INSIDE GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT UPDATE Volume 2, Issue 57 Published by: The Word Warriors 23115 Broadmoor Court Auburn, CA 95602 email gamesup@gv.net igufolk1@aol.com ABC: LIFT-OFF DELAYED FOR ABC LAUNCH A 24-hour cable news channel from Capital Cities/ABC Inc. has been delayed due to financial restraints that were realized in dealing with the market leader, CNN, and other new rivals. After six months of analysis, cost projections that pertain to distribution have escalated beyond reason. The company, in December, announced the plan to launch the channel, which would use the reporting and technical resources of ABC News as well as ABC-owned Worldwide Television News. Other networks also announced similar plans at that time. Accolade: A GREAT BALANCING ACT Accolade has a new corporate strategy: all of Accolade's future games will be available on-line due to the ever-increasing demand for multplayer games. Ultimately, all of Accolade's games will be released with online and solo game play. Sandy Jackson is the new director of online business development with responsibilities that include building and maintaining relationships with key third parties, to include on-line service and technology providers and key developers. ACCOLADE GOES FOR TWO: A most ambitious project, Legends Football (TM) '97, involving all 30 NFL teams and more than 1,300 NFL players from the '96-97 season, comes from Accolade this fall. What makes this game unique is that it takes not just the best of modern-day play, but also three selected legendary eras in NFL history: 1932, 1950 and 1968. You can select any of the legendary players and draft, trade, and manage players, applying the rules and equipment from those years to any game. 30 modern stadiums and historical stadiums are rendered in 3D. Legends Football '97 offers easy-to-use, five receiver pass plays (including pass interference), special zooming effects, multiple camera angles, top animation and sports color announcing by Al Michaels. BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Accolade's HardBall 5 enjoyed sales of over 150,000 units for the PC CD-ROM platform--it was determined that it might not be a bad idea to develop HardBall 5 for the PlayStation. In the PlayStation version, you can select from more than 800 MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association) players in one of 40 stadiums with Al Michaels calling the plays. There 12 legendary teams that include photos and stats as well as the old-time stadiums. COMING FROM THE PLANET RAYON: Bubsy 3D from the planet Rayon will be ported to the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn this fall. Part of a hit series, Bubsy's adventures take place on the futuristic planet, Rayon. Animations are created for real-time environments that enable Bubsy 360 degrees of movement. Bubsy encounters a whole slew of different characters, glides in 3D, scoops up atoms, dodges a variety of attacks, and travels underwater. 3D SHOOTING PROMPTS 3D BLEEDING: Eradicator is coming to town, pardners, for the PC CD-ROM this fall. This multiplayer, 3D shoot-em-up offers multiple characters and points of view plus an interactive 3D environment. You choose from three characters: Elena, a feline mercenary; Kamchak, the lizard warrior; and Dan Blaze, the humanoid minor. These characters are involved in three totally different game experiences where the law of physics apply. You'll feel zero gravity, friction, mass, and momentum and must choose from diverse weapons. COMING TO A PLANET NEAR YOU: Deadlock, a planetary conquest strat game that can be played by as many as seven players, is the first Accolade title to launch on the Internet. Mpath Interactive is assisting with the game's multiplayer capabilities. Scheduled for intro later this year, you'll be able to conduct two-way conversations, chat areas and access other features while actually playing this science-fiction strat/sim game. GET ME PO'ED" PO'ed is a 3D, first-person, shooting game that lets you run or fly through a world that's chock full of aliens. With the aid of a jet-pack (great for commute traffic), you can levitate and fly in within 25 different levels of this futuristic world as you try to avoid being the target of alien attacks. Some rather gruesome weapons run the gamut from a rocket launcher to a big, bloody, industrial-sized power drill. (See Mudgeon's Memorable Musings this week for his look at this action game!) Activision: LIFE'S THE PITS Or something like that, as Pitfall, one of the best-selling video games series, from Activision, Inc., will be represented by the Rothman Agency of Beverly Hills. This agreement maintains that every element of the Pitfall franchise, from linear entertainment that includes TV, theatrical elements and media such as cable TV, video cassettes and comic books, will be exclusively handled by the Rothman Agency. Amara: ALTERNATIVES TO JAVA Many WWW developers are interested in creating pages that do not rely upon the Java programming language, due to the complexities involved in learning that environment. AMARA has decided to release their WebBASIC(TM) Netscape Navigator 2.x plug-in product, which they claims is an easier alternative to Java. The foundation for the product is that BASIC is far easier to learn and WebBASIC applets are a combo of a Visual Basic for Applications subset and the company's own WebBASIC API. This API presents more than 100 functions that extend the BASIC language, enabling object creation and manipulation. There are animation, buttons, labels, tabbed-dialogs, presentation, and spreadsheets objects, with the created applets all compressed for fast transport over the Internet. There will be two versions available: WebBASIC Developer GOLD and WebBASIC Developer Bronze. The latter will be a free version and will include all of GOLD's capabilities save for the ability to include graphics and sound with created applets. More info may be obtained at http://www.inetnow.net/~webbasic/webbasic.html Apple: WEB MANAGEMENT MAXIMIZED The recent press hovering around Apple Computer has not been overly gracious, to say the least. Yet, Apple Corporate's announced plans for the Internet, and the company's GameSprockets for entertainment developers, have all been examined with a degree of optimism. In keeping with the company's online strategies, the company is now making available the version 1.0 beta of Apple 3.g. This is a new tool that makes Macintosh OS website administration far easier for managers will no longer have to learn or bring into their server some of the complex search products now mandated for such work. Instead, the search and indexing capabilities are handled with simply a few mouse clicks to produce that searchable website all desire. Using the V-Twin technology search engine, minimal memory is required. All search results are ranked according to their relevance. The beta version may be downloaded from http://www.cybertech.apple.com and there is no license fee. AT&T: BRINGING IN THE TALENT Here's a unique method of obtaining critically-needed talent! Free, half-day seminars are going to be conducted by AT&T for WWW designers and artists to find suitable folk for the company's Creative Alliance Program (CAP). These seminars follow on the heels of AT&T's AT&T Easy World Wide Web(SM) (EW3) launch. AT&T plans to provide customers of their new program with a list of the Creative Alliance Program members who can then help them with their WWW building. Financial incentives will also be offered to CAP members who themselves place orders for EW3 hosting services from their own client lists and AT&T will put cyber portfolios on their home page for customer examination. Qualifications for joining CAP include experience in any of the following areas: Expertise in vertical markets (banking, healthcare, and so on); CD-ROM, Internet and multimedia production; desktop graphic production; digital audio/video editing; kiosk content programming; and system integration. An application must be submitted before you will be selected to join this program by AT&T. The seminar schedule is: June 3: New York: New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas June 5: St. Louis, MO: Adams Mark Hotel, 4th and Chestnut St. June 7: Chicago: Hyatt on Printers Row, 500 S. Dearborn St. June 11: Dallas: Hyatt Regency Dallas, 300 Reunion Blvd. June 13: Atlanta: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, 265 Peachtree St. N.E. June 18: Washington, D.C.: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave., N.W. June 18: Santa Monica, CA: Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, 1700 Ocean Ave. June 20: San Francisco: San Francisco Marriott, 55 Fourth St. June 25: Boston: Westin Hotel Copley Place, 10 Huntington Ave. Call 1-800-242-6005 to register. Billboard: CAN YOU HUM A FEW BARS? Billboard Magazine and the Source Maythenyi (http://www.navgtr.com/sourcetv or e-mail at sourcetv@gate.net) have a pay service on the Internet, Billboard Online, that allows access to creative and production credits for more than 10,000 music videos. Included is the Music Video Source(tm), a continually updated database that goes back to 1990 Billboard issues. Billboard will also provide full-text access to the current issue of the magazine as well as an archive of Billboard articles dating back to 1991 and more than 22,000 charts dating back to 1983. Folks interested in the Music Video Source can sign on to the Professional Plan, a deal that offers access for all of Billboard Online's searchable databases, for $19.95 per month in addition to a fee of 50 cents to $1 to view, print or save files in the database. The Source Maythenyi, established in 1989, provides information to more than 1,000 advertising agencies, production companies and television shows worldwide with plans to include on-line and multi-media services. Box Office: PASS THE POPCORN The top 5 movies at the theater box office over the Memorial Weekend were: 1. (new) Mission:Impossible $56.93 million 2. (#1 last week) Twister $37.13 million 3. (new) Spy Hard $10.60 million 4. (#2 last week) Flipper $5.00 million 5.-(#3 last week) The Craft $2.70 million 5.-(#4 last week) The Truth About Cats & Dogs $2.70 million Broderbund: DUCK! IT'S MUDBALLS ON THE WEB! Broderbund, a company know for its innovative and fun learning experiences is using the web as a vehicle for educating in an interactive environment. Beginning with Logical Journey of the Zoombinis CD-ROM, one of the new educational Active Mind Series, will go on-line on June 1 with Mudball Wall, a special game that has been adapted for Broderbund's website (www.broderbund.com). Zoombinis can be downloaded from Broderbund's website for Windows 3.x/95 and Macintosh, or the user can also play the game directly on the website by using Netscape Navigator 2.0 with the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in installed. Mudball Wall is a challenging puzzle where kids need to create mudballs with different colors and shapes to hit targets on the Mudball Wall. Also included on the website are additional activities for kids, a Parents Corner about the educational content of the program, a whimsical story about the Zoombinis, special product offers, and more. Logical Journey of the Zoombinis builds advanced math thinking skills for kids ages 8-12. CALIFORNIA GROWS GREAT FILM INDUSTRY More than 80 percent of the feature films that were produced in the U.S. in 1995 were made in California. This was an 82 percent increase from the 65 percent in '94 to the '95 stats--up from the 438 films previously to a total of 536 in 1995. Financially, this indicates a $20 billion a year industry that supports 500,000 jobs. Catapult: BET ON A BLIZZARD Online gaming is one of the hottest topics in the industry. Whether game companies develop multiplayer capabilities for their leading titles, create new products that offer Internet playability, or combine forces with other companies to produce an entirely new game service, Internet gaming is skyrocketing toward all of us. Catapult Entertainment has now announced that their XBAND PC multiplayer gaming network will incorporate Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the #1 selling PC title from Blizzard Entertainment. This is an awesome strat that was released in November of 1994 and became a worldwide, best seller with more than 300K games sold throughout the world. XBAND PC is Internet-based and will offer low-latency, multiplayer gaming this summer. CBS: NO BRAINER One can't help but wonder how many hundreds of thousands of dollars went into the pocket of some Madison Avenue ad person who came up with CBS's latest slogan. In an effort to bring back the audience that departed this last season the slogan changes from the You're On of last season to Welcome Home. Yep, someone had to really think hard to come up with that! The Welcome Home theme will be present in promos, outside media, station tie-ins and more. CE Software: IT'S THE WEBHACKER! CE Software has unveiled WebArranger 2.0 for Mac, the first information manager designed with a powerful database engine at its core, and a customizable interface, that allows users to manage all their Internet data using a single application. A PC-Windows version will come this fall. Version 1.0 of WebArranger was released at the beginning of the year and was available free of charge through CE Software's Web site at http://www.cesoft.com. WebArranger provides users with a set of organizational tools that include a software agent that automatically monitors Web sites for changes. All the information is downloaded across the Web and organized as the user requires. The package interfaces with most popular Web browsers, including Navigator 2.0 and any Mac browser that supports AppleEvents. Other features include a URL (uniform resource locator) validator that monitors Web sites to check if they are still active, and auto-routes/updates bookmarks in the background. The download agent, meanwhile, auto-retries busy FTP (file transfer protocol) downloads and downloads the files in the background. The new WebWhacker v2.0 is a utility that captures whole Web sites to local disk, allowing off-line browsing of the Web pages. Children's Broadcasting: LISTENING TO THE WEB An addition to the NetRadio Web site will be the Children's Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). NetRadio will make Radio AAHS(R) available live on a world wide basis over the Internet. NetRadio is the world's first, 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, Internet-only, radio network. Currently, there are four radio formats on NetRadio at http://www.netradio.net; vintage rock, classical, emerging artists and new country and, as of July 15, the Children's Broadcast Corporation. CIS: ATTEND THE BUFFETT Ink is being delivered for any and all comers to the "instant" concert venue! Seen as the greatest example of any company's online technocity, musicians are being approached by the latest and greatest commservs and Internet sites to produce real-time, live events from their concerts. CompuServe(CIS) now joins in with their first online multimedia event which will present Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, live. You'll get live audio and color video, plus you'll be able to join Jimmy and his group backstage as well as become involved in concert chat. The event will initiate Buffett's summer tour called Banana Wind. The date? May 29th at 6:00 p.m. EDT. You can logon at http://www.compuserve.com or head for Buffett's own Margaritaville site. The technology in use is CU-SeeMe from White Pine Software, available for Macintosh and Windows machines. You must have a sound card and speakers. Full video requires a 28.8k modem, while audio requires only a 14.4k modem. Check out the demo of the White Pine software at the CIS site. Comfy: COMFY WEE FOLK Addressing the needs of the REALLY young folk, from 12-24 months, is an area few companies recognize. Comfy is one of these companies that offers rich educational experiences while introducing toddlers to the technology that will be a part of their everyday lives through the use of software and a special ComfyKeyboard. The ComfyKeyboard has many capabilities such as Color/Music Keys that play music and paint colors, a Pause Button that pauses the story, Telephone Keys that speed dial to chat ComfyLand characters, and a Surprise Roller that causes unexpected events and changes in the action speed of the software being used. All software products are geared for both PC CD-ROM and diskettes as well as Mac CD-ROM, and include Comfy Touch-n-See: The First Step, a software program for children 12-24 months that provides three levels of play that explore colors and sounds and works with listening, reading and comprehension skills. The following five programs are customized for children ages 2-6. Feely's Birthday is a multimedia story that celebrates Feely's birthday with tykes solving problems while exploring four stories. Kids can make music, change colors, direct characters, affect the weather and talk to the characters by phone. Playground of Friends teaches sharing, taking turns and making choices between being lonely or enjoying the company of others. Stressed here is the concept that being a friend and having a friend are more important than having material things (AMEN!). Kids have to solve riddles, learn strategies and problem solving, and recognize issues of right and wrong. The Great Concert teaches the kids about different instruments, how they look and sound and how to lead the band. Colorful Adventures: The Missing Bone has kids helping Jumpy, the dog, find his lost bone. Christmas in ComfyLand is a set of stories that teach and entertain kids about the Christmas experience. Connect Corp: A FASTER PERK Java, the programming language whose name is uttered reverently upon many developer lips, is now the subject of a number of projects that are attempting to enhance what was intended to enhance the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, those files and images that are part of the Java paradigm head to your client server one file at a time. No compression is applied to these files, either. Seems as though applets can now be sped up by as much as 80 percent, if Connect Corporation has its way. The company has developed new client/server software called Connect Quick that moves class files and images as a single ZIP file--all compressed and neat and tidy. Additionally, persistent classes are established and these may be automatically maintained and updated only when you need updated info. In other words, when that all-important applet has been modified, this program only downloads the files that HAVE been changed, not all of the associated files, some of which may NOT have been modified. CEMA: TV GUIDE FOR THE PC? A survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) concluded that almost 80 percent of the 752 adults that were surveyed said they would watch cable and network programs on the PC/TV, more than 60 percent would use a PC/TV for applications such as word processing, 52 percent attested to the fact that they would browse the Internet and play games, and half of the folks interviewed said they'd find such a device useful for e-mail. The convergence of computer and TV will result in a variety of combinations of systems, some of which will combine large screen TVs, CD players, radios, high-speed CD-ROMs and Internet access capability, all in one box. Almost 50 percent of those surveyed said they would be likely to purchase a PC/TV in the future due to the convenience and ease-of-use. Consumers will also look for products to help them connect and "converge" their existing TVs and computers, thereby creating a potentially large aftermarket for convergence accessories and connection products. The vast majority of consumers prefer wireless connection options Echo Speech: TALKING PAGES We have graphics . . .we have animations . . .we have video . . .we have sound . . .and now, thanks to Echo Speech Corporation, we now have EchoSpeech for WWW pages. This voice compression software will add speech to your web pages and is offered at NO CHARGE to educational institutions, individuals and non-profit organizations. This is a Netscape Navigator plug-in that also bundles a standalone speech utility for voice apps. Commercial site licenses are $99 for each home page used. More info may be obtained at http://www.echospeech.com. Engage: A NEW ENGAGING TITLE Warcraft(R) II: Tides of Darkness published by Blizzard Entertainment(R) is the most recent title to join an exclusive agreement with Engage Games Online. Warcraft II has sold more than 500,000 units in its first three months--talk about hot! Warcraft was also named Game of the Year and Best Multi-Player Game of the Year for 1995 by PC Gamer. (We certainly agree with those determinations!) Almost all of the titles on Engage are worldwide exclusives, such as Descent Online, Castles II, the US Chess Federation, MUD II and AD&D: Descent to Undermountain from Interplay, Fighter Duel and total Control Football from Philips; Rolemaster: Magestorm and Splatterball from Interworld Prods and Sim City 2000 from Maxis. Not only that, Engage has exclusive agreements with Caesars Palace Virtual Casino, comedy from The Improvisation and music info from Billboard Live! Engage plans to have 15 games on-line by the end of 1996 and then an additional game each month. Engage Games Online is an on-line service accessed via the Internet, or an on-line service provider, that will enable folks to access games and other entertainment content through a consistent and intuitive Windows 95-based, animated 3D interface. Additionally, chat areas, bulletin boards and other service areas will be accessible through the graphics front-end and a 2D version will be offered for speedier downloads. Plans are for Engage to feature a massive variety of high-end multi-player games as well as some less intense titles for folks that don't normally play games. Engage: GUSTO GAMING Two weeks ago, the Electronics Entertainment Expo was the home site for thousands of product announcements. Many made large splashes--others, barely a ripple. One of those announcements that managed to attract a good deal of attention was the Interplay roll-out of a new, independent company called ENGAGE that will produce online, multiplayer games. ENGAGE already has a number of allegiances and here are some of the other newsy items buzzing around this latest challenger to the title of king of the multiplayer game hill. The new company, run by Jeff Leibowitz (formerly of ImagiNation Network), plans to have some 16 new games online by the end of this year. Future-speak states that one game a month'll be added, starting next year. Maxis Software has decided to throw in with ENGAGE. That company's super-popular, super-smash hit, SimCity 2000, will be part of the game offerings on this new service. For those who aren't aware of SimCity 2000, and if not, then you've had your head stuck in a bag of popcorn for years, this sim has you managing a metropolis onscreen where you govern the SimCitizens and also maintain city services, all while balancing your budgets. With the multiplayer capability, you'll now find others who can cooperate with you, or -- compete with you! The object is to see who is able to develop the most land and you'll find yourself agreeing to deals where city resources are at stake, even city ordinances requiring collective voting. ENGAGE has also signed with Philips Media for a number of their titles for multiplayer distribution via this network. The first two such offerings will be Fighter Duel and Total Control Football. The former is a WWII fighter sim where you can fly any one of 13 historically accurate fighter planes against other players online. The game's feature 360-degree cockpit views, a photo-realistic instrument panel duped from an actual P-51 fighter, plus real-time texture mapping. The second game was sanctioned by the National Football League and gives you the opportunity to both coach and manage your team. Total Control Football is as true as its name implies--you make personnel and business decisions and then head to the sideline to play head-to-head with the real-time arcade action portion of the game. You play game-by-game, season-by-season. Additionally, and as you might expect, the service is going to carry Interplay's Battle Chess 4000 and Descent games and these titles will also be available on Time Warner Cable's Full Service Network, otherwise known as FSN, which currently runs a coax cable service to some 4,000 homes in Orlando, Florida. These games will be accessed via FSN's The Playway, which is a VR roller coaster ride that takes you to the games access are on this service. And not only has ENGAGE already signed to deliver their multiplayer games to America Online, but a new agreement has been reached with Prodigy to initiate a similar content providership this summer. Prodigy members'll now be able to play such goodies as Descent, Castles II, MUD II, Rolemaster: Magestorm and Splatterball. One of the biggest issues facing online, multiplayer gaming has been that of latency--the amount of time it takes for the server to react to your move and the moves of your opponent(s)--over the network. ENGAGE has decided to sign with Concentric Network for that company's low-latency dial-up network with offers 214 pops throughout the US and Canada. With 30,000 local exchanges in 3,000 cities, you'll be able to game via fiber-based, frame relay technology. DAD ON THE WEB It is now possible to customize greetings on a Father's Day card and also include gifts such as magazine subscription or a gift certificate from Nordstrom while on the web. Located at http://www.deardad.com, folks can choose from two dozen Father's Day cards priced at around $3.75. DreamWorks: SOMETIMES INQUIRING MINDS DON'T WANT TO KNOW It's not good to put your head in the sand like an ostrich, however, sometimes folks just don't want to know how close the whole world came to going up in a mushroom cloud. Take the The Peacemaker, a DreamWorks Pictures production starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. The Peacemaker is an intense movie based upon the story of a train carrying Russian ICBMs to be dismantled that is destroyed by an unexplained nuclear explosion in a remote area of Southern Russia. After the big boom, the explosion signals a red alert at the White House Nuclear Smuggling Group. Nicole Kidman, who portrays Dr. Julia Kelly, a nuclear physicist and acting head of the NSG, joins forces with George Clooney, sans his ER gear, who plays Colonel Thomas Devoe, a member of the U.S. Army's elite Special Forces. The film, written by Michael Schiffer Crimson Tide, is based on actual events recently disclosed in various government documents and official news sources. Branko Lustig, one of the producers of the Academy Award-winning, Schindler's List, is producing the film. The executive producers are Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Michael Grillo. Fox Interactive: ALIENS, PARANORMAL & EXPLOSIVES With a great E3 show under their belt, Fox Interactive is coming out swinging with three hot titles for video and computer gamers! What would occur if aliens took over the White House? No, this isn't a comment from the Republicans--it's Independence Day, the interactive game based upon the movie of the same name from Fox Interactive for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows 95 CD-ROM. Due in late '96, gamers will face the ultimate challenge of leading a battle to stop an alien invasion force that could destroy civilization. As the gamer pilots through 3D environments in an effort to destroy the aliens' Mothership, folk must build an armed airfleet made up of a variety of military aircraft from FA-18s to the Soviet MiG-31. Gamers maneuver through a flight simulation that involves head-to-head air combat over recognizable city scapes from Washington, D.C. to Moscow, Cape Canaveral to a Russian Submarine Base at Nakhoda, in a race that is resolved only when one of the forces is obliterated. Hopefully it's the aliens! The folks that star in Fox's X-File, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, will also star in a CD-ROM adventure from Fox Interactive for the Macintosh and PC due in '97. Scully and Mulder experience an interactive odyssey based upon an original storyline that remains true to the dark and mysterious genre of the TV show, a story that folks will enjoy as they explore this paranormal world. Fox Interactive is developing the titleincor porating HperBole Studios' VirtualCinema(R) technology, a software engine that allows the player to become the main character in this X-Files story. The VirtualCinema engine measures responses and activities of the gamer then applies them back to the original storyline creating a unique experience. Folks will be able to experience Fox Interactive's Die Hard Trilogy, an action-packed experience with three totally different adventures for the Sega Saturn due in August and Windows 95 version due in September. Based upon the perspective of the main character, John McClane, a cop, folks must fight a team of internationl terrorists in a total of 40 different levels. The first saga, Die Hard, takes place in the Nakatome Plaze in Los Angeles and is a race to outwit the terrorists who have wired this high-rise before the building explodes. In Die Harder marksmanship is what gamers must rely upon in order to gun down terrorists at Washington/Dulles Airport which is under seige. This chase then continues outside on the runway and through the Virginia countryside while driving sowmobiles. Lastly, in Die Hard With a Vengeance, the gamer can drive through the crowded New York streets, below in subway tunnels or the gamer can choose from more than 15 different vehicles ranging from a Yugo, Italian sportscar, to a garbage truck and more. In accurate texture-mapped and fully rendered streets and passageways of Chinatown, Wall Street, Harlem and other locations gamers must cope with the frustrations of changing stop lights and gridlocked traffic. Fox Interactive: FOX IS PLAYING A NEW TOON A gaggle of cartoon characters from Fox Interactive will create educational and fun learning for kids three-years and above. Based on a six month release schedule, the first line-up of titles that will be released due out this fall include Hello Kitty, Baby Felix the Cat and, The Tick (my favorite). Hello Kitty Big Fun is for Window and Mac CD-ROM and involves a variety of learning skills, each with a three-level program designed by top educators that encourages creativity. Baby Felix for Windows and Macintosh CD-ROM helps kids easily master essential learning skills in reading, math, art and music using animation and voice prompts. The Tick for Windows CD-ROM has three stories that involve kids as they learn puzzle solving skills that involve the organization and collection of clues in order to fight crime and save the world. Eekstravaganza for Windows CD-ROM involves Eek the Cat who, after being hit on the head, suffers from amnesia. In the course of five chapters, kids must search for memorabilia, solve puzzles and collect clues that will, ultimately, help Eek remember who he is. Keroppi for Windows and Mac CD-ROM involves Keroppi, the Frog, who helps kids improve their organizational and