Kids love four things, stories, games, eating and sleeping. With mobile phones now easily accessible to almost all of the kids they can now play virtual games or learn to speak and write or get on to some informational funny stuff. Like PokemonGo Critters Club has launched a new augmented mobile game for Kiwis. You can download The Curious Critters Club free app for children or for yourself and find interesting games based around local legends from New Zealand and even Canada.
Conceptualized to attract and engage children with environmental issues in the real world, Curious Critters Club is aimed at kids between the ages of 6 and 12. The apps are available for free via the App Store and Google Play. Current language options include English and French.
Julian Stokoe, of west Auckland’s Yoozoo animation company, helped create Curious Critters Club in conjunction with Canadian company La Boite a Pitons. According to Stokoe, the game was similar to the hugely popular game PokemonGo, where children can engage with digital characters in real locations.
You need to discover new critters
In New Zealand stories come from folk tales or Maori legends which are quite famous. The common stories like Kupe and Te Wheke, He Ika A Maui or Maui and Tieke besides other fairy tales stories of kids full of curiosities and sweet characters fill the heart with joy.
Here in this app, you will meet Alex and his friends Poppy and Niko. As members of the Curious Critters Club, they are dedicated to the task of discovering new critters for science. Sometimes the creatures turn out to be extraordinary!
One day in the forests of New Zealand, the group discovers damage to the trees and hears strange sounds. Could it be Te Hokioi, the giant eagle? Alex is eager to know and is soon hot on the trail. But what he discovers are a different kind of curious critter that use mechanical machines to do their destructive deeds. Luckily Alex has a plan, but will it be enough to save the forest.
This exciting interactive book is loaded with interactivity, animation, music and sound on every page. It also features a range of options that allow you to experience the book in a style that suits you best.
The features of this story app
- The more you interact you will take the story forward
- For a 3D parallax effect you can tilt your iPhone or smartphone or iPad
- Along with narrative content words also appear for you to read
- Fantastic illustrations and animation in all stories with original music and sound
- Stories told by NZ performer, Madeleine Sami in English and French
Stories in the Curious Critters Club App
The New Zealand-based stories are inspired by local creatures and Māori legends, with a distinct environmental angle. The first adventure, Call of the Giant Eagle, was inspired by local battles over the Paturoa kauri trees in west Auckland. The Haast Eagle comes into the story as a mystical creature and helps save the trees. You can become a character in the book by using the trans-media elements.
Among the Kiwis contributing to the project are Madeleine Sami, as a narrator for Call of the Giant Eagle, and Rush Digital as the AR development partner.
Canadian children can access their own story, The Mystery of Caddy. Also, the Reo Māori version would be released soon and also platform was set up to eventually include stories from other countries as well.
There are no in-app purchases making it a kid-friendly app with parental controls. Also no advertisement or location data or link to any social website. Also, this app caters to children aged six to 12-years-old or older. For iOS devices download the free app from the iTunes store and for Android mobile download the free app from Google play.
