''Castle Infinity'' is a discontinued
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, although t ...
, the first intended for children. It was launched by Starwave Corporation in 1996, and features personalized avatars, an embedded message system and live chat in a 2D side scrolling game world. It survives as a
freeware
Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...
MMOG
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players to interact in the same online game world. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are games th ...
.
The game is full of interactions that force players to collaborate with each other in order to pass from one area to the next, by way of four-person vehicles and other game-like lobbying devices.
The
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
group
The Bobs
The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California, in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington, and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell sho ...
provided several original songs for the soundtrack. Additionally, members of the band also lent their voices for most of the characters.
History
''Castle Infinity'' was first released in 1996, making it the first fully released MMOG designed for children. It was originally designed by
Russell Ginns, Gregg Foster, and Scott Wallin, with art direction and animation by Jonathan Maier and Andy Norman. It was developed and published by
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...
's early internet company
Starwave
Starwave was a Seattle, Washington-based software and website company, founded in 1993 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and led by CEO Mike Slade. The company produced original CD-ROM titles, including '' Muppets Inside'', and titles for C ...
.
The initial launch included a joint promotion with
Netcom, retail displays in
Blockbuster Video
Blockbuster may refer to:
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a former video rental chain
* Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon), remaining store
Arts and entertainment
* Blockbuster (entertainment) a very successful movie
* Blockbuster (DC Comics ...
, and coupons included in the packaging toward the purchase of a
USRobotics
U.S. Robotics Corporation, often called USR, is a company that produces USRobotics computer modems and related products. Its initial marketing was aimed at bulletin board systems, where its high-speed HST protocol made FidoNet transfers much fast ...
modem.
Access to the game required a CD-Rom and also a subscription. This technology requirement, plus the nascent child online audience at the time, proved too limiting for wide distribution. At its peak, the service had approximately 4,000 registered players. Ownership passed to
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
when Starwave was acquired in 1997. Disney did not maintain development for the game, and access to the service became intermittent starting in 1998, and was shut down entirely by 2000.
Revival
In 2000, the game servers were rescued from a dumpster
by Kevin Quitt, a programmer who happened to be one of the game's players, and new development of the game began run by Castle Infinity, Inc. a non-profit organization. In 2005 there was fresh media coverage of the game by way of
Slashdot
''Slashdot'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''/.'') is a social news website that originally billed itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters". It features news stories on science, technology, and politics that are submitted and evaluated by site ...
and
BoingBoing
''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice wo ...
.
In 2011 a new server was launched with the help of former players, including Spencer Jerome, Donald Butyen and Rachel Coleman. At present, Castle Infinity, LLC, manages the effort.
[
]
Story
Castle Infinity takes place in a virtual world created by dinosaurs 65,000,000 years ago to escape from a comet approaching the earth. The virtual world has become infested with monsters but mammals have evolved to the point that they have invented the internet and can now access the Castle. Players are welcomed in by dinosaurs, who want mammals (kids) to help them save the Castle from the monsters.
Gameplay
Castle Infinity is a 2D side-scrolling world, where players collect "grow caps" and "hats" to unlock new play areas. The game places a heavy emphasis on player interaction, and much of the game's map is constructed to encourage users to collaborate in order to proceed. Players complete challenges which require multiple players to participate together, such as piloting a submarine that requires four pilots to steer properly. There are many locations where, in order to access higher levels, at least 3 or 4 members are required to stand on the same spot for the lift to activate.
Much of the directing of players between single and multi-player environments was a solution to the challenges of latency. The game was launched when a majority of home users had 9600 or 14.4k Modems
The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establish ...
. By siphoning players into individual areas, they could experience side-scrolling action. Then, in 4-player or unlimited areas, the focus was on communication and exchanging items.
The game's "official language" is Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
. Many signs and audio clips feature warnings and comments in a pidgin version of that language.
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Castle Infinity Revival Project Website
Castle Infinity website
from Starwave era
Castle Infinity website
from user-owned era
Excerpt from Attack of the Show featuring Castle Infinity
Slashdot thread
about the return of Castle Infinity
1996 video games
Freeware games
Multiplayer online games
Starwave games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Windows-only games