Virtual Magic Kingdom
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Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom, also known simply as VMK, is a free massively multiplayer online game run by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online. It is a virtual representation of the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks, and it contains areas and games which are based on real park attractions.[1]
A VMK player can chat with other players (though the vocabulary is restricted—see Dictionary below); customize the appearance of his character; explore the areas in each virtual "land"; visit other players' guest rooms and decorate his own; purchase and collect virtual pins, shirts, posters, and furniture and trade them with other players; make and play quests; play minigames (see Games below); and search for "Hidden Mickeys" (see Hidden Mickeys below). Items in the game have no "real-world" significance, and are purchased with in-game "credits" which have no connection to real money. The game's rules and staff make an effort to keep the game safe for children by preventing players from learning each other's real-life identities, but there are fan web sites which allow players to make contact with each other.[2]
The game is in operation daily between 10:00am and 1:00am EST (7:00am-10:00pm PST, 2:00pm-5:00am UTC). [3]
The beta version opened publicly on May 23, 2005 with Main Street, Fantasyland, and Adventureland available to players. The "beta" designation was removed on June 27. The Tomorrowland game area was made available on October 5, and Frontierland opened on December 12. The rest of Tomorrowland opened on April 4, 2006. On January 8, 2007, New Orleans Square was added.
The game engine uses Macromedia Shockwave. Virtual Magic Kingdom was created by The Sulake Corporation, the company that also created the online multiplayer game Habbo Hotel, and it bears several similarities to that game.
Creating an account
A new player begins by registering an account at "http://www.vmk.com". The player then sets up a character (an avatar) and selects the character's gender and appearance (shirt, shoes, pants, hair, hat, face, and colors for skin and hair). The player also selects a "guest room", his or her own themed area which can later be decorated with furniture, posters, a boat canal, train tracks, game items, or other material. One room is provided for free, and additional rooms can be purchased later with in-game credits. The player can enter a few lines of text, known as a "signature", which will be displayed in the character's publicly-visible profile. The character is then given a few tradable items (mostly T-shirts), and is placed in the game.
When a player chooses a name for his character, the name must be approved by VMK staff before it appears in the game (usually within three days); until then, the character's name will be "Guest" followed by a number. A player can also choose from a list of randomly-selected adjective-adjective-noun names presented to him or her; if he chooses one of these names, it does not need to be approved.
A visitor to the Magic Kingdom (in Florida) can create a character at a special VMK kiosk. A character created in a park will start with additional credits and items, and its profile has a special "Born in the Park" icon in it. A park visitor can go on "Quests" in these two theme parks to win trading cards with codes on them which award in-game items. The purchase of certain items, such as a gold mouse ears hat or a collectible pin, will grant a collectible card with a code to obtain an item in the game.
This "Quests" were only supposed to be temporary and were dragged out longer than expected. Now The VMK-Disney Park partnership is coming to a close in June. Some codes will be redeemable by going to Disney Park Tours later on in the year.
The game's rules are posted on the VMK web site as "VMK Values". [4] Disney intends for the game to be "a safe, non-threatening environment" because many players are between the ages of eight and fourteen. The rules prohibit sexual or racist language, harassment, divulging personal information, and attempts to hack the system. Violations can result in a warning or a ban from two hours to ten years. Bans can lock out a single account, or any account from the player's IP address. The ban can't block you from making another account. Many banned players attempt to make a new account, and return with a different name, and different items. Until their character is recovered, which again can take anywhere between two hours and ten years, they can not return to their regular character.
Environment
The Virtual Magic Kingdom consists of "rooms", each depicted in isometric projection, and each with a distinct theme. Each room has at least one exit which leads to another room.
No more than 15 characters can occupy a room at any one time. If a player tries to enter someone's guest room which already contains fifteen characters, he will be put into a queue to wait to enter. (A player can request a free "VMK pass" if there are more than six people in the queue; this allows him or her to walk around freely in other rooms until it is his turn to enter.) The public rooms all have multiple "instances", named after compass directions (such as the "North-East-East" instance), and each instance can have up to fifteen characters in it. When moving around the public rooms, a character will be randomly placed in an instance of a room unless the player selects "Advanced Mode", in which he can select an instance for his character to enter.
During October, all the rooms along Main Street are decorated for Halloween. In 2005, the decorations were left up until December; in 2006, Christmas decor appeared immediately after Halloween
Staff
The game is moderated by paid Disney staff, each of whom has a character in the game. Staff assist players by answering questions and calls for help. There are three kinds of staff members, Hosts, Testers, and Moderators, each of whom wears a special outfit based on classic Disneyland Tour guide outfits. The profile of every staff member displays a badge of a Mickey head on an orange background.
Moderators can send warnings to misbehaving players, kick them out of rooms, or even ban them from the game. Moderators will contact the legal authorities if they suspect illegal activity in the game. VMK Moderators can be identified by their character names, which start with "VMK_" and they wear red Mickey ears.
Hosts plan and host games and events. The names of VMK Hosts start with "HOST_". They can have games, quests, or a friendly room that is opening for chatting with the staff owning the room and taking pictures. Quests from staff can give you rare items.
"Testers" test the items in the game. Their name prefix is "QA_", and they wear blue Mickey ears. All new items and features to come are used by them. Sometimes these 'QA's" go around VMK and show whats to come.
The game producer is "Yavn", and is the most prominent of the Disney team; he often shows off items long before they are publicly available. Yavn has a "Yavn Speaks" column in the newsletter section of the official VMK web site.
Although not really staff, community leaders help out with the community. They wear the CL_ Badge (not a pin), which depicts the sorcerer Mickey Hat on a blue background.
Games
The following minigames are available to play throughout the lands in the Virtual Magic Kingdom:
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Two to four player on two teams, must be equal on both teams, either play a game of "Ship Battle" where one team must sink the other or a game of capture the flag. Once the game is over, both teams get rewards in credits for their efforts.
- Castle Fireworks Remixed: Fireworks are launched into the sky and the player must click on each one with the correct symbol to detonate it. Pins and credits are awarded based on a player's performance.
- Jungle Cruise Photo Safari: The player pilots a ship and takes photos of animals while avoiding obstacles. 20 credits are awarded per game, not depending on score.
- Street Party Music Game/Monorail Music Game: A player can sequence music loops into a song for characters to dance to. Credits are awarded for editing songs and for playing them.
- The Haunted Mansion Game: The Purple team and the Green team, with up to four players each, compete to capture ghosts in the Haunted Mansion.
- The VMK Trading Card Game: The Basic version of the VMK Trading Card Game TCG was released August 17, 2007. In this version, you begin with a random deck of cards and play a computer opponent in a sort of Rock,Paper,Scissors type of game. Later versions including Power Play and an online versus mode are to be released later on in the year, along with customizable decks and winable rewards.
There are also several places in Tomorrowland where credits can be earned. In Natilus Grotto and Shipwreck Graveyard, you can collect shells that randomly pop up under water. You receive one credit for every pearl you find. This game requires the Diving Suit magic pin, which can be obtained from an in-game quest. Another place to earn credits, is the Autopia Space Race and the Mars race tracks. In this game, you will drive over trophies to collect them, while also driving over gas cans to keep from running out of gas. For every trophy collected, you will receive one credit. This game requires one of the four available Autopia car magic pins, which can be obtained from an in-game quest. It also requires an Autopia driver's license.
The following minigames are available to play in the Tomorrowland Arcade:
- Airlock Escape: A puzzle game with some similarity to ChuChu Rocket!; successful completion of all fifteen levels will award a Deep Sea Diving Boots, Deep Sea Diving Jacket, and Deep Sea Diving Trousers.
- Blast in Space: An action game similar to Asteroids; the player pilots a spaceship to shoot rocks, and a player receives awards for passing all sixteen levels.
- Hyperspace Mountain: An action game where the player collects six "modules" throughout nine sectors. Obtaining all six modules wins rewards.
Events
The Virtual Magic Kingdom occasionally holds special events at which prizes are given out. Some examples have been:
Parade and scavenger hunt: During VMK's public beta testing phase, an event was held where players were told to gather on Main Street and "parade" along its length. Some parade "leaders" were awarded the Dancing Inferno magic pin, now considered rare to other players. Then a few staff members "hid" themselves in some rooms in the game, and the first people to find each of them were awarded prizes.
Room decorating event: Players were told to decorate their rooms to be judged for prizes. For a Celebration theme, players commemorated Disneyland's 50th anniversary. For a Space theme, players offered an interpretation of what "space" meant to them. Prizes were also given for answering trivia questions.
Haunted Maze event: During October 2005, an easy maze, a medium maze, and a difficult maze were available for players to find their way through. Successfully completing the maze would award a prize. However, the event was plagued by server problems, resulting in queues of half an hour or more to get into the mazes, and some players were not able to enter the mazes at all or were bumped offline in the middle of them.
Gift-giving: In December 2005, a player could spend 500 credits to purchase a mystery gift which was given (in the game) to someone of his or her choosing on December 24. The gift turned out to be a green holiday wreath.
Yeti Quest: In February 2006, players could visit designated rooms to find photos; by stringing together the first letter of each pictured item, a player could spell the location where the Yeti was hiding, and submit his answer for prizes. The answer was "Injun Joe's Cave", and everyone who sent in a correct answer won a snow carpet.
Ride-A-Thons: VMK staff occasionally hosts "Ride-A-Thons", in which they prepare rides for players to enjoy. When a player reaches the end of a ride, he is given a ride piece with which to create his own ride. Several rides are usually running at the same time to handle capacity.
Make-A-Room:VMK staff occasionally host "Make A Ride Rooms", which allow players to go into a certain teleporter and design a room.The player with the best design will get a prize, and soon many other players started the same game.Note: this happened on April 2007, when the players were now allowed to move furniture if the person goes to the "Item Info" button in the furniture toolbar and if he goes to item info, he must check the option that says let guests move this item
Beginning in autumn 2005, special items and games have been based on a different theme each month.
There are also arcade games that give you codes for free stuff in vmk. As Of August 17th The New Trading Card Game Is Available.
In-park quests
Several in-park "quests" are currently available the Magic Kingdom. (The specific questions in the quests are different in each park.)
A location at the Magic Kingdom (on Main Street, U.S.A.) provides quest handouts containing multiple-choice questions for the Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland quests. A player explores the park to find answers, then returns to his starting point so his answers can be checked and prizes can be awarded. The questions require the player to spot details in the park, such as counting the number of keys on the keyring being held by the dog in Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon completing these quests, the player is awarded prize cards (with codes for in-game items) depending on what answers he or she got right, as well as a glow-in-the-dark wristband for getting all correct answers in any one quest. Each prize card has one single-use code printed on it; entering this code into the game will grant the designated prize to the player.
A Tomorrowland quest is available online to print out and bring to a park, and is still being accepted despite stating that it is only valid through December 31, 2005. A holiday quest for each park was available during the 2006 holiday season, and ended on January 2, 2006. From April through September 2006 a 50th Celebration quest was available at Disneyland. And from April 2006- A Thrill Seekers Quest is available at the Magic Kingdom if you print it out from home, note that the quest requires you to visit Disney's Animal kingdom park as well, A High School Musical quest, based on the made-for-TV movie, was made available on May 23, 2006. [1]
Until December 2005, a player who completed quests successfully were eligible to go on the VMK Insider Tour, which included the Haunted Mansion quest, the Pirates of the Caribbean quest, and the opportunity to win more prizes.
Now being offered to park visitors, is the Animation Quest. This new quest does not require any searching for answers. This quest is retrieved at the park itself. The goal of this new quest design was to have something to do while you're taking a break at your hotel or are waiting in line according to a "Yavn Speaks!" article in the VMK Newsletter.
A player must wait ninety days before being awarded any particular prize (including the wristband) again.
Merchandise cards are given with the purchase of various items around the theme parks. The locations are different for Disneyland than they are for the Magic Kingdom. One of the six cards cannot be obtained from Disneyland; another cannot be obtained from the Magic Kingdom. As of June 3, 2007 VMK Central at Disneyland had been closed as VMK Central was a Disneyland reward for their 50th Celebration. Because VMK Central was very successful, it remained open for longer than planned. However,after the opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland Park, a new in-park quest, the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage Quest, was created just for the opening season of the attraction.
On August 6, 2007 Yavn announced in the "Yavn Speaks" column in the newsletter that on September 30, 2007 VMK Central at Walt Disney World was also going to close.
In-game quests
There are a few public quests in the game itself, as well as quests created by players. These in-game quests involve a series of tasks for a player, such as finding a specific room or an item in the room, changing one's outfit, saying a specific word, or winning a certain number of points in a minigame. Successful completion of a VMK Quest will usually award a prize. Each character can only win each VMK Quest once. To create your own quest you can buy the Quest Kiosk for 30,000 credits. It is only available to players with the Space Suit magic pin, and in the Inner Space Shop.
Items that can belong to a character
Players can customize their characters' appearance and rooms.
Testers in the game have blue mickey ears. QA_ Staff have red mickey ears. Staff are pre-trained teachers in the game that work for disney. Host_ VMK_ Community leaders
Badges
Badges are icons that appear at the top of a player's information window visible to other players. Badges cannot be traded.
- Born In Park: given to a character created at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom.
- VIP: given via a prize card's code; the card is given after completing the in-park quests (see Quests above) to become eligible for the special park tour. (Note that this is different from the VIP pin, which is given the second time a player wins a Best Guest Room or Best Game Room award.)
- Here from Day 1: given to a character created during the "beta" stage (prior to June 27, 2005).
- VMK Staff: paid employees who help safeguard players and/or host VMK games and events; see Staff above.
- Testers: VMK staff that test out items, and seen around with their name "QA_". Testers also hold the VMK Staff badge.
- Producers: Not to be confused with testers or other VMK staff. These players hold the VMK Staff badge but they have no special prefix before their in game "title". For example, Yavn, one of the most common producers is not known as QA_Yavn nor VMK_Yavn.
- Community Leader: volunteers who help with the game; their names begin with "CL_".
Pins
A character can "wear" up to fifteen pins so that other players can see them in his or her profile. Some pins can be purchased from shops in the game; others can only be obtained by completing in-park or in-game quests, or by winning host games.
Usually a new pin is released on weekends of a certain month in the Emporium for a limited time. These pins usually cost 500 credits and are often a part of a set, for example, during October 2006 a set of Halloween themed pins came out, and a new pin was released every weekend. However by Monday the pin will no longer be available making it high in value. The next weekend however, a new pin will be released and it starts all over again.
"Magic pins" can also be worn. When activated (from the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen, or by typing the pin's magic word), they display a visual effect, such as the character driving a car or turning into a snowman. Each effect has a duration of only a few seconds and must be allowed to "recharge" for a minute or so before another use. If a player has two or more of the same kind of magic pin, they can be combined for a longer effect and shorter delay between uses. There are also single-use magic pins which will disappear after being used once (or after a specific "expiration date"). Some magic pins are very expensive and only available for a short period of time; for example, the "Turn Into Bat Magic Pin" was priced at 10,000 credits.
Some pins are not tradable and can only be obtained by quests or host events these pins include all single use magic pins and all Tomorrowland quest pins. Any award pin such as the best guest room award and the VIP pin are also not tradable. You can check if a pin is not tradable or tradable by clicking the pin on a players profile which not only tells you whether you can trade it or not but it also tells you what effects the pin has and who owns it.
Clothing
Occasionally, the VMK shops sell special clothing items (or entire costumes). Some of these are seasonal, and some can only be purchased during a specific weekend. These items are usually expensive; due to this and their limited availability, they soon become valuable items in trading.
Some clothing items are only available to one gender. For example, boys cannot have princess outfits (excluding the Princess Minnie hat), and girls cannot have the Wildcats outfit.
Full costumes have included spacesuits, princess dresses with accompanying tiara or Princess Minnie Hat, Haunted Mansion suits with top hat, an Expedition Everest hiking outfit with snowshoes, and baseball and football uniforms.
Costume items have included Mickey ears, and a variety of caps including baseball caps and a Sorcerer Mickey hat.
Guest rooms
When a player first creates his character in the game, he is given one free "guest room", which he can name and decorate with items. He is allowed to select the style of his free room from four available choices. If the player is creating his character in a park, then he is given another four rooms (one of each available choice), as a bonus. Several other kinds of rooms are available; a player can purchase them in the game, obtain them from quest cards, or win them from mini-games.
The shops sell a wide variety of items, such as posters, couches, water fountains, and rugs, which can be used to decorate guest rooms. Some of these items are only sold for a limited time, and some can only be obtained as quest prizes. Pictures taken with the in-game camera can be hung on guest room walls, or put into a photo book for public view.
Players can also create games in their rooms (making sure to follow VMK guidelines of appropriateness), and award some of their own items to players. Among the most popular of these are, "Cute or Boot", best described as a beauty pageant, "Falling Chairs", a game where the owner of the room drops chairs while the players race to them, and the last one standing loses, and "Don't Hit the Floor!" in which a maximum of 6 contestants stand on boxes, and a roulette displays a number. The number refers to the corresponding player number, and one box is removed. If all the boxes are removed from underneath you, your out. The last one standing wins.
Guest room owners have the ability to boot players from their room, if they are causing problems. This is done by opening the players' profile, and then selecting the red "boot" button. Players that are booted must wait a while before they can return to the room.
VMK Staff have also announced that along with the new New Orleans Square land, there will be an exclusive room based off of the VIP Exclusive Disney Club, located in the real New Orleans Square, "Club 33". This room has been said it will be used for some staff events and for some guests who have earned the privilege to "rent" the room for their own public or private events. The only way someone can rent a Club 33 room, is if they win the best guest room award. As of February 26, 2007, host quests, using the quest kiosk, has Club33 room ticket prizes in some of the boxes, and the people with tickets can enter the host Club 33 events with them.
Every week VMK staff award a Best Guest Room Award and Best Game Room Award pin to the owner of a guest room chosen to be superlative in originality and creativity. Winners of Best Guest Room not only get the Best Guest Room Award, but they also get to "rent" Club 33 for a party, which a VMK host will help you organize. Recently, several players have earned the Best Guest Room or Best Game Room award more than once; the VMK staff now awards the VIP pin to these outstanding players.
A player can set his/her guest rooms so that only people on his or her friends list may enter. On January 8, 2007, "tickets" were added; a room owner is now able to sell (for 10 credits), or trade tickets to allow entry to his rooms. The tickets appear as single-use pins.
As of April 3, 2007 players could set some of their items to be movable by their guests by clicking on an item, followed by clicking "Item Info", and checking "Let Guests Move this Item". At the same time as above, players could also clear their room of items completely, by hitting the "i" button on the tool bar, and then selecting "Clear Room".
As of March 2007, VMK Staff have begun "Room Makeovers", where VMK staff will randomly go into guest rooms, or ones submitted for one when the VMK player is online and in the room, and give their room a makeover if in need of one. Before and After pictures of the players' room are then posted each week on the VMK Newsletter. This concept is similar to Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
Some rooms are available in the Virtual Magic Kingdom from the shop button, others are available from quests, and some are no longer available at all. Players are encouraged to get guest rooms when quests come out, because that could be the only time they will ever be available. For example, the Tron Guest Room was from a quest that is no longer available, so players who did not finish the quest by a certain date, never received the Tron Guest Room. There are also codes for certain guest rooms.
As of June 2007, "pay-to-play" guest/game rooms are not allowed because it is considered scamming.
Hidden Mickeys
There are fifty Hidden Mickeys in the game, appearing as mouse-eared logos embossed onto scenery in rooms. Hunting for Hidden Mickeys can be a difficult task, as they are faint and rather difficult to see, and it can take time to earn enough credits to buy film. Almost every room has at least one, and some contain two.
Credits and pins are awarded after finding certain numbers of Hidden Mickeys (a Bronze Mickey pin for finding ten, a Silver Mortimer pin for finding thirty, and a Gold Oswald pin and 500 credits for finding all fifty). Completing this hunt awards a printable PDF coupon with a code for the Gold Design set of items, which can be obtained by redeeming the coupon at Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom.
The locations of the Hidden Mickeys were changed on December 12, 2005. The new hunt is called "Hidden Mickey Quest Part II", and the new prize pins have "Part II" appended to their names.
Disney Characters
A player is given 40 credits and a pin upon first visiting each of these non-player characters (NPCs) by double-clicking on him or her. Another 20 credits are given each time the player revisits the same Disney Character, as long as at least twelve hours have passed since the last payout.
NPC's that give out ONE pin on first visit: (NPC's called "Characters" in the game)
- Captain Blackheart (in Pirate Treehouse)
- Esmeralda the Fortuneteller (in Emporium)
- Maleficent the Dragon (in Dungeon)
- Shrunken Ned (in Shrunken Ned's Shop)
- The Yeti (in Matterhorn)
NPC's that give out NO pin:
- Phineas the Hitchhiking Ghost (in Haunted Mansion Stretching Room)
- Ezra the Hitchhiking Ghost (in Haunted Mansion Ballroom)
- Gus the Hitchhiking Ghost (in Haunted Mansion Attic)
- Gator Waiter (in The Blue Bayou)
As a result of having "won" the Voting Poll event (see Events above), the Dragon gave out 100 credits per visit from November 14 through 27, 2005, instead of the usual 20 credits. During the Yeti Quest event, the characters each gave higher credit awards than usual.
Mickey Mouse's shoes can be seen beneath the curtain in the Golden Horseshoe Mercantile, and Donald Duck occasionally walks past a window above the Main Street Central Plaza, but no award is given for finding them.
"Push the Trashcan" sometimes appears in the game. Based on the roving, wisecracking trash can seen in Disney theme parks (and named after the word PUSH on its trash door), Push visits guest rooms and interacts with players.
Codes
A player can enter codes to obtain items and credits. Each code consists of sixteen letters and/or numbers. They are provided on cards and wristbands given as prizes for quests at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom and in certain issues of Disney Adventure Magazine. They were also previously available in specially-marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal (Apple Jacks, Cinnamon Krunchers, Froot Loops, and Rice Krispies).
There are two kinds of codes. Single-use codes are unique and are only valid for one use by a single player; these are given on prize cards. Multi-use codes are good for one use by any player; the same code is provided in each cereal box, for example. However, the magics acquired from the Kellogg's are no longer available and now only give 1 credit
There is a Kellogg's "Conquer the Sea" game online [2] which will dispense one single-use code to a player. This code will award a few pirate-themed prizes including the Skull Rock room.
An online "Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue" game [3], no longer available, awarded codes for a pair of pink Monsters, Inc. teleporter doors.
"Yeti Vision: The Everest Quest" [4] awards prizes based on Expedition Everest.
"The Adventure of Narnia" [5] awards prizes based on the 2005 Disney film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" [6] awards prizes based on the 2006 Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Some magic pins acquired through codes may not be traded to other characters, presumably to avoid letting players create new characters for the sole purpose of amassing magic pins.
Acquiring credits
A player can earn credits by visiting the Disney Characters (see Disney Characters above), by playing the Castle Fireworks Remixed, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Haunted Mansion games, and by remixing and playing songs in the Street Party Music Game, or in the newer Monorail Mix Game.
Another popular way to amass credits is called "Nedding". It consists of playing the Shrunken Ned's Jungle Cruise game but trying to end the game as quickly as possible by crashing repeatedly and running out of fuel. Each time the game is played it awards 20 credits, so the credits that can be gotten from this game are limited only by the length of time someone wants to put into it.
There are also several places in Tomorrowland where credits can be earned. In Nautilus Grotto and Shipwreck Graveyard, you can collect shells that randomly pop up under water. You receive one credit for every pearl you find. This game also requires the Diving Suit magic pin, which can be obtained from an in-game quest. Another place to earn credits, is the Autopia Space Race and the Mars race tracks. In this game, you will drive over trophies to collect them, while also driving over gas cans to keep from running out of gas. For every trophy collected, you will receive one credit. This game requires one of the four available Autopia car magic pins, which can be obtained from an in-game quest. It also requires an Autopia driver's license.
Accounts used specifically for getting credits and items, known in other games as multis, are called "mules". Since the game lets a player create new accounts freely, players create mules (named after the beast of burden) to enter multi-use codes and collect credits by visiting Disney Characters. Players can buy items with a mule's credits, and then trade these items from the mules to their main characters. Players who use mules are said to be "muling", and in the game mules are called "done keys" (donkeys) due to the limited vocabulary. On the VMK web site, Yavn has expressed his dislike of mules and his intention to ban accounts of people with an "unbelievable" number of accounts (such as fifty for a single household) which could be mistaken as being mules.[5] Some players use mules to take control of easy tasks, as finishing a quest and getting a Magic Pin, then trading it via another computer, and alas you can have up to about 50-70 Pins in your Inventory. Unfortunately, players use other quests like the Pirate Quests, where players can win a Map Magic Pin, whereas players walk around a certain area, and win some type of prize. The most rare prize of this event is the Dancing Inferno Pin.
Purchased items can be "sold back" for 20% of their purchase price.
Community
Players whose characters meet in the same room at the same time can become "friends": one issues an invitation to the other, and if the other accepts, then each player will always be able to see if the other is online and in what game location, and will be able to jump instantly to the other character's location (unless blocked by a 'friends only' flag on the room or if the friend's character is within a game, or if it is a 'special entrance' room such as the exit from the Typhoon Lagoon to Waterpark Pool). Either player can remove someone from his friends list at any time. From January 2007, the owners of rooms can now buy special tickets which will allow the entrance only to those with tickets given by the owner. Also, since there are long queue to enter rooms (the limit appears to be 15 guests per room), now you can get a "waiting number" (Referred to as the VMK Pass.) and go to other places until your number is called to enter the room.
If a character is in his own room, then he can be found by the Guest Rooms "search" button (because it searches on the names of room owners as well as the names of rooms). Other than this, there is no way within the game to find out whether a particular other character not on your friends list is online or in what room.
Disney prohibits sharing personal information in the game (and its limited dictionary also adds a technical obstacle to this). Disney's stated intent is to protect the safety and privacy of its members, but this also prevents members from having a legitimate way of reaching each other outside the game. Members of some Disney internet discussion forums get around this by putting certain phrases in their public signatures, a short bit of text which is visible to any other player who clicks on the character, to indicate a discussion board through which they can be reached.
Trading and scamming
Players can trade pins and room furnishings. One player clicks on someone's character to show an info window, then clicks 'Trade'. The other player will be asked if he wants to trade, and if he does, both players will see a trading window. Each player can double-click on his items to place them in the "offer" area, and once both players are satisfied, they each click an "accept" checkbox and that completes the trade. (Any change to either person's offer will clear both "accept" checkboxes and require both players to accept again.) While in a trade the letter "T" will appear over your avatars head so other players know that you are in a trade. As of April 2007 the "Ask to be Friend" button was removed and players could now see the description of the items that are in the trade which became useful to players so they don't get scammed into thinking a certain object is another.
Some clothing items are only available for boys or girls, and cannot be traded to the other gender. For example, a girl can not trade her princess outfit to a boy.
Some players try to take advantage of the trading window to scam other players. What usually happens is that a scammer will offer a valuable item for trade, he will ask someone else to put lots of good items into the offer area, and then he will quickly withdraw his valuable item and replace it with a cheap item and click "accept", hoping the other person won't notice the switch. A scammer can be reported by clicking the "Help" button at the bottom of the VMK window then clicking the "Call for Help" tab, but VMK staff does not appear to be often successful at returning lost items. As of October 5, trading was altered slightly so that after both users accept, they are shown an unchangeable summary of the items to be traded and they are asked to accept again, to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Another scamming trick is to ask to "try on" an item of clothing. After the victim has given the item, the scammer leaves the room, taking the item with them. The victim has no hope of finding the scammer in the whole of VMK.
Each player can put a maximum of fifteen items into a trade. A scammer will sometimes offer to give a rare item in return for more than fifteen items, necessitating two separate trades where the scammer promises to put the rare item into the second trade, but instead once the victim has given them fifteen items in the first trade the scammer will flee.
Another scam involves teleporters; a scammer will trade a pair of teleporters which appear to be identical but are not "matched" and therefore won't work together (using either might send a character someplace unintended, or might not function at all) this is most likely on accident since players did not know which teleporters matched.However this has become less common since the game was changed to highlight both teleporters in a matched set when one is selected, so that a person can see if a pair is not matched.
Some scammers offer to provide codes in return for items. Since codes cannot be traded or communicated in the game, these scammers will usually disappear (without providing any codes) after being given the items for which they asked, or else they'll communicate with their target outside the game and provide codes which have already been used and can no longer be redeemed.
Yet another scam is when a brand new item has been put up in a shop besides the Emporium or a New Game has been debuted which gives those items. The scammer will label this item as Beta and or extremely rare, trading it for actual rare items. only for the person to find out later that the item is either on sale or free.
A player can report a scammer with a "Report" button on his profile in the game, or by using the "Contact Us" link on the web site.
Most of the trading window scams no longer work or see retribution since the trading window now has several "Are you sure?" notices. VMK has stated that if you agree to all of these notices, that any issues you have with the trade are your own.
External links
- ^ Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom: About VMK. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom: For Parents. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom: Top FAQs. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ VMK Values. Retrieved April 15, 2007.
- ^ "Newsletter 10/18", VMK Forums, retrieved October 29, 2006.