Fathers Release World's First Digitally Playable Book
A Danish company has released the Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale 'The Little Mermaid - A Magical Augmented Reality Book', where a 3D animated game universe pops out of the book's pages when explored with a mobile device. Can define a new genre, book industry expert says.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, June 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Books & Magic – a team primarily consisting of fathers – have launched 'The Little Mermaid' as a brand new children's book genre that merges digital gaming and linear storytelling from a physical book.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160621/381958
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160621/381959
The book looks like any other book except being digitally interactive. The color images can be recognized by the app, which opens a three-dimensional window to the book's universe, so the characters seem to come "alive", and if the child listens to the details of the text, it is easier to solve the puzzles in the digital universe.
"We wanted to promote a new way for parents and children to read together and intrigue a strong desire for more reading aloud. We make children curious about what is hidden in the text by highlighting the fantasy world behind the book," founder and CEO of Books & Magic, Mark Dalby Folkenberg says.
Book industry expert: Could define a new genre
The Head of Innovation at Egmont Publishing, Maz Spork, who wrote his MBA on the gaming industry, loves the book:
"I believe, that 'The Little Mermaid' can be genre defining like some people feel comic books defined their youth, the next generation might feel the same towards Augmented Reality-books. I'm almost in love with everything Books & Magic stands for – helping kids to love reading, and the deeply innovative in combining game mechanics with a linear story telling in a book," he says.
Parents and children love it
Alexia Ottas showed the book to her 6-year-old daughter, Athene and ended up spending hours together:
"We were both very excited about the 3D effects. The images in the books came alive and we were overwhelmed by the story and ended up sitting together for many hours," she says.
Game Industry expert: Deeply impressed
The project was backed in 2014 by the Nordic Game Program that controversially gave them a grant for being among the most promising initiatives in the gaming industry – in spite of aiming towards the book market.
"I am deeply impressed by Books & Magic, their drive and sales strategy," says Danish game industry expert Jan Neiiendam CEO at Interactive Denmark.
The Little Mermaid can either be bought as a book at shop.booksandmagic.com (global shipping), but also through the free iOS and Android app that works without the book if you do in-app purchases.
For further information
– Press Coordinator Mark Benfeldt Kjær | Email | +45 4142 3635
– CEO & Founder Mark Dalby Folkenberg | Books & Magic | Email | +45 6037 7666
Media info: www.mediavillage.dk/books-magic
About Books & Magic: www.booksandmagic.com
SOURCE Books & Magic
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