Math Blaster Episode I: In Search of Spot
Encyclopedia
Math Blaster Episode I: In Search of Spot (1994) is a product in a line of educational products
created by Davidson & Associates
and a remake of their earlier New Math Blaster Plus! from 1991. A version of the game was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
as simply Math Blaster: Episode 1. In Search of Spot was later remade as Mega Math Blaster in 1996.
s out of sheer spite. The garbage he leaves behind consists primarily of empty containers and bad food, though coil-springs, boots and fish skeletons are also present.
In the opening scenes, Spot and Blasternaut are preparing for a journey aboard their rocket-like spaceship, only to find that the ship is not functional. Blasternaut, jumping to conclusions, sends Spot to repair a mechanism known as the "polytronic combustion regulator" and Spot reluctantly begins repairs, while Blasternaut goes below deck.
As Spot works, the Trash Alien flies by, captures Spot and departs, leaving garbage everywhere. Blasternaut, upon discovering this, contacts his superior officer, Galactic Commander, and notifies her of the situation. Galactic Commander immediately identifies the criminal and sends Blasternaut to collect the trash, use it to fuel his ship, track down the Trash Alien and destroy his spacecraft.
s" needed to collect the trash. For every problem answered, a tractor beam is added and, after five problems, a noneducational firing session begins, in which the user tries to collect as much of the trash as possible. Once the firing session ends, the user is presented with more math problems and the process repeats until all the garbage has been collected.
Large drops of water, which contain an operation
followed by a number, form on stalactite
s that will allow Blasternaut to change his number by implementing the drop's number, through the drop's operation, on his number (example: if the drop reads "+2" than his number will be increased by two.) Unless the user is on level one, the caves also contain additional obstacle in the form of bat
s, spider web
s, boulders and a large cave-dwelling aliens. In the corners of each such cave is a treasure chest. The user must answer a problem to open the chest and acquire a weapon to drive off the obstacle (example: a flashlight
drives off the bat, scissors
cut the spider-web, etc.)
and rescue Spot. In order to do this, he must fly through one of four openings in the flying saucer, which contain the answer to a particular problem. He must choose the right answer and reach it before being shot by the Trash Alien's weapons or being struck by flying garbage. In addition, he has only a limited time before the problem changes. If he is successful, Spot is freed and the Trash Alien's craft is destroyed, though the Trash Alien escapes.
There are also six levels of difficulty, which adjust how hard the problems of the chosen subject are. If the user attempts to change subjects or leveling during the course of a mission, then the game will warn them that, if they do so, the mission will begin anew, which it will.
The various games are available outside the mission for study purposes. However, when choosing a game for play outside the mission, the user cannot advance through the mission and, if the chosen game is "Math Blaster," then the user will not see Spot's rescue.
Also, the previous games in the series merely provided math problems in an outer space setting without any kind of plot. This game introduced the premise of fighting intergalactic criminals, which would permeate the rest of the series.
Blaster Learning System
The Blaster Learning System was originally created by Davidson, but is now owned by Knowledge Adventure. Originally, the series simply taught mathematics, but eventually expanded to other subjects, such as language arts and science. Due to the popularity of the original Math Blaster series,...
created by Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates was an educational software company headquartered in Torrance, California. It was best known for the Blaster series, including Math Blaster and Reading Blaster...
and a remake of their earlier New Math Blaster Plus! from 1991. A version of the game was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
as simply Math Blaster: Episode 1. In Search of Spot was later remade as Mega Math Blaster in 1996.
Storyline and games
The game's story is a simple rescue mission, centering on the efforts of Blasternaut to retrieve Spot from the clutches of the malicious "Trash Alien," who, apparently, litterLitter
Litter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
s out of sheer spite. The garbage he leaves behind consists primarily of empty containers and bad food, though coil-springs, boots and fish skeletons are also present.
In the opening scenes, Spot and Blasternaut are preparing for a journey aboard their rocket-like spaceship, only to find that the ship is not functional. Blasternaut, jumping to conclusions, sends Spot to repair a mechanism known as the "polytronic combustion regulator" and Spot reluctantly begins repairs, while Blasternaut goes below deck.
As Spot works, the Trash Alien flies by, captures Spot and departs, leaving garbage everywhere. Blasternaut, upon discovering this, contacts his superior officer, Galactic Commander, and notifies her of the situation. Galactic Commander immediately identifies the criminal and sends Blasternaut to collect the trash, use it to fuel his ship, track down the Trash Alien and destroy his spacecraft.
Trash Zapper
This leads to the game of "Trash Zapper," wherein the user, as Blasternaut, uses math to generate the "tractor beamTractor beam
A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. Since the 1990s, technology and research has labored to make it a reality, mostly at microscopic level. Less commonly, a similar beam that repels is called a pressor beam or repulsor beam...
s" needed to collect the trash. For every problem answered, a tractor beam is added and, after five problems, a noneducational firing session begins, in which the user tries to collect as much of the trash as possible. Once the firing session ends, the user is presented with more math problems and the process repeats until all the garbage has been collected.
Number Recycler
Blasternaut then goes down to the fuel chamber to recycle the trash. Here, the player completes equations, at which the machinery of the Number Recycler (a large structure used to create fuel) melts the garbage, freshens it to maximize energy and loads it into the fuel tanks. The player can adjust the numbers and symbols as needed.Cave Runner
Having fueled the tanks, Blasternaut tracks the Trash Alien to a series of caves. By means of a jetpack, he must fly to the surface of the planet in order to reach the villain. Every level of the cave contains a gap with a number or a mathematical expression on both sides, which form a barrier that Blasternaut can only pass through if he bears a number that comes between the two numbers or the numbers that would be formed by solving the expressions (example: if the gap has "3" on one side and "6 + 3" on the other, Blasternaut's number would have to be between three and nine for him to pass through.)Large drops of water, which contain an operation
Operation (mathematics)
The general operation as explained on this page should not be confused with the more specific operators on vector spaces. For a notion in elementary mathematics, see arithmetic operation....
followed by a number, form on stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
s that will allow Blasternaut to change his number by implementing the drop's number, through the drop's operation, on his number (example: if the drop reads "+2" than his number will be increased by two.) Unless the user is on level one, the caves also contain additional obstacle in the form of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, spider web
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
s, boulders and a large cave-dwelling aliens. In the corners of each such cave is a treasure chest. The user must answer a problem to open the chest and acquire a weapon to drive off the obstacle (example: a flashlight
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
drives off the bat, scissors
Scissors
Scissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...
cut the spider-web, etc.)
Math Blaster
Finally, it is Blasternaut's task to enter the Trash Alien's flying saucerFlying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
and rescue Spot. In order to do this, he must fly through one of four openings in the flying saucer, which contain the answer to a particular problem. He must choose the right answer and reach it before being shot by the Trash Alien's weapons or being struck by flying garbage. In addition, he has only a limited time before the problem changes. If he is successful, Spot is freed and the Trash Alien's craft is destroyed, though the Trash Alien escapes.
Subjects and leveling
The game features eight different subjects, which are chosen at the start the game. All the problems encountered in the game, except in the "Cave Runner" exercise, will fall into the chosen subject. The subjects are as follows:- AdditionAdditionAddition is a mathematical operation that represents combining collections of objects together into a larger collection. It is signified by the plus sign . For example, in the picture on the right, there are 3 + 2 apples—meaning three apples and two other apples—which is the same as five apples....
- SubtractionSubtractionIn arithmetic, subtraction is one of the four basic binary operations; it is the inverse of addition, meaning that if we start with any number and add any number and then subtract the same number we added, we return to the number we started with...
- MultiplicationMultiplicationMultiplication is the mathematical operation of scaling one number by another. It is one of the four basic operations in elementary arithmetic ....
- DivisionDivision (mathematics)right|thumb|200px|20 \div 4=5In mathematics, especially in elementary arithmetic, division is an arithmetic operation.Specifically, if c times b equals a, written:c \times b = a\,...
- Number patterns - Instead of featuring traditional equations, "number patterns" provides the user with a series of numbers with one of the numbers missing. The user must identify the pattern to find the missing number (for example, if the problem presented is "5, 10, 15, _, 25," then the missing number is 20.)
- Estimation - The user must roundRoundingRounding a numerical value means replacing it by another value that is approximately equal but has a shorter, simpler, or more explicit representation; for example, replacing $23.4476 with $23.45, or the fraction 312/937 with 1/3, or the expression √2 with 1.414.Rounding is often done on purpose to...
numbers to estimate the answer. - Fractions/decimals/percents - The user must solve problems that involve fractionsFraction (mathematics)A fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, we specify how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, five-eighths and three-quarters.A common or "vulgar" fraction, such as 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, etc., consists...
, decimalDecimalThe decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
s and percentagePercentageIn mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...
s. - Review - features a mix of problems from all the various subjects
There are also six levels of difficulty, which adjust how hard the problems of the chosen subject are. If the user attempts to change subjects or leveling during the course of a mission, then the game will warn them that, if they do so, the mission will begin anew, which it will.
The various games are available outside the mission for study purposes. However, when choosing a game for play outside the mission, the user cannot advance through the mission and, if the chosen game is "Math Blaster," then the user will not see Spot's rescue.
Series developments
Notably, this game introduced the character of Galactic Commander (later called "G.C.") to the series. Spot had already been introduced in the previous game, New Math Blaster Plus!, while Blasternaut had been in the series from the beginning.Also, the previous games in the series merely provided math problems in an outer space setting without any kind of plot. This game introduced the premise of fighting intergalactic criminals, which would permeate the rest of the series.
Spanish adaptation
The program was translated to Spanish and was published as Mates Blaster: En Busca de Positrón.In-game credits
- Product Development Managed by: Dori Friedman, Product ManagerProduct ManagerA product manager investigates, selects, and develops products for an organization, performing the activities of product management.A product manager considers numerous factors such as intended demographic, the products offered by the competition, and how well the product fits with the company's...
; Cathy Siegel, Product Advisor - ProgrammingComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
: Carl Byington - Graphics Created by: Luke Anderson, Lead Graphic Artist
- Quality AssuranceQuality AssuranceQuality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
: Lori Hayase, Lead Support - Sound EffectsSound effectFor the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
: Robert Koenigsberg, Tom Zehnder - Music - Tom Zehnder
- VoicesVoice actingVoice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
- Mark Sawyer (Blasternaut, Spot, Trash Alien, and cave alien) and Laura Boedeker (Galactic "G.C." Commander) - CopyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
©Copyright symbolThe copyright symbol, or copyright sign, designated by © , is the symbol used in copyright notices for works other than sound recordings . The use of the symbol is described in United States copyright law, and, internationally, by the Universal Copyright Convention...
1993 Davidson & AssociatesDavidson & AssociatesDavidson & Associates was an educational software company headquartered in Torrance, California. It was best known for the Blaster series, including Math Blaster and Reading Blaster...
, Inc.