Cartoon Orbit facts for kids
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Cartoon Orbit's front page from 2000-2002
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Type of site
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Children's digital collectible card game |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner) |
| Created by | Sam Register |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Closed |
| Launched | October 2000 |
| Current status | Closed |
Cartoon Orbit was a children's online gaming network created by Turner Online to promote its shows and partners. Created as an addition to the Cartoon Network website, Cartoon Orbit opened to the public in October 2000. Its main attraction was a system of virtual trading cards called "cToons", which generally featured animation cells from programs broadcast on the network, though advertisement-based cToons were also common. Added in October 2002 was the popular head-to-head strategy game gToons.
The site began to suffer from lack of maintenance beginning in 2005. On October 16, 2006, Cartoon Network shut down Cartoon Orbit and left users with a "Thank You" certificate as a token of their appreciation.
Features
Players were given points to purchase stickers, called cToons, from the in-game store called the cMart. Players could also receive cToons, gToons and cRings (the game's assets) by entering special redemption codes, during special events, bartering with other players (trading), or in an auction format.
cToons came with a wide range of functionalities. Most were static, but 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 gallery spaces, called cZones, to decorate with cards of their choice. One could further customize their cZone by changing their cZone's background.
Items
Three main collectibles were available in the Cartoon Orbit game: cToons, cRings, and gToons.
- cToons: 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 ended, be changed to remove the advertisement logo, or replaced with a different cToon altogether.
- Code cToons: cToons that were only available by entering a code, and after a designated amount of time, were expired. They could be found on Cartoon Network commercials, on promotional items, or at sponsor sites. Codes were also revealed during Cartoon Cartoon Fridays and on Kids' WB.
- Game cToons: 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.
- Checklist cToons: cToons that, when placed on a cZone and clicked, were able to be printed off by the user so 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: Much 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 which were meant to be freely given to other players. After Christmas, the present cToons were automatically exchanged for a real cToon.
- Auction Only cToons: cToons that could only be purchased from Orbit Auctions.
- 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.
- gToons: Cards used in the game of gToons.
- Slam gToons: A rare type of gToon with special abilities.
gToons
gToons was Cartoon Orbit's own digital collectible card game extension. Launched on October 14, 2002, over 250,000 users had joined after the first month and over 400,000 users were playing after the first two months. gToons was discontinued alongside Cartoon Orbit on October 16, 2006, although it has been stated that it might return "as a stand-alone game sometime in the future with new sets of game pieces to collect".
In December 2007, gToons was revived as "Action Packs" for Transformers: Animated, followed by a Ben 10: Alien Force version becoming available in April 2008. Though the revival is now only available in a single-player mode, the rules and design are virtually identical to the original.
Gameplay
Players assembled decks composed of 12 cards each. Cards represented characters, places and props from shows broadcast on Cartoon Network, and each card had a color, value and occasionally a special effect that could modify the value(s) of other card(s). A game of gToons, which typically lasted about three minutes, involved two players strategically using seven gToons at a time to gain the most points by the game's end. Two colors (determined by the "bottom" card of each player's deck) were goal colors: if the two colors were both "neutral" colors (black or silver), the higher total point value won. If there was exactly one non-neutral color (blue, red, yellow, green, purple, etc.) between the goal colors, a player with more cards of the non-neutral color would receive a 15-point bonus to their total before determining victory. If neither color were neutral, a player could win by having more of each color in play than the opponent; otherwise, the higher total value won. Five separate expansion packs containing different gToons were released between 2003 and 2006.
Areas
- Challenge Zone: An area where players could challenge others to a game of gToons.
- cMart: An area where players could buy cards. Cards could be sorted by show, by character, by price, by type, by prop or by set. Most cToons 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).
- Showcase cZone: An area where users could view new cToons and updates on Orbit, and also the main Live Trading area.
- My Collection: An area where Orbiters could view their cards. Cards were able to be sorted into categories by show or by type. Users could also hide their cards from trading or even delete them.
- Auctions: A standard auction setup which allowed players to put cToons up for sale. The highest bidder at the end of the auction received the cToon, and the seller received the bid points minus a small fee. Auctions were introduced in August 2002.
- My Favorites: A section where one could visit someone's cZone and add them to a Buddy List. The Buddy List also allowed a user to see if the person they added was logged in. If they were logged in, they could choose to "follow" the person and go to the section of the website that they were currently located at. The cZone Directory somewhat resembled this.
- Team Orbit: 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, and it was replaced by the ideas and comments coming from numerous fan sites.
- ToonFlash Newsletter: A newsletter that Cartoon Orbit periodically sent out to all users via email.
