Last week we reported on the spinning off of StoryArc, under the direction of Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney, and Jen MacLean. Here’s more detail from MacLean about the company’s plans to expand existing digital properties including Funbrain and Poptropica, and launch new immersive experiences for kids.
Changes for Funbrain and Poptropica
There are big changes in store for both. Funbrain, which was the birthplace of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, launched a new design and is now also responsive so you can play games on mobile phones and tablets. For Poptropica, later this year we’ll be adding some really great customization features that allow kids to feel even more they are at the center of the stories. We’re asking ourselves, how do we empower kids to make meaningful decisions and create experiences that feel unique? So you’ll see us adding features that allow kids to customize their avatars in much more detail than they can today, create an individual home experience and tweak the story experiences they have so it’s not like their friends’.
Other evolutions:
We are all about enriching the story-telling experience. With Mystery of the Map, kids can play a version of the game on Poptropica, and they can also have an experience on Funbrain. The same goes with Galactic Hotdog. Kids want more opportunities to consume media and entertainment. Being able to have a related story experience across platforms is really where 21st century kids are.
When Pigs fly
We have another app launching later this spring, Adventure Pig, that’s designed to give more short burst play. On Poptropica most of the play sessions are a half-hour or longer, but kids may not always have a half-hour. This is our first foray into shorter experiences. It’s a single story broken into many chapters and levels that can be completed in less than a minute though the overall story is much longer.
