Monday 21 January 2013

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears E-Book (iPad Version tested - Published by PlayFuel Ltd) - Updated Review














Back when we ran an article on how to write the 'perfect' app or e-book for children, we concentrated on various elements that can make or break a successful app.

We were given the chance to take a look at Playfuel Ltd's "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" - a new e-version of the classic story. Playfuel are a small start-up aiming to produce high quality e-books and storytelling and this is their first published app.

Straight off the bat we were very impressed by the artwork, and the story enhancing music and sound effects. For an e-book or app developer to truly stand out, these are the important foundations to base an app on.

Charlotte particularly liked the baby bear 'crying' and also this particular treatment of one of the most well-known and best loved fairy tales ever written (as a big Goldilocks fan she loves the story, probably because Goldilocks is more than a bit naughty!)

EDIT - Now the app has had its user interface tweaked, clear arrows at the sides of the screen show you exactly where you need to 'touch' to progress through the story. I would probably have made more of the fact that certain objects in the story can be interacted with (touch the bowls of porridge and the beds etc to see what happens!) but kids do naturally tend to find this out for themselves if they're familiar with how e-books and story apps work.

Some great touches in this like bouncing up the stairs and we particularly liked the 'build baby bear's chair' bit too.

Charlotte's best bit: Baby bear's crying and fixing his broken chair

Daddy's favourite bit: High quality art and sound, and so much better now the UI has been updated! Go geddit!

(Kindly supplied for review by Playfuel Ltd and thanks to Victoria Melbourne for the promo code)