Magic Town App Debuts On iPad: Summer Reading in Virtual World For Kids

London,  GB   Jun 25, 2012

[prMac.com] London, United Kingdom and New York, NY - Magic Town, the first virtual world based on picture books, is now available on the App Store. Like the MagicTown website, the Magic Town app for iPad(R) is an immersive game where children read and play with popular picture books licensed from top publishers. The app has more than fifty stories at launch, with roughly fifteen new titles added each month. Just in time for the summer holiday, the Magic Town app gives children a mobile option to enjoy story time at home or on the go.

With hundreds of interactive touch points, the Magic Town app for iPad is especially easy for young children to navigate. They can tap on the big tree in the Magic Town landscape to meet Louis, an animated lion who presents a new, free story every day. They can also tap on any of the houses in town to discover picture book characters and related stories and games. There are houses devoted to fairy tales, fables, original titles and well-known series such as Aliens Love Underpants, Elmer, Little Princess and World of Happy.

Interactive touch points are also key to Magic Town's stories, or Livebooks(TM). Each Livebook has four reading modes. In "Play" mode, a child listens to a narrator and taps a flashing illustration to progress the story. With "Explore," a child touches the screen to answer story related questions that stimulate development. In "Read Together" mode, a child or adult reads the text and taps the illustrations to move forward. Finally, in "Watch" mode, a child listens to a narrator and watches the lightly animated pictures.

David Begg, Mindshapes CEO said: "The iPad is the perfect platform for Magic Town. Young children instinctively know how to tap on the screen to explore the landscape and enjoy the stories. What's more, the Magic Town app for iPad gives families an expansive, and easy to pack, collection of interactive stories to enjoy wherever and whenever. This is a great way to keep children reading during the summer holidays."

Magic Town's virtual world uses games technology to provide each child a customized, engaging experience. An algorithm tailors the selection of stories, as well as the questions in Explore mode of a Livebook. In addition, the town becomes more populated each time a child returns to read and play. Children thus feel as though they are helping to "build" their personal Magic Town.

Mindshapes, the interactive learning company that produces Magic Town, has licensed Magic Town's nearly 200 stories from leading children's publishers including Simon & Schuster, Oxford University Press, Hachette Children's Books, Egmont, and Penguin Group. Magic Town also has "digital first" titles from best-selling authors, including the Superfairies series from Janey Louise Jones, and Shrinky Kid from Ian Whybrow.

Nathan Hull, Penguin Digital Publisher: "The Magic Town environment offers a hugely creative channel for children to immerse themselves in. To deliver this via a subscription model, now available portably on the iPad, is groundbreaking for both traditional publishing, as well as for parents looking for brilliant digital storytelling."

Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPad
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 47.1 MB

Pricing and Availability:
The Magic Town app includes more than twenty free stories at launch. Additional stories are available via In-App Purchase for $3.99 / $5.99 / Euro 4.99 each. Parents also have the option of subscribing for unlimited new stories, plus the ability to set up profiles for up to four children. There are several subscription options: One Month: 7.99 / $11.99 / Euro 9.99; Six Months: 39.99 / $59.99 / Euro 44.99; and One Year: 49.99 / $74.99 / Euro 59.99.

Magic Town 1.0
Download from iTunes
YouTube Video
Media Assets

Mindshapes' mission is to enhance the way children and adults learn through interactive gameplay. The company was founded in 2010 and has offices in London, New York and San Francisco. Mindshapes has ten apps for iOS devices available on the App Store. In 2012, Mindshapes will also release Language City, the first 3D language learning game for adults. Copyright (C) 2012 Mindshapes. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
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Andrea Meyer
Global PR Manager
United States

Introducing Happy Duck 1.0 for iOS: Adventure Puzzle Fishing Game

Corby,  GB   Jun 21, 2012

[prMac.com] Corby, United Kingdom - Today, independent game developers The Createables are proud to announce the immediate release of their first game, Happy Duck 1.0 on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Happy Duck is an addictive Adventure/ Puzzle game for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Players work their way through over 40+ beautiful, and challenging levels trying to catch fish from the lake below them. Being careful to dodge the dangerous obstacles and debris along the way.

That's not all they have to watch out for though, deadly piranhas lurk the waters, going too close to these creatures is sure to have disadvantageous results.

Happy Duck for iPhone and iPad features over 40+ incredible levels, plus bonus levels. For the more advanced player, the "Happy Duck Challenge Pack" is also offered as a $0.99 USD in-app purchase featuring an additional 10 super hard levels. A version for Mac OS X is due to be released by the end of June.

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
* Requires iOS 4.0 or later
* 10.8 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Happy Duck 1.0 is only $0.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Happy Duck HD for iPad is priced at $1.99 USD.

Happy Duck 1.0
Purchase and Download
Purchase and Download (iPad)
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
App Icon

The Createables is a small game design and development company located across London, UK and Australia. In June 2012 it released its first title Happy Duck for the iPhone and iPad platforms. Copyright (C) The Createables. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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Christian Owens
Founder
+441536745729
United Kingdom

Angry Humans? Guano! Is A New Mobile Game For The Birds

Baltimore, MD    Jun 22, 2012

[prMac.com] Baltimore, Maryland - Big Goose Egg Games, founded by Baltimore physician Ed Tori, is proud to announce the release of Guano!, the new birds targeting game for the iPhone and iPad. Guano, once prized for its fertilizing powers and its nitrates used to make gunpowder, is now a birds target game for the iOS platform. With a birds-eye view of parks, cities and campgrounds, Guano! users steer their bird characters overhead in search of targets.

The unsuspecting people below quickly catch on and begin to fight back. "It's not the birds who are angry, it's the people," says Dr. Tori, "The better you get at hitting your targets, the more they throw things at you. Anticipating this, you can equip your bird character with defenses such as helmets and leather jackets. My six children love this game, but my wife not so much. She thinks it is gross."

Steered by tilting the device, Guano! contains three randomized, never-ending scenes that make the game different each time it is played. Big Goose Egg coins are earned based on number of people hit, distance traveled, and accuracy. Those coins are then available to unlock advanced game features such as new characters, defense equipment and new maps. Scores may be shared via GameCenter, Twitter, Facebook and email.

Guano! - The Bird Targeting Game 1.0 has the following features:
* Randomized maps
* Unlock new bird characters - pigeons, owls, and eagles
* Simple to play - Tilt to steer - Tap to release
* 6 special defenses. Unlock helmets, battle gear, leather jackets and others
* Hidden point accelerators (For example, one is to hit people or dogs when they are looking up)
* Multiplayer through Game Center
* Universal game works on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3
* Never-ending maps - The game lasts as long as the bird survives

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iOS 3.1 or later
* 21.6 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Guano! - The Bird Targeting Game 1.0 is free and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

Big Goose Egg Games
Guano! - The Bird Targeting Game 1.0
Download from iTunes
App Icon
Media Assets

Big Goose Egg Games was founded in 2011 by a Baltimore-area physician as a lesson in entrepreneurship for his 6 children and as a way of gamifying health, wellness, and education. The name "Big Goose Egg" combines the concept of zero, computers, fairy tales, and growth. Zero is for "nothin', nada, zip, zero, the big goose egg", since nearly all Big Goose Egg games are free. Egg is not only for birth and growth, but also for "egghead" as a symbol for geeks, computers, and intelligence. Finally, "goose" as a reminder of stories and fairy tales and their role in making learning fun. Copyright (C) 2012 Big Goose Egg, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
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Ed Tori
Owner
United States

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