"Sim" Entertainment Software Publisher Announces Kids' Line; SimTown and Widget Workshop are Maxis' first titles designed especially for children.ORINDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1994--Maxis, publisher of top-selling entertainment software title SimCity 2000 Thursday announced the launch of a line of children's entertainment software. The first two titles -- Widget Workshop Widget Workshop: A Mad Scientist's Laboratory is a hands-on science kit, for use on the computer and off. It was released in 1995 and is one of the more obscure Maxis products. The game has two main modes. and SimTown -- follow Maxis' Software Toys A software toy is a program that fits all criteria for a computer game, except for a defined "end goal". However, for all practical purposes, a software toy does meet all the criteria for a game — implicit goals and emergent gameplay allow for goals that are just as valid to concept, encouraging players to learn through exploration, building creations on the computer that reflect their individual personalities. Widget Workshop for the Macintosh will be available in nearly all stores that sell software this weekend. SimTown for the Macintosh CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). will follow in early December. Both are $44.95 and will be available for Windows in 1995. Widget Workshop gives children hundreds of fun and scientifically-accurate objects with which to build original inventions on the computer screen. SimTown is designed for children aged eight-12 and Widget Workshop is for eight and above. SimTown lets children design, build and manage their own neighborhood, complete with people, pets, various types of houses, streets, parks, stores, public buildings, pizza parlors, video arcades This article is about video arcades. For other uses of the term arcade, see Arcade. A video arcade (also known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom or a game center in Japan) is a place where people play arcade video games. and movie theaters. "Children have been playing our games for years, both in the home and in classrooms, even though those games were intended for adults," said Sam Poole, president of Maxis. "SimTown and Widget Workshop are the first Maxis titles that have been designed from the ground up with children in mind. "The graphics are big and colorful, the cause-and-effect relationships are very clear, and we've focused on topics -- such as families, the natural world, animals, and mysteries of science -- that are interesting to children." SimTown and Widget Workshop are the first in Maxis' Software Toys For Kids line, which are intended to blur the line between fun and education. Maxis designs its Software Toys For Kids with the aim of encouraging creativity and teaching higher-order thinking Higher-order thinking is a fundamental concept of Education reform based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Rather than simply teaching recall of facts, students will be taught reasoning and processes, and be better lifelong learners. skills, problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. , deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Using known facts to draw a conclusion about a specific situation. and critical thinking. Widget Workshop Children can solve pre-built puzzles or construct their own inventions with Widget Workshop, using hundreds of fun and realistic objects that can be connected together in unlimited ways. Widget Workshop is designed to teach kids the principles of science in a fun setting. Kids can use mechanical, biological, and "just-plain-fun" parts and pieces like light switches, gravity chambers and even pulsing hearts to make inventions for themselves or share with friends. Elliott Portwood Productions, creators of the "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Carmen Sandiego refers to a media franchise of edutainment computer games, television programs, books and other media featuring a thieving villainess of the same name. ?" series, designed Widget Workshop for Maxis. Widget Workshop is also available directly from Maxis at 800/33-MAXIS. CONTACT: Maxis, Orinda Lois Tilles, 510/253-3764 |
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