10Vox plans MMOG puzzle line
By Karyn M. Peterson -- Gifts and Dec, 5/22/2009 8:46:00 AM
LOS ANGELES—10Vox Entertainment, creator of Tracksters and KooKeys Web-connected toys, is set to unveil in August a line of traditional jigsaw puzzles that unlock virtual versions in the form of a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG).
The MMOG will be supported at retail with traditional puzzle products; for example, consumers will purchase a boxed puzzle for $15.99 in a particular theme—such as cats, dogs, mountains, landscapes, licensed artwork—in either 250, 500, or 1,000 pieces. Each puzzle will come with an oversized puzzle piece that has a unique code on it. The consumer will be able to enter that code online at MyFunPuzzle.com and select 50 images from a gallery of thousands that fall within the theme of the puzzle they purchase. Those 50 images are saved to the consumer’s library and then may be cut into 100, 200, 250, 500, 750, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,500-piece virtual puzzles. If a player masters a 100-piece puzzle of a certain image, they can go back and re-cut the puzzle to be 500 pieces or they can select another puzzle cut to increase the level of difficulty.
The MMOG will also allow multiple people from anywhere in the world to work on one puzzle together in real time, with the ability to see each move the pieces. They will also be able to engage in open chat while they solve the puzzle. Players will be able to view their puzzle pieces in a coffee table view, allowing them to zoom in and out to work on certain sections at a time. They’ll also be able to automatically separate puzzle pieces by color, shape and even sort out edge pieces. In addition, puzzlers will be able to race against their own best solve time or another’s best time.
“We are truly excited about introducing a new way for people to not only work on puzzles on their own, but solve them together,” says Alex Reece, managing member, 10Vox Entertainment. “For the first time, people separated by continents or oceans can get together and solve a puzzle online. We believe this is truly powerful. Plus, our jigsaw puzzle MMOG solves a pain point for puzzle lovers—they won’t have to designate a table in their home or worry about losing any puzzle pieces!”
10Vox Entertainment has several patents pending for the products.
"The value of an MMOG is that you can play the game over and over," Reese tells Playthings. "NPD info out of ToyCon last year showed that half of US kids ages 6 to 9 are logging on to socialize and play games, more than they do anything else. There were 40 new MMOGs out last year, and 280 new MMOGs coming out this year ... and it will be in the thousands in 2010! But most of that is flash-based, not 3-D. [So] we see video game companies as the competition, not toy companies."
Reese adds, "When it comes to virtual worlds, we’ve got credibility in the marketplace, because we have good ones and have proven ourselves."
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