Family Guy Online

Family Guy Online
Developer(s) Roadhouse Interactive
ACRONYM Games
Publisher(s) 20th Century Fox
Engine Unity
Release April 17, 2012[1]
Genre(s) MMORPG
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Family Guy Online was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the animated television series Family Guy, developed in a partnership between Roadhouse Interactive and 20th Century Fox. Family Guy Online was free-to-play using the Unity game engine. The game launched into public beta in April 2012, but on December 21, 2012, the developers announced that the game would not be developed beyond beta status and would be permanently shut down on January 18, 2013. The shutdown took place as announced, and the game is now closed.[2]

Gameplay

Cel shaded graphics make the game appear like a cartoon.
The player character receives a quest from Stewie Griffin, a character from the television series Family Guy that acts as a non-playable quest giver in the game.

Family Guy Online uses cel shaded graphics.[3] The game uses typical MMORPG character classes such as having Stewie act as a ranger, Peter as a tank, and Lois as a healer.[4] Players create their own character in the game using the Griffin family as a template. The actual characters from the show are reserved as non-playable characters (NPCs) in the game in order to give the player quests and advance the storyline (pictured).[4] The NPCs in the game are voiced by the same voice actors in the show.[4]

The game used two types of in-game currency: cash and clams.[3] Clams are earned by completing in-game objectives.[3]

Development

Family Guy Online was first revealed by 20th Century Fox through social media and through its official website on June 16, 2011,[5] with initial plans to launch the game in autumn 2011.[3] People wishing to join the beta phase for the game were invited to register on the website, although registration did not guarantee entrance into the beta.[5] The game would use the Unity game engine to run within a user's web browser.[3] IGN's Nick Kolan said that the game's use of cel shaded graphics showed potential for the game, but worried that it "could also be a total no-effort cash-cow."[3]

Rather than licensing the rights to create a game based on the television series, Family Guy Online was developed directly by 20th Century Fox, in partnership with Roadhouse Interactive and Sleepy Giant Entertainment.[4] The publisher of the game wanted it to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers, and to this end chose to make the game using the Unity engine instead of developing it as a game for Facebook.[4]

The game was launched in 2012 and entered a public beta phase on April 17, 2012, but never moved out of beta.[4][6] On December 21, 2012, an announcement posted on the Family Guy Online website stated that the game would be permanently closed on January 18, 2013.[7] Real-money purchases that players had made within the 60 days prior to the announcement would be refunded to them.[8]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gamezone.com/games/family-guy-online
  2. ↑ Closure notice on the Home Page Retrieved February 7, 2013. Archived July 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Family Guy Online Closed Beta Registrations Begin". IGN. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Goldman, Eric (April 15, 2012). "Going Inside Family Guy Online". IGN. Retrieved Dec 25, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Reahard, Jef (June 16, 2011). "Fox unveils Family Guy Online... really". Joystiq. Retrieved Dec 25, 2012.
  6. ↑ Osborn, Chuck (Dec 24, 2012). "Family Guy Online to shut down, cut-away gag explaining why not that funny". PC Gamer. Retrieved Dec 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Family Guy Online is Closing - Family Guy Online". Family Guy Online. Archived from the original on Dec 31, 2012.
  8. ↑ Lien, Tracey (Dec 23, 2012). "Family Guy Online is shutting down for good on Jan. 18, 2013". Polygon.com. Retrieved Dec 25, 2012.
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