Imagination Express
Genre(s)Educational
Developer(s)Edmark
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
First releaseDestination: Castle
1994
Latest releaseDestination: Time Trip, USA
1996

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.

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

  1. ↑ Carmona, Jeff (1 May 1995). "New Titles Give Youngsters a Head Start on Learning". T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education). Archived from the original on 8 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Edmark Software's Write Stuff for Kids". 21 September 1995. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Edmark Announces Imagination Express; New Software Inspires Kids to Create Their Own Interactive Stories. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Edmark Introduces "Destination: Rain Forest"; a new release in the Imagination Express Series. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Imagination Express - Series". 13 February 1997. Archived from the original on 13 February 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "Lots of choices to toy with". 8 September 1998. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Working Mother. Working Mother Media. 1 December 1995.
  8. ↑ "Bestsellers: Most popular titles in the education category sold by 11 Software Etc. stores in the area in the week ended June 10". The Washington Post. 19 June 1995. p. F15. ProQuest 307882629. 5.Imagination Express Destination: Rain Forest Edmark
  9. ↑ Crabb, Don (30 July 1995). "Museum Quality CD Has Them Hooked". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 32. ProQuest 258080743.
  10. ↑ Terra, John (1 March 1996). "Destination: Ocean (Edmark Corp)". Computer Shopper.
  11. ↑ "Plugged In". Business. Daily News. Los Angeles, California. 3 June 1996. p. B1. ProQuest 281806519.
  12. ↑ Oldenburg, Don; Stoltz, Craig (28 June 1995). "Going Bugzerk Over Elroy". The Washington Post. p. R30. ProQuest 307869814.
  13. ↑ Griffin, JR (1 May 1996). "Literature and CD-ROM: Strange Bedfellows or the Marriage of True Minds?". Computers in Libraries. 16 (5): 66. ProQuest 231092275.
  14. ↑ Ehrenman, Gayle C., ed. (26 September 1995). "At Home: Back to School: Grades K-6". PC Mag. Ziff Davis, Inc. p. 376.
  15. ↑ "Imagination Express Destination: Pyramids". School Library Journal. 43 (1): 50. January 1997. ProQuest 211708936.
  16. ↑ Traiman, Steve (24 February 1996). "Edutainment CD-ROMS Gain Popularity With PC-Owner Parents". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 76.
  17. ↑ "Edmark products win two Newsweek Editor's Choice Awards for best children's software. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "Edmark products win two 1995 NewMedia INVISION Awards. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  19. ↑ McLester, Susan (November 1995). "The top 4 award winners: Imagination Express". Technology & Learning. Dayton. 16 (3): 28. ProQuest 212123430.
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