Inside Social Games

Social games often blur the lines with virtual worlds, and here’s a teen-focused example of that worth a closer look: Planet Cazmo.

This free to play game, of sorts, puts young players into an alien world full of talking, humanoid aliens, but what makes it most interesting is that it is a curious mix of MMO (massively multiplayer online) features, exploration, customization, and innovation.

When starting up, players are able to customize their own personal avatar, which can look either human or alien. Customization is a big part of Planet Cazmo. As one might expect, a myriad of clothing exists, a lot of which is branded (such as Dwight Howard from the pro basketball team Orlando Magic). Obviously, this alone adds a great deal of user creativity, but is something further embellished by the ability to also decorate a virtual home, purchase a pet (for paying members only), and even get a personal vehicle.

Rhe first vehicle users start out with is a skateboard, moving about the world in point and click fashion. Which brings up another point. Everything within Planet Cazmo is saturated with the underlying premise of being “hip” and “cool;” everything from how an NPC (non-player character) speaks, to the style of clothing and hair.

Hip or not, everything in the game costs a bit of in-game currency. Each day, players earn a small allowance for logging in, but are also able to earn the in-game coins through competing in a myriad of in-world mini-games or completing World of Warcraft style quests for the memorable denizens of this alien planet. As a means to entice players to convert to paying users, however, many of the virtual goods are limited to only full members.

Perhaps, it is left to wonder what is so special about Planet Cazmo at this point. Frankly, the virtual world is a bit simplistic, and the controls a bit obnoxious, but this isn‘t why it caught our attention. In the past, virtual worlds have made generic claims along the lines of “throw a party.” However, Planet Cazmo very much has this, in the form of virtual concerts. Yes, concerts.

The most recent was on Halloween by the band Weezer from Geffen A&M Records. Evidently, such virtual shows have been going on for some time as Cazmo has hosted a number of arists such as Sean Kingston, Jay Sean, Jordin Sparks, Kristinia DeBarge, Ciara, and more. The concert is hosted in a rather sizable virtual in-game arena with the artist appearing and singing in an avatar format. The avatars are synched up to streaming music mixed in with recorded, personalized shout outs from the performers.

As it turns out, this features has shown to have been exceedingly popular among the users of Planet Cazmo. They very literally pack the space with there avatars, chatting, dancing, spinning, and… well… having a good time, with each “instance” of the concert fitting hundreds of avatars. In fact, it has become popular enough that the average time spent at them is well over 30 minutes, and Cazmo has recently added a backstage area for members, allowing them to virtual meet the celebrity and get their “autograph.”

In regards to a business perspective, the events are often riddled with virtual, as well as real, goods for sale. The concept might be working well, as the site has also recently made a deal with Tommy Mottola, in the hopes that they will bring more celebrity content into virtual worlds as both a form entertainment and virtual goods monetization.

We actually got a chance to briefly speak with founder, Mike Levine who, while not being able to give specific metrics, stated that “hundreds of thousands of kids have come to the concerts and love them.” As a matter of fact, he also said that they are currently “planning a major holiday benefit event with a major charitable organization, with some very big acts.” A relatively small but growing virtual venue, Planet Cazmo hopes to make this show their biggest yet.