Yeah, I got some of those keys, but I couldn't do anything with them yet! I look forward to re-earning them in the future and finally using them.

Also related to the site, I have to ask because I am a parent and these questions occur to me: what protections are in place for the kids who'll no doubt want to use the Club?
Leingang:At the highest level, we're going through the ESRB Privacy Online Program to certify that we're COPPA compliant. This process thoroughly reviews all of the features we implement at the site to make sure that younger users are protected. In addition, we're adding as many additional features as we can to ensure both safety and "cleanliness"—such as profanity filters, parent-child linked accounts, and explicit friend communication and filters.

Good to hear. I think I might see if my daughter's interested in playing together, actually.

I took the preview build with me on what was probably two dozen drives around my home town and picked up maybe 20% of the treasures in the game. Actually, I felt like I was cheating by driving a little, given how much it would ding at me (especially downtown), until I realized how few of the treasures I actually ended up with, and considered that my new treasure rate might go down due to duplication as I filled more and more of my inventory. How long do you think a typical player will be playing if they want to eventually have it all?
Leingang:
Honestly, the experience will truly vary for each player depending on so many factors. What at-the-ready transportation capabilities does a player have? Can they drive? What type of environment does a player live within? Do they live in an urban environment saturated with wireless technology? Does a player have in-home Wi-Fi access for global Treasure trading?

The average player will likely be playing Treasure World for four months or more before discovering every Treasure. However, taking a hypothetical look in which the previous questions are mostly answered with "yes", I wouldn't being stretching it to say that, if a player was voraciously Treasure hunting on a daily basis, he/she could snatch everything up in a couple of months.

It strikes me that this is really a game that is first and foremost about collecting, which I certainly appreciate, but our readers likely also will want to know what you can do with all the treasure you accumulate. Could you give us all a run-down?
Leingang:Treasure World is indeed about collecting Treasures on the surface. At its heart, though, it's an incredible set of audio-visual creative tools. Treasures can be placed on the ground to create landscapes and visual set ups that are limited only by the reach of imagination. Every object Treasure has a sound that plays when it's touched, and the ground position of a Treasure determines the pitch of its sound. So, to create a landscape is in turn to create a song. This is why we call your set ups in the game "Songscapes".

With the Treasures and sounds being so diverse, there are near limitless possibilities as to what you can create. Songscapes can be saved, shared with other players, remixed and rearranged, and Web Copied to Club Treasure World. The primary goal when designing this feature was to provide players with something that didn't have an explicit end. Creativity and creation are things that players can endlessly express, grow, and share. It's pretty neat because our experiences in life—where we live and travel to, what we hear and see and do, who we meet—inspire that which we create, so the combination of real life exploration and a creative tool set are like two peas in a pod.

Any final comments you'd like to make?
Leingang:I'm well beyond stoked that people get a chance to experience Treasure World. This is truly a game outside of the hardware and software that presents it. It's amazing the new perspective you can gain on the real world around you when you're out there with a purpose, pushing yourself to visit places that you've never been before. The sights you'll see when Treasure hunting on foot in places that you can't reach with a vehicle will surely surprise you. Life does indeed equal adventure!

Thanks for answering our questions, and best of luck with the game! When can we expect to see it on shelves?
Leingang:Treasure World ships on June 30th in North America. The Club Treasure World site goes live on June 24th. [No, you didn't slip into a time warp; this interview was done a few days ago. —Matt] It's all just around the corner, so strap on your Treasure hunting gear!

I'd like to thank Justin as well as John and the gang at Sandbox for helping with our preview. I'd also like to encourage people who really enjoy games that think outside the box to give Treasure World a look; it really does make for a completely new style of play.

As Justin mentioned, Treasure World is set to ship next week; it'll probably start showing up on store shelves around July 7.