Game gets numbers right, even if politics incorrect

Eloise Dortch, The West Australian, WA, 23rd October 2001

Body orifices, toilet humour and characters who are rats or whoopie cushions may not sound very educational but education is the prime aim of software producers Fun-Ed.

The Leederville-based company run by Kathryn du Buisson and husband Jean, along with graphic artists, 3-D animators, interface designers and a floating staff of artists, writers and musicians, is hoping to corner the mathematics software market for children aged seven and up.

Mrs du Buisson said Fun-Ed, which germinated over a bottle of red wine with her husband in 1997, aimed to differ from its Disney-style rivals by creating its own edgy characters whose habits might elicit a quiet chuckle from adults.

Take, for example, a frequently deflating whoopie cushion who has a French accent, Great Aunt Dimensia, her lover, a dejected-looking knight named Sir Plus, and a genie in pink rubber gloves named Hygenie.

Then there is the rat Wrex Havok and his evil brother Reek Havok, who Mrs du Buisson describes as Michael Caine at his most smarmy.

The team had realised to be absolutely politically correct, they would have ended up with boring characters with mid-Atlantic accents.

"So we decided to offend everyone we can," Mrs du Buisson said. "If we miss out offending someone, please let us know and we will offend them next."

Joking aside, she believes the company's products - eVac-U8! from Windy Towers and the upcoming Ratbags at Windy Towers - benefit from being fun without entertainment being their raison d'être.

A key staff member is Bronwyn McCormack, a WA primary school teacher of 27 years, including six years in curriculum development. Ms McCormack tells the team what maths needs to be taught - be it decimal points, time-telling or working out perimeter and area - and from there the team plans how to present it.

The company also keeps closely in touch with its target market through junior advisory boards made up of children in different countries and WA schools such as Penrhos Junior School and Winthrop Primary School.

Mrs du Buisson said the advisers attended special sessions where, together with parents, teachers, and Fun-Ed staff, they assessed the suitability of story line, dialogue, character names, graphics, and most importantly, game-play.

eVac-U8! from Windy Towers, which sells for $49.95 or $59.95 for a classroom package, would last eight hours if played non-stop.

The player starts by signing into Dimensia's visitors book before being shown to her room for her greeting. The house must be navigated from basement to attic, different maths games tackled and points or trinkets picked up.

The games, each of which is played more than once, get progressively harder depending on how well the player scores.

As a reward, and to take the child away from the computer, at the end of the game the player is able to print out parts of a 3D figure which can be glued together and put on display.

Mrs du Buisson said she aimed to reach new markets in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere.

eVac-U8! from WIndy Towers is widely available and Ratbags at Windy Towers, a maths-based game aimed at eight-year-olds, will be on sale from December.