 Dr
Brain's Action Reaction
Developed By: Knowledge Adventure
Published by: Knowledge Adventure
Genre: Children's Entertainment Title
Expected Release: Summer 1999
In Dr. Brain Thinking Games, you are challenged to
use your mind over might. Targeted to children 10
and up, Dr. Brain will be the first children's game
that will be optimized for the Pentium III processor,
and the first children's game to use the Unreal engine.
Being captured by the ruthless S.P.O.R.E. (Sinister
People Organized Really Efficiently) group, you assume
the role of one of the worlds top scientists. Along
with the character Dr. Brian, you must escape S.P.O.R.E.'s
secret headquarters and destroy any chance it has
to complete its devious plot of world domination.
The world is filled with tricky traps, perilous passages
and dangerous doorways. You will find the only weapon
you have is your brain. You will be forced to use
principals of geometry, physics, mechanics and logic
(uh-oh!) to unravel the puzzles that block you from
completing your quest. The game features sixty missions
with multiple levels of difficulty and offers multiplayer
online gaming with up to fifteen other online opponents.
I had a chance to question Ari Schindler, Executive
Producer of Dr. Brain.
EP: This is a very unique use for the Unreal engine.
What made you think about using a game engine that
is primarily thought of in more a shoot them up, deathmatch
style of gaming, than a learning tool?
A:
Action Reaction is first and foremost a game, and
hence it was crucial to us that it use the very best
engine available. We chose a first-person shooter
engine precisely because of the stark contrast between
the average shooter and the average thinking game.
The most direct way to teach kids the value of their
brains is to force them to think through situations
that every other game allows them to solve by brute
force.
EP:
Why did you choose the Unreal Engine over any other
engine on the market?
A:
The tools that compose the Unreal Engine allow for
very rapid development of exceptional products. The
other engines have their strengths, but given our
desire to make something other than a conventional
shooter, and to build it in record time, Unreal was
the only choice…(besides)… it was a great deal for
the money. Q: Is there anything else that you would
like to tell us about the use of the unreal engine,
or the progress of the game's development? Despite
many late nights and much grumbling from the team,
our experience developing for the Unreal engine has
been very positive overall. On the downside, there
are many nasty quirks and rough edges to Unreal, as
one would expect of any toolset on the cutting edge.
On the upside, we have been able to create, in a mere
nine months, a beautiful product that looks and feels
quite different from everything else on the market.
I believe that when our customers compare Dr. Brain:
Action Reaction to other family entertainment products,
the awesome contribution that the Unreal engine makes
to the user experience will be clear.
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