainwave Studios LLC, a high-tech children’s entertainment company based in Franklin, Tennessee.

Read the announcement story after the jump:

Parents in SEA rejoice! Your kids can now both enjoy playing online ang cultivating their musical talents at the same time. Local pioneer game publisher mobiusgames has announced that it is now in partnership with Brainwave Studios in making Franktown Rocks!, a free browser-based musical world, more accessible to children in Asia.

“Our Franktown Rocks! virtual world focuses on something that kids love no matter what country they’re from: music,” says Brainwave Studios president Rob Solberg. “This educational component really sets us apart from other virtual worlds that are out there.”

Franktown Rocks! features interactive musical instruments, customizable child-safe music players, music lessons, and music-based mini-games within its virtual world. Children can explore the virtual world on find-the-hidden-object quests, make friends with other kids, decorate their character homes, or simply immerse themselves in music.

While the game is free to play, parents can opt to subscribe their kids and have them become premium members. Premium members gain access to exclusive game features such as riding skateboards, special clothing, and entering certain map areas.

And for that unanswered question of whether the virtual musical instruments sound like the real things, here’s the answer: Yes, they do.

Check out this video of Franktown Rocks!: