iSketch

iSketch

URL	iSketch.net
Commercial?	No
Type of site	Drawing website
Registration	None
Owner	Robert Wahlstedt
Created by	Robert Wahlstedt
Launched	June 15, 1999
Current status	Active

iSketch is a browser-based drawing game that is similar to Pictionary.

Players take turns in drawing a word or words (using a mouse or tablet) while the other players try to guess. Puzzles come in over twenty languages and over two hundred themes. Difficulty level ranges from easy to expert. Guessers score when they solve the puzzle within a short grace period after the first correct guess. Artists accrue points for every correct guess within the grace period.

Aside from the standard game rooms, players can create custom rooms where they tailor game settings and choose from a wider selection of word lists. Players are also presented with a private studio where they can practice, and save or share drawings with others. Rooms categorized as "social" include chat-only and lounge rooms.

Game Rooms

Language Game Rooms American English Standard English Afrikaans Basque Bulgarian Catalan Czech Danish Netherlandic Dutch Estonian Filipino Finnish Belgian Dutch French German Gaelic Greek Icelandic Indonesian Italian Latin Latvian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Slovak Spanish Swedish Turkish

Game Room Variations 5 Strokes: Draw a puzzle using only five strokes Anything But: Draw anything but the word itself Big Picture: Draw one picture from a short phrase Blitz!: The round ends as soon as one (versus several players) guesses the puzzle Famous Faces: Five-minute rounds with an emphasis on portraiture Connections: Draw the current puzzle along with the last round's puzzle Lounge: Drawing tools are passed from player to player Tandem: Two artists collaborate to complete one puzzle Two Words: Draw one picture using two random words Special Subject Game Room Examples Anagrams Animals Colors Food Geography Harry Potter Homophones History Movies Nation Song Contest Palindromes Phrases Science Songs Trivia 70s

Rules and moderation

Player Voting System

iSketch users have the ability to moderate the game in order to ensure fairness and adherence to the rules. However, only users who have been using iSketch for a number of weeks may vote. iSketch has introduced a system of allowing votes due to the length of stay on the site. But this is dependent on the browser used and all information is saved in cookies. However, there have been many complaints about this system since votes disappear on a frequent basis due to problems in the scripting of the site. Deleting cookies can be blamed on occasions but often votes disappear without reason^{[citation needed]}.

Game Administrators

When a vote is cast, Game Administrators are notified and will attempt to assist and intervene if necessary. Administrators may support the decision of the voting user, or suspend the user's ability to vote. Administrators can ban persistent offenders from the site.

User-created rooms

While pre-created rooms are moderated by Administrators, user-created rooms employ a system similar to IRC operators where the room creator has full control over rules. Controls include, but are not limited to, making the room private, assigning other moderators and ejecting players.

There are also a number of various chatrooms which simulate sex. This is allowed and tolerated by the site creators. Administrators allow this to occur by claiming iSketch is for people over eighteen years old, however this is not stated prior to entering the site^{[citation needed]}. Due to the lack of password protection, the unrestricted and unregulated areas of the game may be unsuitable for young children or vulnerable people.

Chat Rooms

Most Chat rooms are user-created, but rooms created by administrators, where the game is played, have a chat box in addition to the game box, where users can chat and send actions (for example: laughs, hugs, and kisses) to other users. There is also an option for private chat with each of the other users.

Filters

A user may enable filters for pre-determined words, room names, emotes, and profile icons. Players should be aware that the word filter does not currently apply to usernames, so offensive words contained therein would remain visible.

Issues

• iSketch requires Adobe Shockwave. Because of this, it is not possible to play iSketch on operating systems without the Shockwave player software, (such as Linux), unless a Windows compatible browser and Shockwave plugin, is installed and run through Wine.

• The game allows only a limited number of players; therefore one might see this message when trying to log on: The server is currently full. Please try again later. If a room is full you can have someone in that room invite you.

• Players may pass answers between each other via instant messaging, such as Windows Live Messenger or Skype, or they simply write the puzzle itself instead of drawing. These are forms of griefing. Griefing can pose problems if target users are unaware/incapable of effective use of the boot mechanism or any of the other moderation features. Game administrators may act on reports of griefing and offenders are punished with temporary blocks or permanent bans.

See also

• Yahoo! Graffiti

Further reading

• "Yahoo! Picks of the Year". (Dec. 2000). Retrieved Jan. 2, 2007.
• Williams, Felicia (Dec. 2000). "Games Grown Ups Play / An Online Doodle Dandy". PC World, p. 184.
• 2nd Place Winner, People's Choice Awards - Interactive Entertainment. *Adobe/Macromedia UCON 2001. Retrieved Jan. 2, 2007.
• Aquino, Grace (2001). "Review: The all-star team of online games". Retrieved Jan. 2, 2007.
• "Ten Cool Sites". (Jan. - Feb. 2002). Exploratorium. Retrieved Jan. 2, 2007.

External links

• Play iSketch (requires Adobe Shockwave)
• Public iSketch Communities (English): iSketchforum
• iSketch Communities (other languages): Dutch, Italian, Portuguese
• Galleries: iSketchforum