Mia's Big Adventure Collection
Encyclopedia
Mia's Big Adventure Collection is an edutainment
software series created in 1998 by Kutoka Interactive
. The series consists in four subject-based titles for children in elementary school
.
The difficulty level set by the player at the beginning of the game corresponds to different and more challenging question sets. Optionally, the player may bypass the entire adventure part of the Mia game and enter straight into a menu of all educational activities.
Inside Mia's adventure, the character of Mia follows the player's cursor on the screen and reacts to clicks on certain objects in the scene.
(later Adobe Systems
) Director
multimedia application authoring platform.
The in-game 3D animations are made with Softimage
3D
(and later XSI
) before they are imported as sprites
inside Director. The animated 3D cinematics are also made with Softimage's technology and exported as QuickTime
movies.
World Summit Award
in 2003.
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
software series created in 1998 by Kutoka Interactive
Kutoka Interactive
Kutoka Interactive is an educational software company founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1995. The company produces, develops, and distributes both subject-based and grade-based video games for Windows and Macintosh.- Background :...
. The series consists in four subject-based titles for children in elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
.
Gameplay
In the introduction of each of Mia's adventures, the player is invited to help her on a quest. As the player progresses through the game, he comes across various educational activities.The difficulty level set by the player at the beginning of the game corresponds to different and more challenging question sets. Optionally, the player may bypass the entire adventure part of the Mia game and enter straight into a menu of all educational activities.
Inside Mia's adventure, the character of Mia follows the player's cursor on the screen and reacts to clicks on certain objects in the scene.
Mia's world
- Mia Mouse: She is an intrepid and clever mouse who carries a skateboard in her back pack. She lives in the attic of an old Victorian houseVictorian houseIn the United Kingdom, and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria...
on Carrington Lane, where her family has lived for generations. - Marty Mouse: He is Mia's best friend. He is a very smart kid who likes to read books and is a bit shy, especially around Mia.
- Miguel Mouse: He is a gifted mechanics from Mexico.
- Manfrid Mouse: He is Marty's father. He owns the General Store.
- Freddy Frog: He is an accident-prone friend of Mia who lives in a pond in the backyard of her house.
- Betty Bird: She is a woodpecker flying around the gossip in Mia's neighbourhood.
- Romaine Rat: He is a businessman who has a special passion and talent for accumulating Sparklies, the currency in Mia's world.
- Pompon Rat: He is Romaine Rat's left arm and the cousin of Nopompon.
- Nopompon Rat: He is Romaine Rat's right arm and the cousin of Pompon Rat.
Titles in the collection
- Mia's Science Adventure: Romaine's New HatMia's Science Adventure: Romaine's New HatMia's Science Adventure: Romaine's New Hat is the second title of Mia's Big Adventure Collection software series created by Kutoka Interactive. Released in 2000 in Canada and the United States, the game teaches sciences to children between 6 and 10 years old.- Adventure :Mia lost Romaine's new hat...
- Mia's Math Adventure: Just in Time!Mia's Math Adventure: Just in Time!Mia's Math Adventure: Just in Time! is the third title of Mia's Big Adventure Collection software series created by Kutoka Interactive. Released in 2001 in Canada and the United States, the game teaches mathematics to children between 6 and 10 years old....
- Mia's Language Adventure: The Kidnap CaperMia's Language Adventure: The Kidnap CaperMia's Language Adventure: The Kidnap Caper is the fourth title of Mia's Big Adventure Collection software series created by Kutoka Interactive. Release in 2003 in Canada and the United States, the game teaches French and Spanish as a second language to children between 6 and 10 years old.-...
- Mia's Reading Adventure: The Bugaboo BugsMia's Reading Adventure: The Bugaboo BugsMia's Reading Adventure: The Bugaboo Bugs is the latest title of Mia's Big Adventure Collection software series created by Kutoka Interactive. Release in late 2007 in Canada and the United States, the game teaches reading to children between 5 and 9 years old.- Adventure :The Bugaboos have landed...
Technology
With the exception of Mia's Language Adventure, which uses Kutoka's own 2D engine, all Mia games were developed with the MacromediaMacromedia
Macromedia was an American graphics and web development software company headquartered in San Francisco, California that produced such products as Flash and Dreamweaver. Its rival, Adobe Systems, acquired Macromedia on December 3, 2005 and controls the line of Macromedia...
(later Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
) Director
Adobe Director
Adobe Director is a multimedia application authoring platform created by Macromedia—now part of Adobe Systems. It allows users to build applications built on a movie metaphor, with the user as the "director" of the movie...
multimedia application authoring platform.
The in-game 3D animations are made with Softimage
Softimage
Softimage, Co. was a company located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that produced 3D animation software. Their flagship products, Softimage 3D and Softimage XSI, are used in the creation of computer animation for films, television advertisement, and video games...
3D
Softimage 3D
Softimage|3D was a high-end 3D graphics application developed by Softimage, Co., which was used predominantly in the film, gaming and advertising industries for the production of 3D animation. It has been superseded by Softimage XSI.-History:...
(and later XSI
Softimage XSI
Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage is a 3D computer graphics application, owned by Autodesk, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation...
) before they are imported as sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
inside Director. The animated 3D cinematics are also made with Softimage's technology and exported as QuickTime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
movies.
Awards
In addition to awards received by the individual titles in the collection, the whole Mia collection received a United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
World Summit Award
World Summit Award
The World Summit Award is a global initiative for selecting and promoting the world's best electronic media and applications. It sees the bridging of the digital divide and narrowing of the "Content Gap" as its overall goal and, as of 2006, involves representatives from 168 countries on each...
in 2003.