Fans of Free Realms were treated to various tidbits of information throughout the Fan Faire, starting at Friday night’s Community Address and continuing right on through Saturday’s two panels. Today we look at a brief summary of some of the highlights from the two day event.

Kart Driver and Demo Derby Driver
During the Community Address Laralyn McWilliams announced that two of Free Realms’ jobs, Kart Driver and Demo Derby Driver, would be getting their share of enhancements.

• Karts will be customizable in garages
• Many new clothing options will be released for both jobs
• The driver jobs will be treated to a full mission progression, allowing them to climb through all the levels for the first time

Soccer in Free Realms
A frequently discussed facet of Free Realms, since beta, has been the soccer field out by Perry’s Pastures. We were very excited to hear that, not only will there be a soccer minigame released “later this summer”, but additionally, you will get to play side-by-side with your guild mates!

The timed minigames will feature power-ups that are picked up on the field and will allow you to do special moves such as a spin kick, power kick or slide. Your guild will be able to choose a color scheme for its jersey so you will all match. Additionally, not only do we get to enjoy the minigame, but we also will be able to unlock a new job (name may not be the official one yet), Soccer Star!

New Desert Area
During the Community Address, we were shown various concept art pieces of a new desert area that will be making its way to Free Realms. While no name has been matched to the area yet, it is known that it will be the home of the Dwarves. Players will be able to progress beyond level 20, and a new job, Druid, will be available.

The next day, during the Breaking the Mold panel, ZAM managed to get Terrence Yee to divulge that the Druid job will “most likely be Members-Only”.

Trading Card Game
Tom Lischke, fully decked out in a banana suit, had some exciting information about an upcoming addition to the Free Realms TCG. An option, dubbed so far as the “card creator”, will allow players to create a card using their character’s name and likeness, as well as their choice of clothing. When you submit the card to Topps, ten physical cards will be mailed to you, each with its own unique code, to redeem a virtual version of the card in game!

Stay tuned for our full coverage on the Free Realms Trading Card Game panel to learn some more about this exciting new feature, as well as some explanations of how to play the TCG and tips to be a successful player!

Design Challenges in Free Realms
Saturday’s panel on the difficulties the developer team went through in order to deliver a game that was geared toward children, but still versatile enough to include adults, was a definite eye-opener for anyone who takes MMO design for granted. We learned how the team overcame these difficulties, why they chose to present certain facets of the game the way they did, and how they strove to keep open interest for gamers and casual players across the board. Attendees at the panel also had a chance for some Q&A where we learned some really cool things about existing issues and upcoming plans! We will have more details later this week with our full coverage of Breaking the Mold: Unique Design Challenges on Free Realms.