281 I first learned about Free Realms from this Penny Arcade webcomic, which kind of describes my first giddy reaction to it as well.  I opened an account as a bit of a joke, though – a chance to quickly look at a free-to-play kid-targeted MMO and see how they generate interest and revenue in such a model.

Then, this morning, I played Free Realms for over two hours.  Why?  How did it engage me for so long?  Why do I still have a desire to get online and take my Level 4 Chef traipsing through Sanctuary, looking for new recipes?

First off, Free Realms is not a quickly thrown together product.  The production values are quite high, the graphics are good, and the art direction is clear.  The game is supposed to look safe and kid-friendly, but the environments are fleshed out and the characters look about as good as most MMOs.

Additionally, there’s a lot of content before you even have to hand over a cent.  The world of Free Realms is large enough, and if the team supports the game as time goes on, there’s no reason that the world can’t get bigger in the upcoming year.

Free Realms feels like a rather odd cross between World of Warcraft and Cooking Mama, a weird combination of the core mechanics of a hardcore MMO with the casual components of minigame collections.

Is it something that I would ever pay for?  Unlikely.  I can’t imagine parting with actual money in order to get access to more jobs, or in order to purchase a virtual cat for my character.  But I can certainly see myself playing Free Realms more over the next few weeks.

And just like Puzzle Pirates, I can certainly imagine players finding a community, fostering friendships, and being weaker in their inhibitions.  After all, $5 a month is a small price to pay (considering what other MMOs charge) in order to fully experience the game that the developers designed.

In the meantime, if you jump onto Server 1 on Free Realms, keep your eye out for Zoe Frigidbandit.