Dr Seuss Kindergarten Evaluation Assignment 1 CIS 587 Dr Maxim Brion Scheidel September 25 2001 Basic Information Game Title Dr Seuss Kindergarten Company Broderbund Software Inc Author Too many to list huge list of credits Type of Game Edutainment Price 14 95 Minimum Stated Hardware Requirements Windows 3 1 or Windows 95 66 MHz 486DX or faster 8MB RAM for Windows 3 1 16 MB for Windows 95 Minimum 20 MB hard disk space 2X CD ROM drive or faster 640x480 display 256 colors Windows compatible sound device video and sound cards compatible with DirectX for Windows 95 Actual Hardware Required The same as the minimum stated hardware requirements I actually installed it on a 60 MHz Pentium Packard Bell and it worked like a champ This game really puts no special demands on the system and can easily run on just about any Windows system Game Summary Quick Overview A host of beloved Dr Seuss characters help kindergarten age kids have fun learning basic reading and math skills Activities help kids learn the alphabet phonics reading skills sorting classifying pattern recognition measurement and estimation addition and subtraction and much more Story Line The idea of the game is simple you are helping young Gerald McGrew in his search for the most exotic unusual animals to add to his new McGrew s Zoo As you travel to exotic places on his McGrew Zoo Choo Choo train and meet interesting characters you gather unusual animals to take back to the zoo Player s Role As Gerald McGrew s friend you help him decide where to go and you help him accomplish various tasks after which the strange animals involved are happy to accompany you back to the zoo Installation The game installation is very simple Insert the CD ROM and the startup window appears Then click the Install button and follow the on screen instructions to install the program User Interface The user interface is purely mouse driven clicking on direction arrows selecting difficulty level clicking and dragging items around Whenever the cursor is moved over something that can be clicked on the cursor shape changes to a hand and the object is outlined with a bright yellow glow There is also a menu which you will never need to use since it only contains Exit under the File menu and About under the Help 2 menu In fact the menu is hidden unless you click at the top of the screen to make it appear The Exit button pointing hand will take you back to the previous location If you click this button while playing in an activity you will quit that activity and be returned to the This Way or That Way selection screen that you used to access the current activity If you click the Exit button while in the This Way or That Way selection screens you will be returned to the McGrew s Zoo screen The Level buttons allow you to select the difficulty level There are three levels available in all activities If the game you are playing is too easy or too hard you can switch to another level at any time In Levels 1 and 2 if you play through all of the lessons in a level you will automatically progress to the next level In Level 3 if you play through all the lessons you will be reset to the first lesson in Level 3 The Progress button will take you to the Progress Reporting screen Here you can view the number of lessons your child has completed for each activity as well as the percentage of correct answers given The Quit button is used to quit the program It is accessible from the McGrew s Zoo screen You can also quit by pressing Alt F4 Game Play You will begin at the Cat in the Hat s See It All Seussville machine Before you can start however you will need to sign in Type your name using your computer keyboard or use your mouse to select the letters of your name When you finish typing your name click Go to begin If you ve played before click your name in the name list and then click Go You will begin your journeys at the McGrew s Zoo screen From here you can click on the This Way sign or That Way sign to start Gerald on his journey to find animals for his zoo There are also three Learning Activities within the McGrew s Zoo screen itself This Way leads to Bippo Alphabet learn uppercase and lowercase letter recognition and the sequence of the alphabet Bumble Tub Phonics learn phonics and spelling and improve vocabulary East West Beast Logic learn about opposites and classification and improve vocabulary Thidwick s Rhymes help with vocabulary and rhyming words and help with reading readiness and listening skills That Way leads to Barbaloot Math learn addition subtraction counting and quantities 3 Birthday Pet Measurement learn numbers counting quantities estimation and measurement Sneetch Patterns teaches pattern recognition and sequencing Snuv Glove Matching teaches shape and color recognition as well as listening and memory skills McGrew s Zoo Learning Activities are Clock Sculpture learn to tell time Balloon Kids quantities and sizes Musical Band just fun At the begin and end of the game and when you are traveling between locations cute animation sequences play explaining what is going on in typical Dr Seuss rhyming fashion Most screens really need no explanation so after your kids go through each scene once they will probably appreciate the ability to tap the space bar to skip through the rest of the animation sequence currently playing and get to the next location Unfortunately you cannot skip through some of the lengthy sequences that are played when a task is accomplished like the singing of the alphabet song at the Bippo Alphabet but the kids don t seem to mind that too much After successfully completing the exercise at a location the residents accompany you back to the zoo where you can see them playing Scoring There isn t really scoring as such but there is a Progress Tracking screen you can use to show each child s progress in each activity throughout the program You can view the current player s progress or switch to any other player s information through the Progress screen Artwork The graphics are very good for the target audience They are very true to the colorful silly Dr Seuss style familiar to us all The animation sequences are fun for kids to watch and hear On my Windows 98 machine the opening sequence when you start the game and the closing sequence when you quit the game show in black and white The Readme file explains that this can be remedied by disabling Active Desktop Sound and Music The sound and music are terrific for kids The music is fun the lyrics
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