Building "Virtual Worlds" for the Preschool Set with Tribal Nova

I spoke this morning to Tribal Nova Co-CEO Pierre Le Lann about, among other things, the work they did on PBS Kids Play, a subscription-based ($10/month) immersive online learning environment for kids aged 3-6 that he calls a virtual world.

When Kids Play launched, I didn't cover it because I wasn't sure what it was exactly. After taking a tour, it's definitely neat: it's a primarily audio-driven environment (so kids don't need to read) that tracks users' advancement and activity across a variety of games so that users always have recommended games at their finger tips. I'm not sure if it's a virtual world: Although it's online in a world-like environment with customizable rooms and an interactive environment, there's no multi-user interaction. It seems like a traditional online game. However, Le Lann argues, and I'm interested, that environments like Kids Play may fill a gap at the young end of the scale for virtual worlds users.

For one thing, most virtual worlds simply aren't suitable for that young of children--either in content or accessibility.

"There's a big difference is whether kids can read or not," said Le Lann. "How many virtual worlds are completely audio-based for kids that can't read? Webkinz is really cute, but for preschoolers, you can show them how to use it, but the reality is that it was not designed for preschoolers. Even some of those really young-looking virtual worlds pretty much require that you know how to read. There are really few that cater to preschoolers because it's much, much New Post | Post | Virtual Worlds News | Your Weblogs | TypePadharder to do."

And PBS Kids Play is meant to encourage solo play. From using large icons and putting preferred games directly on users' virtual walls, the goal is to make it possible for a preschooler to navigate on his or her own.

"Obviously we encourage parents doing lap surfing, but the reality is that one of the parents put their kids in front of the TV is to have some alone time. This is an alternative, because parents prefer their kids to be playing educational games or doing something active instead of passively watching TV," said Le Lann. "If you put kids on Nick Jr or even the free PBS kids site, they call you in five minutes because they click on a link and click lost. The idea of an audio-based environment is key for preschoolers."

It seems like an attractive alternative, too. Although the activities are tailored to each child while following a general curriculum, it's still full of fun and games. Users can decorate their rooms, draw, watch full-length videos like Curious George and soon Bob the Builder(for the more passive moments) and generally have fun while learning.

Or as Le Lann puts it, "If you go back to the child, it's not about curriculum. It's about collecting stickers."

However, while users can leave their rooms and walk around (or rather, watch the cardboard box that serves as their make-believe home hop around), they don't communicate with anyone else. Le Lann says they're just not ready for it: preschoolers generally can't type, and an audio chat isn't safe. Likewise, users don't have avatars to navigate or express themselves.

"In Kidsplay, we took the elements of customization and pushed it really far, but we didn't add the avatar because we thought it was too much," said Le Lann. "I asked a specialist about that in New York [at Virtual Worlds 2008]. Can you do virtual worlds under 6? The notion of having a double and avatar doesn't make sense below 5. 5 years old seems to be really the limit. Below that, there's no virtual world with an avatar walking around and chatting."

Tribal Nova has taken a lot of those lessons to its own virtual world, Kidstudio, soon to be launching to a beta in America. The world targets kids between 6 and 12, but Kidstudio Jr. tracks the younger set. They haven't been around long enough to see if the virtual world with fewer options can graduate users to the more immersive environment. Le Lann is optimistic, though.

"For the preschoolers, we'll take them by the hand and teach them how to do the social networking and the chatting with avatars," he explained. "We're starting to recruit even younger now. We're flexing it very rapidly. We can get a child who's around 5, and they'll be ready pretty quickly to step up to the next level."

So that leaves the age old (or at least three-year-old question): What is a virtual world? Is Kids Play, with a 2.5D environment, themed areas, and metaphor of place for navigation, a virtual world? Or is it a neat Web portal for educational games?

"Is it the fact that you have an avatar? Is it the fact that you have an immersive environment that you can walk around in? Is it interaction?" asks Le Lann. "I don't have the answer."

Me neither. Thoughts?