Cartoon Orbit

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Cartoon Orbit
Image:Logocarorb2.GIF

Cartoon Orbit front page, 2000-2002
URL Official Site
Commercial? No
Type of site Trading Card Game
Registration Yes
Owner Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner Inc.)
Launched September, 2000
Current status Closed

Cartoon Orbit was an online gaming network created by Turner On-Line to promote its shows and partners. The original site was registered in May 2000, with the beta ending September 2000. Cartoon Orbit closed down on October 16, 2006.

Contents

[edit] History

Cartooniverse was the brainchild of Sam Register. Register, who is also the man behind the development of CartoonNetwork.com in 1998, went on to become the creative director of CartoonNetwork.com and Cartoon Orbit from 2000-2001 before leaving to pursue television development with Cartoon Network in the Los Angeles studios. He came up with the idea after viewing PBS's Sticker World. After Sam left Cartoon Orbit, Art Roche became the creative director of all of CartoonNetwork.com (including Orbit), a post he continues to hold. Justin Williams was the project lead at Turner and Director of Community for Orbit until 2003 when he began working on other Cartoon Network interactive projects.

The original name of the site was to be "Cartooniverse". This can be seen in various early flash animation and screen shots. At release, the name was changed to "Cartoon Orbit". The reason for Cartoon Network deciding on not using the name Cartooniverse was because the copyright for it was held by someone else at the time.

The original Cartoon Orbit was built using parts of communities.com's "Passport" software. This software was a 2D, avatar-based chat server, where members could decorate their own spaces. Most of the chat functionality was removed, but the decoration part of the software was used extensively for displaying and editing cZones. Until the complete conversion to Flash, references could still be found in the HTML source code to passport "room servers," and links to technical documentation on communities.com's web site.

The original communities.com company went out of business in late 2000, another victim of the dot com bust. The current communities.com website is not related.

Viant worked on the site as well, offering project and business management for the development and beta and back-end software development for the user and content management. Scott Gutterman served as the lead at Viant, and Stacie Spychalski, David Gynn, Cris Griswold and others managed plans, requirements and developed the code. Before being acquired and ultimately closing, Viant went on to work at several Turner Broadcasting/Time-Warner projects from 2000-2002.

[edit] Features

Cartoon Orbit was an 'electronic sticker book'. Players were given points to purchase stickers, called cToons, from the in-game store. Players could also receive cToons/gToons and cRings (the games 'assets') by entering special redemption codes, during special events, bartering with other players (trading), or in an auction format.

Since cToons/gToons and cRings could also be traded or auctioned off to other players, the games assets were also akin to trading cards. The 'value' of the games assets varied depending on issue size (smaller issue sizes = greater value), popularity (greater popularity = greater value), age (older assets = greater value) and edition (lower editions = greater value).

cToons came with a wide range of functionalities. Most were static, however some were animated and/or had sound. Other cToons when clicked played mini-games, or had special functionality (such as a Dexter's Laboratory-themed cToon that automatically counted down to Albert Einstein's birthday).

Players were given their own spaces, called 'cZones'. Players could decorate their cZones with cToons, making the cZone much like a sticker book. One could further customize their cZone by changing their cZone's background.

Players could also participate in Cartoon Orbit's collectible card game called gToons from 2002. While gToons could be purchased and traded much like cToons, the game itself could stand on its own if removed.

[edit] Items

There were three main collectibles in the Cartoon Orbit game: cToons, cRings, & gToons.

  • cToons- These were the main collectible item of Cartoon Orbit. cToon was short for Cartoon, just as eMail is short for Electronic Mail. They could be thought of as trading cards or more accurately e-stickers (as they could be displayed on a cZone). cToons could be plain, be animated, play sounds, or both. Some cToons were part of special sets, and developed their own names. These included:
    • Golden cToons - cToons that were gold in color, some of which were very rare.
    • Ad cToons - Sponsored advertisement cToons. Typically gained via a code, and some of which would disappear after the promotion is over, be changed to remove the advertisement logo, or replaced with a different cToon altogether.
    • Code cToons - These were cToons that were only available by entering a code. They could be found on Cartoon Network commercials, as promotions on items, or at sponsor sites. Codes were only active for a set time, then expire. In early 2005, a bug in Orbit caused all old codes from around mid-2002 onward to be re-activated. These re-activated codes eventually started to slowly re-expire.
    • Game cToons - These were cToons that when placed on a cZone and clicked, opened a miniature flash game. Some of them would give you a 'prize' code cToon at the end if you achieved a certain target, like getting 10,000 points on the game.
    • Checklist cToons - These were cToons that when placed on a cZone and clicked, would be allowed to be printed off by the user and they would have a checklist of all the new cToons due to be released that month. New checklist cToons were created from November 2001 to June 2003.
    • Sticker cToons - Most like a traditional sticker, most had quotes or quips from the character portrayed. The majority of the sticker cToons were released in 2001.
    • Holiday cToons - First released at Christmas time in 2001, these quickly became some of the most popular cToons in Orbit. In 2002 and 2003, inexpensive Holiday presents were created. These were meant to be freely given to other players. After Christmas, the present cToons were automatically exchanged for a real cToon.
    • Auction Only cToons - As the name suggests, these cToons could only be purchased in Orbit Auctions. While some have a 'total released' number in the thousands, typically less than 100 each were actually auctioned off.
  • cRings- Much like a webring, cRings joined players together with a common theme. In the early years of Orbit, clicking on a cRing took you to another player's cZone that was displaying that cRing.
    • Blue Back cRings- Very rare cRings that got their name from the 'blue background' they were created on. A rumour was said that if a user entered "Toonsucks" as an orbit code, they would get every single cRing made, however, this is false.
  • gToons- Cards used for Orbit's own Collectible card game (CCG). Each had a different power and point value. A player would build a deck of 12 gToons, and then use that deck to challenge other players to a match.
    • Slam gToons - These were a special type of gToon that were very rare. Every gToon pack purchased gave the player a small chance to win one of these gToons. They had especially strong powers and were always wanted for decks.

[edit] Areas

  • Challenge Zone- Challenge other Cartoon Orbit players in a game of gToons.
  • cMart- Where you could buy cToons. They were sorted "By Show", "By Character", "By Points", "By Type", "By Prop", and "By Set". Most cToons when released did not stay in the cMart for long and were soon sold out.
  • cZone- The part of the Cartoon Orbit site that belonged to the user. They could decorate their cZone with any of Orbit's cards, like a gallery or sticker book.
  • cZone Directory- Where a user could find other people's cZones. They would type in their user name, find the name, or find it by letter. There was also a cZone Spotlight (a list of some particularly well-made cZones). It was meant to be updated frequently, but rarely was.
  • Showcase cZone- Where users could view new cToons and updates on Orbit, and also the main Live Trading area.
  • My Collection- Where Orbiters could view their cards. They were able to sort them into shows, or by type of card. They could also hide their cards from trading or delete them.
  • Auctions- Allowed players to put cToons up for sale. At the end of the auction the highest bidder received the cToon, and the player received the bid points minus a small 'fee'.

[edit] Past features

  • My Favorites- Was a section that Cartoon Orbit originally had where one could visit someone's cZone and add them to a Buddy List. The Buddy List also allowed them to see if the friend they added was logged in. If they were logged in they could click ’follow’ and go to the section of the website that they were currently located at. The cZone Directory somewhat resembled this.
  • Team Orbit- Team Orbit was a group of 100 Cartoon Orbit users who were chosen to make suggestions about the game after it was released to the public. Team Orbit only lasted a few months in 2001. It was replaced by the ideas and comments coming from numerous fan sites.
  • ToonFlash Newsletter- Was a newsletter that Cartoon Orbit periodically sent out to everyone via email.

[edit] Orbit worlds

There used to be 'Worlds' on Cartoon Orbit. These were based on fictional places from the Network's cartoons. They were removed before the transition to Flash in 2002. The 'world' pages came complete with a quote or quip from that world's characters, a poll, and links to 'Spotlight' cZones.

  • Centersphere- This 'special' world was the landing page when entering Orbit. From here users could go to the other worlds.
  • Townsville- "Formed eons ago by a spectacular collision of sugar, spice and everything nice, Townsville shines in the night sky with a unique pink hue. The surface of Townsville is highly diverse: the younger, lower terrain of the northern hemisphere is full of flowers, whereas the older, higher terrain of the southern hemisphere is often densely populated by squirrels."
  • Dexter's Laboratory- "Home to the boy genius himself, Dexter’s Laboratory is chock full o’ Bunsen burners, vials of bubbling green liquid and all sorts of mechanical doohickeys."
  • Scooby World- "Accidentally discovered by Shagnacious P. Rogers III, a part-time toongazer and full-time resident of Coolsville, the atmosphere of Scooby World is rich in spookiness. Notable for natural resources such as Scooby Snacks and Malt Shops, visitors to Scooby World are often seen roving the landscape in colorful utility vehicles known as Mystery Machines."
  • Bedrock- "The distinctly primitive Bedrock, Cartoon Orbit's earliest known formation, hovers a mere 36 million miles from Centersphere. Despite its boulder-strewn surface, which yields sparse vegetation, Bedrock boasts all the luxuries and locations of modern prehistoric life, from the Polarock camera to the masto-vacuum. In other words: Don't take it for granite."
  • Cartoon Networld- "The story of Cartoon Networld is the story of cartoon stars who migrate here daily from the television screens of a grateful populace. Cartoon Networld is a first-rate retreat with many pleasing amenities, a sunshine playground for the top cartoon stars. Warning: the atmosphere of Cartoon Networld may alter the central humor system of visitors who encounter its numerous laugh-inducing environments."
  • Kids WB Backlot- This was added after the removal of Bedrock.
  • Toonami- This was added after the removal of Bedrock.

[edit] Cheating methods

There are a lot of bugs in Orbit which induced cheating.

  • Password cracking: This was a nearly unpreventable cheating method, accomplished by using assorted programs to crack a user's password.
  • Trade scamming: Before a trade was complete, cheaters could change the cards they were offering without the other player noticing. Users were often caught off guard and scammed of their cards.
  • Harvesting: A user created a new account, typed in all of the active Point Codes (for about 2000 points) and then transferred it to their main account.
  • cZone Cyclers: This was a device used on sites outside of Cartoon Orbit. It enabled the user to log on and proceed to the Cycler, which then cycled through random cZones to gain points. Because of these, Orbit changed cZone cycling so that you could only get a maximum of 2000 points a day, though many times, these cyclers were nothing more than a ploy to get your login name and password.
  • Fake Winball/Winwheel Games: Various Winball and Winwheel sites on the Internet allowed a user to play the game for points and prizes, especially when it was a time where Winball/Winwheel was inactive.
  • New Account Scam: This was a method in which players would auction a low value cToon or gToon on their main account for the max amount of points. Players would then create a new account, receive their free points for joining, and then buy that gToon or cToon in the auction from their main account with all their points.

[edit] Key Dates

  • In August 2002, Auctions began. Three auction-only cToons from the television show "Hamtaro" were released to celebrate this.
  • On October 14, 2002, Cartoon Orbit unveiled gToons. The slogan used to promote the game was "gToons, get in the game."
  • Since mid-2005, it appears that Turner On-Line stopped maintaining the Cartoon Orbit site. For the first few years, the site was updated weekly. Updates were stopped in February 2006, and many reported bugs went unfixed, including problems with trading and gToons.
  • On August 17, 2006, Cartoon Network removed the navigation for Cartoon Orbit from its main header. The link could now only be found on the bottom of the home page. This caused many users to speculate that Cartoon Network has nearly given up completely on Cartoon Orbit, and some anticipated its closure. These same users also pointed to the recent AP press release from Cartoon Network about developing an as yet unnamed new cartoon based MMORPG as proof that Cartoon Orbit will soon be a thing of the past.
  • From September 29, 2006, users were no longer able to sign up for new Cartoon Orbit accounts. When clicking the 'Join Now' button, the user was presented with a 'Registration is Closed' page.

"We regret to announce that Cartoon Orbit will be closing October 16, 2006.

Since the launch of Cartoon Orbit in 2000, we have been amazed and honored by the dedication of our fans. From the days of Orbit Worlds and cZone Spotlight to the introduction of gToons, it's been a memorable ride creating and developing this site for you throughout the years.

As a small token of our appreciation for your incredible loyalty, we would like to offer you a Thank You certificate featuring some of our favorite gToons. We'll automatically insert your username and first login date--just click below to print."

  • On October 16, 2006, Cartoon Orbit was officially closed early that morning (most likely programmed). The link that was placed at the bottom of the page was redirected to Cartoon Network's Spanish site. Direct linking to their web address however showed the Cartoon Orbit was still online, and somewhat was an underground society.
  • On October 17, 2006, Cartoon Orbit officially took the login off the homepage, as well as later on in the day disallowing anyone from logging in on another site page.
  • On October 18, 2006, Cartoon Orbit was officially taken off the Cartoon Network site, and became an error page.
  • As of June 3, 2007, directly linking to the site reveals a notice stating that Cartoon Orbit has closed, with an FAQ link. Clicking that link will yield a new page, with Cartoon Network's older navigation bar, as well as the login box. Clicking on the links within the login box, you will still see what it was, that "Registration is Closed", and clicking on the points submit button with no code entered yields a page that states you've discovered an orbit prize.
  • In December of 2007, Cartoon Network released a game called 'Transformers: Animated Action Packs'. This new game was essentially a stand alone gToons using assets from the new animated Transformers show.

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