Gametap's new MMO parental control

Do'Tsahvahn · **Joined:** Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:21 pm **Posts:** 123

Just to show that we are closer to launch, Gametap now has a parental control to allow/disallow participation in MMO games.

Here's a screenshot of the interface to change options for a Gametap sub-account:

faroguy · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:11 pm

That's probably a good thing, so kids don't get sucked in and lose contact with the rest of life.

Ken Telinome · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:12 pm

I can see a few issues here with kids being blocked from Uru Live because the parents don't want the kids playing the other MMO's out there

. I hope this doesn't happen too often.

macnbc · **Joined:** Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:53 am **Posts:** 859

Ken Telinome wrote:

I can see a few issues here with kids being blocked from Uru Live because the parents don't want the kids playing the other MMO's out there

. I hope this doesn't happen too often.

Um.. what other MMOs on Gametap?

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 6:03 pm

I'd like my son to be able to play Uru Live, but I don't want him to have access to traditional IM. Now what?

Alahmnat · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:40 pm

Send a suggestion asking to have them both separated.

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:48 pm

Already sent to Suggestion Box and Randomos. Thanks.

dinahS · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:02 pm

Quote:

I'd like my son to be able to play Uru Live, but I don't want him to have access to traditional IM. Now what?

Is the concern over AIM? Or is it over the IM client inside GameTap? (They're different. Not separated today, but different)

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Tue Dec 12, 2006 9:31 pm

I will be with my son while he plays Uru Live. I do not want to babysit while he plays all the others games which I have approved for his age level just because I have to enable any form of IM just to play Uru Live.

dinahS · **Posted:** Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:36 pm

If that's the case, why not just create an Explorer for your son that is in your account? That way, you *have* to be there for him to play Uru, and you won't have to worry about IM (or unsupervised Uru play) when you're not around.

If GameTap separates the dependency between IM and MMO, they do a disservice to most parents who may not grok what an MMO is.

John Lynch · **Joined:** Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:17 am **Posts:** 466

What a great suggestion DinahS

Also if you only have 1 child account, then you can make a second one for your son (I believe you can have up to 5, but I'm not a gametap user so that number might be slightly off. I know you can have more then 2

).

JWPlatt · **Posted:** Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:48 am

I made accounts for each of my three sons (yes, like the 60's TV show). I don't like the idea of having them use my account, even if I'm there. Things happen. And what if I want in too? We have enough computers to get us all in if there weren't a logon limit. I'd also actually like singular allow/deny control over every game in addition to age ranges. If this were available, I could override the thing about which I'm complaining.

Ian Atrus · **Posted:** Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:30 am

The easiest solution would be to add a "white list" of allowed IMs/MMOs.

John Lynch · **Joined:** Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:17 am **Posts:** 466

JWPlatt wrote:

I made accounts for each of my three sons (yes, like the 60's TV show). I don't like the idea of having them use my account, even if I'm there. Things happen. And what if I want in too? We have enough computers to get us all in if there weren't a logon limit. I'd also actually like singular allow/deny control over every game in addition to age ranges. If this were available, I could override the thing about which I'm complaining.

Well as a work around (until this gets fixed) you can give access to two of your sons at one time with the use of your spare accounts (if we get 5 of them, which I'm not sure about). However it is a workaround, so I'm not advocating that as a permanent solution

dinahS · **Posted:** Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:33 pm

Quote:

I'd also actually like singular allow/deny control over every game in addition to age ranges.

Actually, you *can* enable/disable specific games (click the Game Details button in Personal and Family filters) but NOT for MMOs (right now). I'm logging it as a defect, but I can't promise when it will be changed.

As for the number of subaccounts, you can have up to 7 plus the primary. However, only two people can be logged in simultaneously.

(Yes, I'm one of the UX designers at GameTap. Visit our blog at http://angledwhiteboards.com. If anyone has GameTap questions, feel free to ask them there. I promise we're paying attention.)

Gametap's new MMO parental control

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