Smurf: Paint 'n' Play Workshop by Coleco Do-it-yourself cartoon maker! Ages 4-8 A FEW WORDS ABOUT CREATIVE PLAY Watch a child at play, and you'll witness something special. There is a certain honesty and vividness to the way children reveal themselves in a play situation. Play is a natural medium for self-expression and a way for children to make sense of their world. By testing, exploring, and imitating real-life events they learn to solve problems and make choices. In the process, they stretch their imaginations and lay the groundwork for developing basic skills. That's why educational toys are so important and why you, the parent, will want to be sure your child gets the very best. Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop is a combination of the toys kids benefit from most. It's an electronic paint set, flannel board, puppet theatre and movie maker, all rolled into one. The program is designed to gently guide children as they embark on their own explorations into movement, color, animation, and imaginative play. During the workshop, children can play, paint, place objects on blank or predrawn screens, stage and record plays, even create animated cartoons. The activities entertain, but they also give kids the opportunity to explore an unlimited range of concepts. The workshop promotes creativity as well, by giving children the freedom to experiment in a microworld where there are no rights and wrongs. To be sure your child gets the most out of Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop, we suggest you take some time to explore the program yourself before introducing it to your child. Start by watching the demonstration program to get a feel for the types of activities you can perform, then experiment with the various functions symbolized on the Keypad Overlay. When you're feeling comfortable with the controls, try to imitate the activities you see in the demonstration. Place predrawn objects on the background scenes provided, paint a scene all your own, stage a short play and record it, or experiment with simple animation sequences. If you need extra help, refer to the systematic instructions, beginning on page 6 of this guide. After you've played with the program for a while, sit down with your child and let him or her experiment. Offer guidance when necessary, but try not to explain too much. It's important that children have the chance to "mess about" in the microworld presented on their computer screens. By testing and exploring the Smurf environment, they get the chance to make their own discoveries and to practice important skills. On page 17 of this guide, you'll find suggestions for more specific activities designed to build on children's explorations with Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop. Refer to these activities when your child is ready to expand his or her repertoire. GETTING READY TO PLAY MAKE SURE THE COLECOVISION OR ADAM IS OFF BEFORE INSERTING OR REMOVING A CARTRIDGE. One-Player Workshop Use the Port 1 Controller. Two-Player Workshop One child uses the Port 1 Controller while the other child uses the Port 2 Controller. For additional information on two-player workshops, refer to page 16. It's Your Choice! Press the Reset Button. The Title Screen for Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop appears on your screen. After a few moments, the Option Screen appears. It contains a list of three choices: Paint 'n Play Record Demonstrate Use the Control Stick to move Painter Smurf's paintbrush beside the option you'd like to select. Then press either Side Button to register your selection. If you do not make a selection, the demonstration program begins automatically. To cancel the demo at any time and return to the Option Screen, press OPTION (Keypad Button 9). HERE'S HOW IT WORKS 1. Control Stick: Use the Control Stick to move characters up, down, left or right, to select objects and colors, and to paint. 2. Side Buttons: Press either Side Button to select a playing option. During play, press the Left Side Button to make your character jump. Press the Right Side Button to make your character slide. 3. Keypad Buttons: Each Keypad Button has a specific function. Those functions are symbolized on the Keypad Overlay provided. Refer to the following sections for more specific information on using the Keypad Buttons. HOW TO PAINT AND PLAY The instructions that follow explain how to use your Hand Controller for painting and playing. For information on recording and animating scenes, refer to "Special Effects" on page 13 of this guide. Selecting Objects Press OBJECTS (Keypad Button 1) to cycle through the three available Object Screens: Indoor Objects, Outdoor Objects, and Letters, Numbers and Shapes. Each press takes you to the next Object Screen. Painter Smurf appears in the upper left-hand corner of each screen. Use the Control Stick to move him up, down, left, or right until the white "X" above his paintbrush is touching the object you want to select. Placing Objects on the Screen When you've decided which object you want, press DO (Keypad Button 2) to take that object back to the scene you were in. Painter Smurf appears in the center of that scene, holding the object you chose. To actually place the object in the scene, first use the Control Stick to make Painter Smurf position it where you want it. You'll notice that the object disappears as you move it and reappears when you stop moving it. When you're ready to place the object permanently on the screen, press DO again. Your object is now a part of the scenery. It helps to listen for the "ding" sound to be sure the object is permanently in place. Now you can return to an Objects Screen for more objects. But first, you might want to conjure up a little magic. Move Painter Smurf, and watch what happens. The object you placed in the scene is still there--but Painter Smurf is holding one just like it. You can "stamp" as many copies of an object as you want in a scene. Just be sure to press DO each time to put the object permanently in place. Try painting a bed of flowers. If you don't like the way one looks in the scene, press UNDO (Keypad Button 5) and presto! It's gone. When you're finished placing objects, you can paint or play by pressing COLOR (Keypad Button 3) or CHARACTER (Keypad Button 6). If Painter Smurf was holding an object that was not permanently in place, pressing either key makes that object disappear. Choosing Colors Press COLOR (Keypad Button 3) to select a color for painting or to change the color of the letters, numbers and shapes on that Objects Screen. When you press COLOR, a color palette appears at the top of your screen. Use the Control Stick to move the X on Painter Smurf's paintbrush to the color you want to select. Painting Once you've decided on the color you want, press DO to return with it to the scene you were in previously. Painter Smurf appears in the center of the scene with his brush up, poised to paint. Use the Control Stick to move him where you want to start painting. Then press DO again to put his paintbrush down on the screen. Now use the Control Stick to direct his painting. If you want to lift the brush to move to another place on the screen without painting as you move, press DO again. The paintbrush returns to the up position. Now you can use the Control Stick to move the brush and Painter Smurf anywhere you want. Using Blank Screens If you'd rather paint or place predrawn objects on a blank screen or if you want to animate objects, press BLANK (Keypad Button 4). Each time you press this key, a new blank screen appears, up to four in all. The white boxes in the lower left corner indicate which of the four screens is showing. Canceling Commands As mentioned before, if you place an object on the screen and decide you don't like the way it looks, you can press UNDO (Keypad Button 5), and the object disappears! Continually pressing this key erases objects from the scene, one by one, in reverse of the order in which they were placed. (The last object placed is the first to be erased.) UNDO also works if you've painted an object or design on the screen. Simply press this key to erase one "block" of color at a time. Kids love to do this! To erase color more quickly, press and hold down the UNDO Key, and watch your work of art disappear. Choosing Characters The first time you select the Paint 'N Play option, a silhouette of Smurf appears in the blue border area at the lower left corner of your screen (offstage). You can use the Control Stick to move Smurf to center stage, or you can choose from three additional characters: Smurfette, Papa Smurf, and Gargamel (who, your children will notice, has been accidentally shrunk to Smurf - size by his own evil alchemy). To choose a new character, press CHARACTER (Keypad Button 6) and poof! Smurf changes to Smurfette. Keep pressing this key until you reach the character you want to select. Then use the Control Stick to move the new character around in your scene. Younger children especially love this magic key that allows them to transform one Smurf into another. They also like to use the offstage area for switching characters during their plays. Older children often use the magic key to "disguise" the evil Gargamel as a Smurf. Then, when he gets close to an unsuspecting Smurfette, for example, it's back to Gargamel again! Notice that anytime you move to the Objects Screen or select a color, your chosen character disappears and Painter Smurf takes over. This can be confusing to children at first, so you might want to explain that Painter Smurf is used only for painting and placing objects. To get your chosen character back again, just press the CHARACTER Key. Changing Scenes Each time you press one of these four keys, a different indoor or outdoor scene appears, as follows: It's Showtime! You can use the Control Stick to move your Smurf character around on the screen, even in a two-player workshop when the other player is painting. Younger children will probably start out moving Smurf on one of the background scenes provided. Older children will enjoy first adding placed or painted objects, then maneuvering the characters up, down, around and over these objects. They'll also move characters from one background scene to another, using the objects as props in their own improvised plays. As you and your child play with the Smurf characters and try moving them from scene to scene, you'll find that the character you are using in one scene disappears when you move to the next and is replaced by the character you were using previously in that scene. If you want to use the same character (or characters for a two-player workshop) throughout your play, you'll need to "set" them in each of the scenes you plan to use. To do so, press the CHARACTER Key to switch characters when you move to each new scene, either before your play or during it. (Hint: It looks great when you move each character offstage before making the switch.) The illustration shows Smurfette having some fun on a slide from the Objects Screen. All's Clear Anytime you want to start a new play session from scratch, press the Reset Button. The Option Screen appears and any objects or characters you placed or painted on the screen disappear. SPECIAL EFFECTS Recording Sessions When children are recording their play sessions, they feel as if they're performing before an audience. For this reason, they're inclined to try new, more adventurous techniques and to think about a logical sequence of events when creating their "scripts." In addition, recording encourages children to plan character entrances and exits, to prepare "sets" with painted or placed objects, even to outline scripts in advance. Of course, they can improvise when the mood strikes, too! If your child is ready for a recording session, demonstrate the simple procedure described below. 1. Press OPTION (Keypad Button 9) to return to the Option Screen, then use the Control Stick to move Painter Smurf's paintbrush beside RECORD. Press either Side Button to register this selection. The scene you were using before pressing OPTION appears. 2. Notice the red bar that appears at the top of the screen. This bar means a recording session is in progress. 3. Now you can use the Control Stick to move your Smurf character anywhere in the scene. If your script calls for a different character or background scene, make the switch just as you would during play (See "Choosing Characters" on page 9). The recording session continues until you want it to stop or until the time runs out. 4. When your play is over, press OPTION to end the recording session. A second Option Screen appears, giving you the additional choice of playing back your recording. 5. To do this, select PLAYBACK. A green bar now appears at the top of your screen and the scenes you've just recorded are played back. 6. Be careful. Each time you press RECORD, it erases any material you recorded previously. Also, when you shut off or reset the machine, all recorded material is erased. Cause to Pause When children are recording or narrating scenes they are playing back, they sometimes need to take a break from the action. When narrating, such breaks give them time to collect their thoughts about what they're going to say next. When recording, they can use the time to decide what the characters are going to do next. To stop at any time during a recording session or during playback, press PAUSE (Keypad Button #). The action immediately stops. To continue recording or playing back a scene at the point where you stopped it, press PAUSE again. Note: If you press PAUSE while painting or playing, only the music stops. Animation Techniques With Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop, children can make objects come to life using actual animation techniques. This feature gives them a chance to explore space, time, and cause and effect. And besides that, it's fun! When you're ready to explore animation with your child, look at the last few scenes in the demonstration program. You'll see Painter Smurf make a cloud move from left to right across the screen and a painted apple fall from a tree. You might want to explain to your child that the objects aren't really moving--it just seems that way. Then demonstrate how it's done by following the process described below. 1. Press BLANK to make the first blank screen appear. 2. Select the cloud from the Outdoor Objects Screen and place it in the upper left-hand corner of the first blank screen. Make sure it is permanently in place before going on. Then press BLANK again. Place the cloud on the second blank screen, but this time put it a little more to the right. Place the cloud on the two remaining blank screens, each time moving it more to the right. The last cloud should end up in the far right corner of the fourth screen. 3. Select the tree from the Outdoor Objects Screen and place it permanently in the center of the first blank screen. Then press BLANK again and place the tree in the center of the second screen. Repeat the process on screens 3 and 4, then return to the first blank screen. Placing the clouds first and then the tree creates the illusion of the clouds moving behind the tree. If you wanted to move something in front of the tree, you would place that object after you'd placed the tree. 4. Now paint a small red apple on the tree in the first blank screen. Make sure it's permanently in place. Then move to the next blank screen and paint it a little lower this time. Repeat the process on screens 3 and 4. The last apple should be touching the bottom of the screen. 5. When your sequence is complete, press and hold down BLANK to cycle quickly through all four screens. Voila! The cloud and the apple appear to move! Now see if your child can make the sun animate so it appears to be setting. Remember that if the child places the sun on the tree it will appear to be passing in front of it. To avoid this, you might want to suggest that he or she place the sun on either side of the tree. To record an animation sequence, follow steps 1, 2, and 3, described in "Recording Sessions." Then press and hold down BLANK to cycle through all four screens. When you're finished, press OPTION to end the recording session. Now play back your animated cartoon. Two-Player Workshop When two children use Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop, they learn to cooperate and to respect the decisions of others. They may argue a bit at first, but that usually subsides when they realize how much helping each other can improve the finished product--and double their fun! Have one child use the Port 1 Controller (Player 1) while the other uses the Port 2 Controller (Player 2). Either player can make a selection from the Option Screen to start the workshop. During the workshop, players can select their own characters and move them with their own Control Sticks. Both players can also paint. However, both players cannot place objects simultaneously. If Player 1, for example, is placing objects, Player 2 must wait to place objects until Player 1 finishes and presses the CHARACTER Key. But, of course, while one player is placing objects, the other can paint or play--except when an Objects Screen is in use. At that time, the only key working on either Controller is the DO Key belonging to the person using the Objects Screen. Because young children especially love having roles to play, you might want to suggest that they take turns being the "painter" and the "placer" throughout the workshop. GUIDING YOUR CHILD'S DISCOVERY It's important to give young children the freedom to explore in an unstructured environment. But sometimes a little guidance doesn't hurt. With Smurf Paint 'N Play Workshop, you can provide that guidance while becoming more directly involved in your child's early learning experiences. Best of all, you can have some fun while you're at it! On the next few pages, you'll find suggestions for simple activities you might want to try with your child. The activities are categorized according to approximate age level, but that doesn't mean these levels are set in stone. As a general rule, it's best to observe your child at play to find out what types of activities he or she is already doing in the Smurf environment. Then use the exercises that follow to build on that repertoire. To get the most out of these activities, have your child use one Controller while you use the other. Use the Controller to imitate his or her actions, then add a new element. For example, you might want to say, "I like the way you're moving your Smurf . Now I'm going to try to make my Smurf jump over the flower." If your child shows an interest in imitating this activity, you can show him or her how it's done. Playing Pre-school children will enjoy moving Smurf characters around on the screen. Because horizontal movement is tricky for little hands to manage, demonstrate up-and-down movement first. When your child feels more comfortable with the Control Stick, suggest that he or she try moving a character from left to right or right to left. A good time to introduce moving horizontally is when one of the characters is "stuck" offstage. You might want to ask, "How can we get Smurf back on stage?" Later, encourage the child to push the Side Buttons on the Hand Controller to make a character jump (Left Side Button) and slide (Right Side Button). Discovery Activity: Show your child how to make a Smurf character jump in an arc (over the river in the last outdoor scene, for example). Position Smurf so he is facing sideways, then press and hold in the Left Side Button to make him jump and complete the arc. 2. Nursery-school children are inclined to act out stories using the Smurf characters, thereby creating their own electronic fantasy worlds. Encourage your child to use a variety of objects and background scenes when staging short "plays." Discovery Activity: Collaborate with your child in discovering how to introduce three characters into a two-person story. For example, make Papa Smurf walk out the door and make Smurfette come in immediately thereafter. Or, make Gargamel cast a spell that turns Papa Smurf into a regular Smurf. 3. School-age children enjoy recording short plays. Explain how the record function works, then let your child record a sequence of scenes and ask him or her to narrate the action during playback. Later, encourage the child to plan a short play and record it. You might even offer to write down a brief script outline that your child dictates to you. Discovery Activity: When playing back and narrating recorded scenes, have your child use the PAUSE Key to freeze the action from time to time. Then encourage him or her to think ahead by asking, "What happens next?" Placing Objects 1. This activity works well with pre-school children. Show your child how to choose background scenes, then how to place predrawn objects on each one. Also demonstrate how to "stamp" copies of the same object. Be sure to explain that the "ding" sound indicates when an object is permanently in place. Discovery Activity: Have the child place objects that will encourage character movement during imaginative play. Examples include the slide, the jungle gym, chairs, and benches. When the objects are in place, encourage your child to maneuver Smurf characters around and over them. This activity teaches children how to move the Control Stick with greater precision and promotes better eye-hand coordination, while reinforcing concepts such as over, around, through, and so on. 2. Nursery-school children like to group objects that belong together. When your child shows an interest in this type of activity, suggest that he or she furnish one of the indoor scenes. You might want to guide your child by saying something like, "Where does the stove belong?" Discovery Activity: After furnishing indoor scenes, let your child create different objects by combining two, such as a double ladder or a floor-to-ceiling window. Or, reinforce letter recognition by having the child choose letters from the Object Screen and use them to write his or her name on a blank screen or to "label" objects with initial letter sounds. 3. When creating scenes, school-age children sometimes become dissatisfied with the predrawn objects. If that happens, show your child how to change or build on objects from the Object Screens. For example, if the legs on the diving board are too short, you can use paint to make them longer. If the window in the kitchen is too bare, add a pair of curtains. Then let your child explore other ways to change existing objects. Discovery Activity: See if your child can change objects to fit the requirements of a particular story. Examples include turning a bed into a trampoline or a tree-house into a spaceship by adding or erasing detail. Or, have your child paint the bathtub red so Papa Smurf can take a bath without showing his legs! Painting 1. A pre-school child will enjoy using his or her favorite color to scribble on a blank screen. You might want to call this activity "video finger painting." Be sure to demonstrate how to put Smurf's paintbrush in the down position and how to lift it up again. Discovery Activity: Show your child how to select a different color, then let him or her divide the finger-painted screen with a line of that color. Later, let the child scribble on another blank screen, this time using a variety of colors. 2. Nursery-school children are ready to create simple geometric shapes. Help your child paint circular shapes, diagonal lines, and so on. Then introduce an interactive painting activity. Use your Controller to paint a "path" on the screen and have your child "chase" you by painting over your path in a different color. Discovery Activity: While painting geometric shapes, your child may have created a few unwanted lines. If so, it's a perfect time to let him or her explore the UNDO Command. Start by demonstrating how to erase color, one block at a time, then see if your child can discover how to erase more quickly (by pressing and holding in the UNDO Key). 3. School-age children enjoy painting freehand, but sometimes they need suggestions on what to paint. If your child is stumped, suggest that he or she paint a specific background scene, such as a farm or outer space. Then work together to create a play based on that scene. Discovery Activity: Use letters from the Object Screen to create a simple message on a blank screen. Then paint over the entire screen. When you've finished, have your child use the UNDO key to erase the background color to "decode" the message underneath.