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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Finnish Gaming
Challenging, educational kids’ apps Pintxo Creative is a Helsinki-based company that is currently developing Spell Bandit, an educational iPad and iPhone game for children. By Ndéla Faye | Photos: Pintxo Creative
The games industry is evolving fast and Scandinavian countries are at the top of games development. Last year, Pintxo Creative received a much sought-after prize for funding from Nordic Game, the most notable games conference in Europe. Spell Bandit is aimed at children aged between 6 and 11 and tells the story of Ollie, a boy on a quest to find stolen words through various puzzles. “Our aim is to offer a high-quality children’s game with a compelling story; children’s apps can often be quite simple and at times bland. We want to give kids more credit. We believe that creating a meaningful yet fun experience contributes to improving the overall quality of these games,” says Ilari Niitamo, co-founder of Pintxo Creative. Sana-na-rama, the Finnish version of the game, will be launched first, with the English, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian versions fol-
lowing soon after. The different language versions will be tailored to each country separately. “Simple localisation is not enough – we are even including voice acting for each language. By tailoring the game content to each country individually, we are able to make the game relevant to a much larger group,” Niitamo explains. “In the future, we plan to develop even more additional language versions of Spell Bandit. We believe that using strong visuals and an interesting storyline helps us create a welcome change within the children’s app market.” Spell Bandit will be available to download from the Apple App Store this autumn. Right: Co-founders Olli Hassinen (left) and Ilari Niitamo (right).
For more information, please visit: www.spellbandit.com
The magic of musical puzzle Would you like to learn to play your favorite song in just a few minutes? Mubik Musical Puzzle helps people of all ages do just that. The new, innovative game gives you the tools to discover your inner artist. By Mia Halonen | Photos: Mubik Entertainment Ltd.
For many years, the CEO of Mubik Entertainment Ltd., Ilkka Räsänen, worked for some of the biggest ICT companies in the world. He learned the trade, but his heart was always in music. Now he has a chance to spread the joy of music with a new mobile game: Mubik Musical Puzzle. “This is currently like a digital musical box – in the future it will be like musical lego,” says Räsänen. “Mubik helps you dive into the world of music by first solving the riddle of the hidden song and then playing it in a simple manner with a special Mubik instrument within the game.” Mubik helps everyone from preschoolers to pensioners to step up from a listener to an artist with a patented, easyto-use method.
Räsänen is fascinated with that very special moment when you recognise the song. “That’s when something magical happens in the brain. It is so satisfying and pleasurable. And learning to play the song feels very empowering.” No wonder Mubik is endorsed by music and brain scientists, as well as education specialists. You can find all of the free-to-play Mubik games in the AppStore, and if you want to know how, just check out the Mubik YouTube channel. For more information, please visit: www.mubik.net
Issue 66 | July 2014 | 73