Imagination Express
Imagination Express is an educational series of interactive storybook generator[1] video games developed by Edmark, and announced on November 14, 1994.[2][3] The titles in the series include Destination: Castle (November 15, 1994)[3], Destination: Neighborhood (November 15, 1994),[3] Destination: Rain Forest (May 5, 1995)[4], Destination: Ocean, Destination: Pyramids, and Destination: Time Trip, USA.
Imagination Express | |
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Genre(s) | Educational |
Developer(s) | Edmark |
Platform(s) | Windows, Macintosh |
First release | Destination: Castle 1994 |
Latest release | Destination: Time Trip, USA 1996 |
Development
At the launch of the product line, Edmark CEO Sally Narodick commented that "kids love to tell stories", noting the creations that playtesters of the series had already made.[3] A perspective-based piece of technology was added to the game; dubbed "auto-sizing", it meant that the size of an object changed as it was moved by the player toward the foreground or background.[2]
Gameplay
The games, which are targeted at children aged 6–12, transport players to learning destinations around the globe, and "inspire them to create interactive on-screen stories and beautiful printed books".[5] The games aim to encourage creative writing and imagination skills.[2] The games included background information, such as the "Destination: Rain Forest's Rain Forest Fact Book".[6] Players can add text, music, and their own narration.[7]
Commercial performance
Destination: Rain Forest was the 5th most popular title in the education category sold across 11 Software Etc. stores in the Washington area in the week ending June 10, 1995.[8]
Critical reception
Chicago Sun-Times deemed the series "high-quality eduware" as well as "clever...mathematics teaching software". The newspaper said the series contained "some of the best software in years to help kids learn how to create stories".[9] Computer Shopper wrote that Destination: Ocean was less effective than it could be because it separated the education and entertainment portions of the game rather than seamlessly integrating them;[10] meanwhile Daily News said Destination: Ocean "provides such a balance".[11] The Washington Post thought Destination: Rain Forest was a "high-class creativity program".[12] Computers in Libraries praised the series for "provid[ing] a host of tools and interactive methods for children to learn how to write their own stories", rather than passively absorbing the work of developers.[13] PC Mag described Destination: Rain Forest as a "creativity tool".[14] School Library Journal noted that recorded sounds could take up a considerable amount of space on a contemporary computer's harddrive.[15]
According to Billboard, the series is "award-winning".[16] Destination: Rain Forest won a Newsweek Editor's Choice Awards for best children's software in 1995.[17] That same year, Imagination Express received the Silver Award for Best Elementary Education Program for Children at the NewMedia INVISION Awards ceremony.[18] The series won one of the four awards at the 1995-1995 Software Awards; Technology & Learning wrote that the series was "sophisticated" and "smart".[19]
References
- "New Titles Give Youngsters a Head Start on Learning". THE Journal. 1995-05-01. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08.
- "Edmark Software's Write Stuff for Kids". 1995-09-21. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - "Edmark Announces Imagination Express; New Software Inspires Kids to Create Their Own Interactive Stories. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
- "Edmark Introduces "Destination: Rain Forest"; a new release in the Imagination Express Series. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
- "Imagination Express - Series". 1997-02-13. Archived from the original on 1997-02-13. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Lots of choices to toy with". 1998-09-08. Archived from the original on 2018-11-19.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - Working Mother. Working Mother Media. 1995-12-01.
- "BESTSELLERS". 1995-06-19. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - "Museum Quality CD Has Them Hooked". 1995-07-30. Archived from the original on 2018-11-19.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - "Destination: Ocean. (Edmark Corp)(The Learning Arcade) (Software Review)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)". 1996-03-01. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - "PLUGGED IN.(BUSINESS)". 1996-06-03. Archived from the original on 2018-11-20.
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(help) - "Going Bugzerk Over Elroy". 1995-06-28. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - "Literature and CD-ROM: Strange Bedfellows or the Marriage of True Minds?". 1996-05-01.
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(help) - Inc, Ziff Davis (1995-09-26). PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc.
{{cite book}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - "Imagination Express Destination: Pyramids Anonymous.School Library Journal Vol. 43, Iss. 1, (Jan 1997): 50" (Document). ProQuest 211708936.
{{cite document}}
: Cite document requires|publisher=
(help) - Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1996-02-24). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
{{cite book}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - "Edmark products win two Newsweek Editor's Choice Awards for best children's software. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
- "Edmark products win two 1995 NewMedia INVISION Awards. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
- "The top 4 award winners: Imagination Express McLester, Susan.Technology & Learning; Dayton Vol. 16, Iss. 3, (Nov 1995): 28" (Document). ProQuest 212123430.
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: Cite document requires|publisher=
(help)