Q&A: Designing Virtual World Toys with Ginny McCormick, Techno Source

In October, Disney launched a line of toys called Clickables for its fairy-themed virtual world, Pixie Hollow. The toys let users take elements of the virtual world experience back to the real world and vice versa. Instead of simply unlocking content online, each toy, whether a bracelet or a charm or jewelry box, lets users share virtual content with offline friends. Simply by touching bracelets together, two girls can become friends in Pixie Hollow. I've been a fan of the interaction for some time, and I recently spoke with Ginny McCormick, interactive director, Techno Source, who helped developed the technology and toys alongside Disney's virtual worlds team.

Virtual Worlds News: So, what I like about Clickables is that while we've seen lots of toys that enable content in virtual worlds, these really seem to take that interaction offline as well.

Ginny McCormick: That really was the goal of the whole line. I have three daughters in the demographic, and I feel like it's a pain point for a lot of parents: Your kids are online and so invested in the virtual world and they get to do all this creation and modeling and design with creatures or fairies or monsters, but in my house and most houses, there's a limited time you let your kids be online. And it's always a fight. My favorite is my daughter saying, "No, I"ll die if I don't finish."

For a child, now it's a continuous play experience. They don't have to emotionally disconnect. With Clickables there's also the hope that they can share, which is something you do online a lot, but not offline. It's that viral element, especially for girls.

VWN: Which I also find interesting because so many virtual worlds are expanding on old play patterns in a new environment.

GM: It's going full circle almost. The challenge of offline trading and those play patterns is almost bittersweet. You're giving away something you love, but you're getting something new. You're still giving away one of your favorite cards or something, though. Online there was an infinite option, though. You could just give things away; you didn't have to lose anything.

Especially with girls, that was something so challenging to explain in our focus group. You're gifting as opposed to trading or losing something. It's especially exciting for us because we expect to share hundreds of thousands of charms sold, but see millions unlocked online.

VWN: Do you look at that as lost business? I mean, now several hundred thousand girls don't have to buy the charms.

GM: It's about giving girls a way to connect with the product. To unlock the charm, you have to have a Clickables bracelet or a jewelry box, but it gives girls a way to socialize the way they do in Pixie Hollow and now offline. We're confident we'll have great ways to use the technology in new and different ways, so it's not about maximizing revenue in every possible source.

VWN: Given that is a kind of new idea, what sort of reactions have you been seeing?

GM: The reactions have been phenomenal. I have to say, we're explaining a lot. We're explaining a whole new virtual world that Disney just launched this fall. So we're also explaining a new franchise that just launched.

And there's something incredibly appealing about creating your own fairy. I'll laugh about it with my husband: I need to do something for work, and I'll be stuck designing a fairy for hours. There's something magical about that process and girls really get excited about it.

Clickables is a complicated product. This is something we talked about a lot in our focus groups. It has value on three levels, which isn't something toys have done traditionally. For example, if you never touched the jewelry to your computer, you'd still have great jewelry to show off your Fairy style.

On the second level it interacts with Pixie Hollow. You can earn points for your fairy through the LCD game and unlock items. That's something girls are starting to see and we think will be a requirement for toys in the future. They expect online play. If your first plush was a Webkinz--and those kids are starting to grow up--you expect some connection. Clickables gives you that.

Something that's totally new is that the pieces work together. I can share things with you and we can connect offline, and then online our fairies have exchanged gifts and become friends. Or I can play a game and then touch my bracelet to yours and exchange points. I really can't think of anything in our toy history that's been done like that.

VWN: If you're having to do a lot of explaining, do you see any resistance to accepting the new types of play or pushback?

GM: No, it's just finding the right way to communicate. I've always said that when I explain to girls that you have this bracelet and you touch it to your cousin's or your friend's or soccer teammate's and then
you're friends online, they just say, "Yeah, I can't believe it took that long." They expect bracelets to work like that now.

They're more flexible and embrace new technologies. And I've seen in focus groups we've started that then they say, "And you should be able to do this and this and this...."

VWN: Do you feel like that's a function of young girls getting to be more tech savvy?

GM: Absolutely. There's so much going on in the space and they're growing up with these things that become de facto. At Techno Source we always look with technology for ways to take classic play patterns that have engaged girls for decades and make them better. It's not changing the way girls play, but using technology to enable those.

VWN: It seems like that's becoming part of the race for kids' dollars as well. A few years ago, any toy or franchise would need a website. It seems like virtual world components are becoming the norm. Do you see that spreading?

GM: There's so much competition for these kids' online time. There is an expectation that there's online components, but it's hard. It goes back to the idea that kids have limited time online, and now there are lot of people vying for their time. One of the reasons we partnered with Disney is that we believe they're excellent and engaging at building virtual worlds for kids. They have a great track record. I do think it's a component that kids are going to start to look for with toys, but it is a challenge. You can either build your own or partner with someone else.

We looked at partnership with Disney as the great opportunity.

VWN: I've talked to other virtual world developers who say they're not worried about the toy industry because virtual worlds aren't their specialty. Do you see a partnership with a developer as necessary?

GM: It depends on the toy, but building a virtual world is a full time job. It's a mix of a lot of disciplines. One of the best things is that virtual worlds are constantly changing and evolving. Toys are
manufactured and shipped in the box,. Then they're on the shelves for three months. It's very discrete.

VWN: How does having the online component change the toy development process for you?

GM: It really was a challenge of looking at how much to program into the toy and how much to leave open and flexible to respond to the virtual world. I think one of the reasons Clickables are successful is that we can make updates very quickly. What's physically programmed is a very minor experience. We have a whole lot that we can change and keep up to date.

For example, at Toys "R" Us we have a Clickables point-of-purchase display. If you're in the girls aisle, you'll see a display with a Clickables sensor on it. Girls can touch their bracelet in the store and unlock something in Pixie Hollow. Because of the way the technology works, in theory we could change what's unlocked on a weekly basis so girls are always getting something new and exciting and relevant to
what's going on in Pixie Hollow.

VWN: How important is that new experience?

GM: One of the things you love about a virtual world is that it's dynamic. If you're going to take that offline, the toy can't be the same all the time.

VWN: I've heard other people talk about virtual worlds extending the lifecycle of toys. They give extra value. How does having a changeable toy affect that?

GM: I think at this point we're just taking it in. We definitely want to see girls' reactions. We could use some of the core pieces in the line and do new content through others so that your initial purchase would never be out of date or expended.

VWN: Do you see yourself taking Clickables to any other virtual worlds?

GM: We have an exclusive relationship with Disney for Clickables, but we're constantly looking at the online space and how kids are spending their time. I think you'll see more things from us on taking play
patterns and expanding them.

VWN: What about for boys? Disney is coming out with World of Cars next year, which seems sort of like the boy version of Pixie Hollow.

GM: There are definitely a lot of boys whose sisters have Clickables and they were upset. So we're definitely looking at a lot of opportunities.

VWN: I've also heard companies like Build-A-Bear talk about their virtual world as a bonus value for parents who are buying toys for kids. With the economy, do you see that online play becoming relevant to buyers?

GM: I think parents are really savvy and smart. They're looking for things that their children are going to play with beyond that one week or two week threshold and last the test. If you have a compelling
virtual world that is dynamic or changing, you know the value for your child. I do think the combination, if done correctly, is very compelling.


Source: virtualworldsnews.com