90's kids, remember all those websites featuring virtual worlds that we used to be obsessed with during our childhood? I remember wanting to finish my homework for the day or looking forward to the holidays so I could log on to play these games. Read on to see if you played any of these games too!
Stardoll
Source: Gazette Review
The pinnacle of fashion games when I was in year 7. My friends and I would go into the computer lab for a class to do work on Powerpoint or Publisher but we hurried to finish up our work so we could spend some time on Stardoll. The fashion based game centered around dressing up virtual dolls and decorating your dressing room too. There were also mini games and challenges that you could complete to earn Starpoints and Starcoins. All to buy the coolest outfits from the various shops. Does anyone remember dressing up their favourite celebs at that time too?
Toontown Online
Sources: Reddit, Myabandonware, Engadget
Anyone remember the colourful, wacky animal characters we would create that roamed around this virtual world created by Disney? I thought this was the coolest MMORPG at that time and the graphics were top notch (look at the low res image for reference). I spent more time hopping onto the game trolley to play mini games and earn Laff Points and Gags rather than the challenging fights to destroy the Cogs (robot businessmen who were the bad guys). The different playgrounds, all centered around a popular Disney character, made the game even more exciting (Daisy Gardens was my favourite!).
Millsberry
Source: Millsberry Wiki
So I only realized that this was an advergame (game created to advertise products) upon searching it up for this blog post. But the branded cereal such as Trix and Lucky Charms in the virtual supermarket makes a lot more sense now. Millsberry was a charming town with shops, homes, arcades for your character to visit. Though I can’t remember much of the gameplay, I do remember The Millsberry Gazette which came out weekly and I remember being excited to read it.
GirlSense
Sources: Virtualworlds.fandom, Online Press Release
I remember this website fondly as one of the games that really allowed users to get creative. Similar to StarDoll, it was a dress up game that allowed players to customize their avatar, however iIt had the added element of being able to design clothing for your fashion boutique. Other players could buy items from your shops and vice versa. It was always so satisfying when you got high ratings for your clothing or someone purchased from your store.
Fantage
Sources: Venturebeat, Fantage Wiki
This was a MMORPG where you could create and customize your own characters and explore the virtual world. When I think about the website, I remember the colourful blocky logo spelling out Fantage. It had some games in various areas, and the typical social mechanics of most virtual world games. What kept drawing me back to this game back then though was how cure the avatars were or “Fantagians”. The Fantagians were in a cute chibi style that you could dress up with funky hairstyles, clothing and accessories.
Gaia
Sources: Google Sites, Twitter
And then there was Gaia, this was one of the websites I spent the most time on in middle school. It was a forum-based social network that also had various virtual spaces where your little avatar could move around and interact with other users. Like Fantage, the thing that kept pulling me back to this game was the really cute anime style characters. There was such a huge variety of clothing and accessories that you could buy from NPC-run stores, from auctions where players can sell off items and even free items from special events. I still remember a super cute panda backpack that I was obsessed with.
Anyone else miss those childhood days and games like these?
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