Toontown Online

Toontown Online is a massively multiplayer computer role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Disney Interactive in 2003, intended for younger children, but the game has mostly adults playing it. Essentially, the game is about Toons working together to rid the streets of Toontown from the menace of the "Cogs" - businesslike robots. It was developed using Panda3D.

Toons use gags they can purchase with jellybeans at Goofy's Gag Shop. They can also earn more experience points in their various gag tracks in order to earn new and more powerful gags. The gags include things like dropping pianos, throwing cream pies, hypnotizing Cogs with goggles. In terms of EXP, for example, scoring 20 points in the Toon-up track opens up the level 2 toon-up gag, the Megaphone.

The game plays very much like other RPGs, but teamwork is clearly stressed in the game, especially as Toon-ups (healing gags) cannot be used on yourself. As a result, to be healed in battle, you need another player to use toon-up on you. Furthermore, in their most advanced stages Toons can carry only 80 gags and have 117 "laff" (life) points, not enough to complete the tallest buildings, and defeat the Sellbot VP or Cashbot C.F.O. by himself.

Algorithms

While the game was intended for children, actually there are many algorithms running within it. A mastery of these algorithms is necessary for the toughest battles, for example:

A Level 10 cog with 132 health points has a Birthday Cake which does 100 damage aimed at it. Should you aim to throw a Whole Cream Pie for 40 damage, the Whole Fruit Pie for 27, the Water Hose for 30, or try him out with a $5 bill (Throws have 50% more damage with a Lure)? In the Sellbot Cog VP Battles, it is essential that Toons have the teamwork to not create an "overkill" situation, when they are stuck in a tough battle, having run out of all their strongest gags.

Some formulae involved

$CogHP=(L+1)(L+2)$ where L is the level of the Cog Applying a binomial formula, that comes to $lL+2L+L+2$ , or $l^{2}+3L+2$ .

An exception to this are Level 12 cogs, where the formula suggests a damage of 182, but Level 12 cogs actually need 200 damage.

Throw/Squirt used on lured Cog = 1.5d where d is the regular damage. There is currently a known bug where this bonus is not always awarded.

2 similar Gags used on Cog = (a+b)/5 where a and b are the attacks

The probability of a gag succeeding depends on the experience held by the user and the gag used. For example, a Level 1 Cup-Cake Throw starts off with a probability of 75%, which increases to 90 with a maxed-out Birthday Cake. A Level 1 Drop starts off with a probability of 25%, increasing to 75% with a maxed-out Grand Piano. Take this into account when fighting. Other gags have different probabilities of hitting.

Certain combos work well. A Trap gag will boost the probability of a lure succeeding, while the probability of Drop hitting is increased if the Cog is stunned with another gag.

Tasks

Over time, the Toon HQ will provide official toontasks for the player to complete. They can be as simple as destroying four "Cogs", enemies in the game, to conquering twenty 5-story "buildings", places where some of the strongest of these Cogs reside. Middle-levelled (40 to 70) players can travel to the Sellbot Headquarters to clear factories, gain cog disguise parts, and late in the game (at 66 and up), toons can travel over to the Cashbot Headquarters to destroy cog mints and pave the way to the Cashbot CFO. Other ambitious tasks include attempting to catch all seventy species of fish and purchasing expensive items and doodles for the Toon's pleasure.

Non-Combat Activities

Toontown Online isn't all battle, other things can be done in the game. A feature that Toons are introduced to very early on are the trolley games. It can be quite a challenge to "max out", or score the maximum possible in a game. There is a wide variety of games available, for example a Pac-Man like game (known as the "Maze" game), toon tag, a tug-of-war, and a game where toons attempt to travel through a course of rings without missing any, much like a similar challenge from the Playstation game Spyro 2. Toons are rewarded with jellybeans for their performance in these games. The difficulty level of these games is adjustable; by attempting them in the earlier playgrounds (hubs) toons are playing an easier game, but for a smaller reward.

A popular feature that this game has to offer is fishing. Unlike other fishing systems in other MMORPGs, this is interactive. You estimate the distance by dragging the "lever" at the bottom and aiming for black spots in the pond. On Wednesdays, Disney hosts "BINGO WEDNESDAY". Like original bingo, you have to catch fish and clear your card to get jellybeans. Various patterns occasionally show up, such as the "blockout" pattern or the "three-way" pattern, which, while being more difficult, result in a much larger jellybean (currency) payout. To catch certain fish, Toons need to use jellybeans to upgrade their rods; which are most efficiently earned by fishing itself.

Toontown also has an estate and pet option. You can decorate your home with paintings, furniture, and other home furnishings. Also, players can buy clothing for their character.