"Get out. Do something. Make something. That's good stuff.""

July 4, 2011 9:24 PM

Tinkatolli is an extremely cute online game for kids. With a difference; it lets them level up for doing things like making junk spaceships and getting exercise. Kids play as Tinkatollis, tiny creatures who live on an island where junk washes up everyday, which they can turn into cool stuff. It's still in beta testing, but you can explore the TinkaMaker and make your own Tinkatolli. (via Drawn)
posted by emjaybee (14 comments total)

(reposting sans controversial fundraising link per the mods).
posted by emjaybee at 9:25 PM on July 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

I wish the video gave a better idea of what the actual game play was like. Is it a LBP-style platformer? An Animal Crossing-esque RPG? Journal with off-line activity tracking is interesting and right on par with a lot of the gamification-in-education work being done, although I'd say they're about a year head of trend (good on them). What does leveling up do? Open new levels? Unlock costumes/accessories? What about access? Will this be a free game? Subscription? Freemium?

Cute, but their site lacks a lot of really basic info.
posted by smirkette at 9:38 PM on July 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

I remember when I was a kid I climbed trees, played soccer, went swimming, and built model planes just because it was fun, not because I needed to earn points in a "virtual world".

I mean, not to be too much of a curmudgeon, but it seems like the cool parts of this game can all be done without the game at all.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 9:49 PM on July 4, 2011

I liked the TinkaMaker.

tylerkarazewski, you're being a curmudgeon.
posted by NoraReed at 10:04 PM on July 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

That, and you can't put the genie back into the bottle. A lot of the age group this game is aimed at will already be used to playing video games. They will understand this. And seriously, I think much our lives will be augmented similarly in the future because we like rewards and we like tracking our accomplishments. What's to say this isn't worse than an Excel spreadsheet to track miles run/books read, etc.?
posted by smirkette at 10:10 PM on July 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

You had me at 'junk spaceships'.

I remember when I was a kid I climbed trees, played soccer, went swimming, and built model planes just because it was fun, not because I needed to earn points in a "virtual world".

I feel the same way. When I was a kid I played Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64 for the joy of exploration and competition, not to earn Achievements (unless you count those end-of-match rewards in Goldeneye and Smash Brothers). What's wrong with today's youth!
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:13 PM on July 4, 2011 [4 favorites]

But seriously game makers have been trying to pull this whole 'get people outside' thing for ages, with the Pokewalker and Boktai's Sun Sensor and edutainment and having to know what animals look like so you can shoot them in Red Dead Redemption. 'Armadillo'? What the hell is that?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:15 PM on July 4, 2011

:gets up on soapbox: The next stage of the whole "get kids outside while gaming thing" is to link to school experiences. Place-based learning. Activity + academic content in an environment interesting and relevant to kids. If we could just get rid of those damn pesky standardized tests that kill a couple months a year, add back in some budget for field trips, give teachers some serious planning support for unit development and got some IT people in schools who actually knew what the F they're doing, this would work. :off soapbox:

[LIB, re: classic games, I know, right? The kids should be making their own easter eggs for each other. Um, excuse me while I add that to my project plan...]
posted by smirkette at 10:21 PM on July 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

Just realized that the 'junk spaceships' referred to building them in the real world and not customizing a virtual spaceship with parts you steal off enemies, like some shareware game I'm forgetting or that Square shooter or a few other great games. Darn!
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 10:25 PM on July 4, 2011

Wow. The visual style is very close to Moshi Monsters.
posted by honest knave at 1:13 AM on July 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Kids don't really need your help that much. Mostly they just need you to stay out of there way and not hurt them.
posted by srboisvert at 1:38 AM on July 5, 2011

So cute, I AM NOT PLAYING WITH THIS AT WORK
posted by Mooseli at 7:30 AM on July 5, 2011

"And seriously, I think much our lives will be augmented similarly in the future because we like rewards and we like tracking our accomplishments."

That's why I keep a spreadsheet tabulating the number of words I succeeded in posting to Metafilter each day.
posted by Net Prophet at 8:33 AM on July 5, 2011

In all seriousness, I love building games. So they can have my $5 if I get to build things online right now. If this game is actually going to force me to go outside so I can get enough points to come back and build things, I do not want.

If you've got in to actually play the beta, please clarify.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:06 PM on July 5, 2011