Magic Tales
| Genres | Literature, Edutainment |
|---|---|
| Developers | Animation Magic |
| Publishers | Davidson |
| Composers | Tony Trippi |
| Platforms | Windows, Macintosh |
| First release |
The Little Samurai 1995 |
| Latest release |
The Princess and the Crab 1996 |
Magic Tales is a series of interactive storybooks for children, developed by Animation Magic and produced by Davidson, which were distributed by Capitol Multimedia, Inc. on CD-ROM for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows.[1] The series began with the release of The Little Samurai (an adaptation of the Japanese Folk Tale) in 1995. The stories are narrated by the central character Grandpa Mouse, who reads them to his two grandchildren while they are having a boring time.
Commercial performance
100,000 copies of the first three Magic Tales titles were distributed around retailers around Christmas. The series gained recognition from the Parents Magazine. Three new titles out of 3000 children's titles would be chosen for three additional products to be released the following Spring.[2]
Games in the series
| Title | Country of Origin | Based on | Release date | Number of Pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Little Samurai | Japan | November 1995[3] | |||
| Imo and the King | Africa | September 1995[3] | |||
| Baba Yaga and the Magic Geese | Russia | September 1995[3] | Also released in Arabic[4] | ||
| Sleeping Cub's Test of Courage | Native America | 1996 | |||
| Liam Finds a Story | Ireland | 1996 | |||
| The Princess and the Crab | Italy | 1996 |
History
The series was introduced at the 1995 MacWorld trade show.[5]
Gameplay
The games featured three-dimensional art; approximately 30 minutes-worth of animation, over 500 "click-and-explore" options; and original music. The stories were influenced by the ethnic backgrounds of their source material, and aimed to teach children moral lessons. The games were targeted at children aimed 3-9.[3]
Critical reception
The Exceptional Parent recommended the series to parents who wanted to "develop [their] child's interest in words and reading".[6]
Computer Shopper said of Magic Tales: The Little Samurai, "this is the most magical storybook we've ever seen".[7]
Availability
- The Magic Tales Collection CD
See also
References
- ↑ "If Magic Tales can come through Stories for children may tell the future of area software firm - Page 2 - tribunedigital-baltimoresun". articles.baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
- ↑ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1996-01-21/business/1996021100_1_capitol-interactive-software-magic-tales/2
- 1 2 3 4 "DAVIDSON & ASSOCIATES, INC. SHIPS 'MAGIC TALES' MULTIMEDIA STORIES - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
- ↑ "Arabic - Baba Yaga and the Magic Geese". worldlanguage.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
- ↑ "DAVIDSON & ASSOCIATES INC. INTRODUCES NEW MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE AT MACWORLD - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
- ↑ "Software for PLAY and ACTIVE Early Learning. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
- ↑ "Magic Tales: The Little Samurai. (Davidson and Associates)(The Learning Arcade) (Software Review)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)". 1996-08-01.