Josh's World is a long waited for, unique game for young gamers. Tailored to preschool- and kindergarten-aged children, the game is also engaging enough to appeal to my second grader. The simple activities focus on non-violent games and learning experiences, making it a perfect first game for children. What makes it even better is that the game developers, Microcomputer Resources Inc., created the game because they saw a real need and decided to fill it. The developers weren't from a big name company, they didn't need to have the latest technology available or spend a fortune making the game to create something of real quality and substance. They use simple graphics, combined with clips of an African-American boy named Josh, to make the game. Yet it is as entertaining, and even more educational, than many games created by the big companies are.
The game was developed by people who really knew what young children needed, and it shows. One of the creators was a computer teacher in an elementary school. The easy way in which children can move from one activity to another, and the way the game teaches skills rather than just drills the same thing over and over again, really show through.
The game is divided into two "sides," the "Night Side" and "Day Side." The night side is more entertainment focused, while the day tends to have activities that are educational as well as entertaining. On the night side, for example, children visit various rides in an amusement park. On the Ferris Wheel, children use a single mouse click to launch a ball toward a target. The closer to the center of the target that they hit, the more points they earn. So, they learn they have to be a little patient and not just fire immediately. On the Roller Coaster, kids use the mouse to move back and forth collecting toys and avoiding balloons. The simplicity of the controls is what I like best about the game. There really are games where all your child has to do is move the mouse back and forth to have fun. Even the youngest computer users can learn cause and effect in this way, learning that if they move the mouse left, the roller coaster car goes that way.
Some of the games, such as the Dancing Machine, are a bit more complicated than that. The best description of the Dancing Machine comes from my 10 year old son, actually. He calls it DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for the fingers. Two little marionettes dance in time to playful music, while a pinwheel moves across the top of the screen. When the pinwheel passes over one of the direction arrows, you hit the corresponding arrow on the keyboard and earn points. There's no reading required, no complicated interface to learn. It really is as simple as move the mouse, or click the mouse at the right time. And that makes the game wonderful.
On the Day Side, the interface is still just as simple, but the opportunities to learn school related skills are greater. In the Art Studio, little gamers learn from Josh the difference between primary, secondary and complimentary colors. They have the opportunity to fill premade drawings with colors with the click of a mouse, with a color wheel included for some hands-on learning to compliment the game. In the Music Hall kids play six different instruments, combining them into their own orchestra.
My four year old loves Josh's World. I have to give him his own computer time each day, because he enjoys it that much. No other game has grabbed him and held his attention for as long as Josh's World has. It's the first game he's played where he can really feel successful, and I think that is probably one of the big reasons he likes it as much as he does. It is simple to start, to play and to have fun. And, he can control the whole game himself without needing my help; that makes him feel like a big boy. Any game that can do that is one I highly recommend. Best of all, the game is one that is non-competitive, non-violent and clearly created by educators. Truly this parent's dream game, in other words.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
