Released in 2003, Toontown Online was the first massively multiplayer online game built for kids, teens, and adults of all ages. I was the very first artist in the project and the Art Director as the team grew to a team of about 8 artists. In 2006 when I became the Creative Director, managing a team of animators, 2D artists, 3D artists, community managers, writers, and game designers.
Toontown Online won several awards, including Computer Gaming World’s 2003 MMORPG of the Year; Webby Awards People’s Voice Award, Kid’s Category; Parent’s Choice Silver Honor; and was named one of the Top 10 Games of the Year by the New York Times.
Below are some concepts that we developed during my tenure as Creative Director that helped set the long term vision of the product.
Toontown’s core Theme is the conflict between work and play. Story, game mechanics, and visuals all derive from this core Theme, which resonated not only with kids, but also with adults, which explains why the game was resurrected as Toontown Rewritten by fans after Disney closed it in 2013, and it is still going strong today with about 30,000 players a day.
The story is about business robots are trying to take over colorful, fun, zany Toontown, and trying to turn it into a gray, productive, industrial-park-like environment, Toons fight the invaders with silly cartoon gags and pranks.
The mechanics reinforce the importance of play. Even though, one of the core activities is fighting Cogs or business robots, in order to get gags to fight them, users need to play mini-games. It is through playing that users earn currency that allows them to become stronger and more powerful.
Below are concepts of environmental elements that represent fun and silliness, while also taking a fun view of corporate stereotypes.
