Opening Night is a 1995 education/simulation video game by MECC, and developed in cooperation with The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. It is aimed at children aged 10 and up.[1]
Players create, direct, and perform mystery plays in a lifelike theatre, featuring The Children's Theatre Company actors in period costumes.[2] They do this by manipulating multimedia including 40 actors, 100 sets, and 300 props to create stories.[3] Lighting, music, and sound effects can be later added.[4] To access an item, players first choose the Category Viewer to choose the category, then next the Item Viewer to choose the item. Double-clicking on the item places it onto the stage.[5] The game was curriculum-driven; it aimed to allow students to use their creativity to write scripts and create plays for assessments,[3] and to use their imagination.[6]
A timer helps synchronise actions, while the recorder is used to capture action. Text-to-speech technology allows the player to hear the character say what they have written;[7] however if words are mispronounced they are encouraged to type the words out phonetically instead.[8]Star Tribune commented that the dialogue can either appear at the bottom of the screen like movie subtitles, or spoken in a "Stephen Hawking monotone".[2]
Developmentedit
The actors were added by first being filmed or photographed then digitized into the game, in a similar vein to Mortal Kombat.[4]
A bonus expansion pack named Opening Night Behind the Scenes was released in 1995 on Windows 3.1 and Macintosh. It was developed in cooperation with The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and published by MECC. The disk illustrated how the game was made and showed how a theatre operates. Players could watch interviews by industry professionals from The Children's Theatre Company and look up terms in a glossary.[9][10] The CD also include Quicktime movies showing tours of different aspects of the theatre.[8]
Releaseedit
Dale LaFrenz, MECC president and chief executive officer, commented that she expected Opening Night, alongside MayaQuest and Math Munchers Deluxe, to be released in time for the pre-holiday selling season of 1995.[11]
The game was the 73rd best-selling title during the November–December 1995 period (holiday season).[12]
Critical receptionedit
Star Tribune positively compared MECC's Opening Night (1995) to The Learning Company's The American Girls Premiere (1997), which the newspaper considered to be a mere repackaging of the MECC video game. While The American Girls Premiere offered players the ability to record their own voices, Star Tribune otherwise considered it to be redundant to the earlier game, and thought Opening Night's fans would find the newer title unnecessary.[13]The Washington Post thought the game would only appeal to fully-fledged theatre enthusiasts, while turning off more casual creative types.[14]Macs For Teachers described the product as "very cool".[15]
William T. Yates of The School House Review and World Village gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, commenting that the game would increase players' interest in and love of the theatre.[16][17] Anne Bubnic of Pep Holiday Hits thought the game was for "aspiring actors and actresses", and chose it as one of the best picks for the holiday season.[18]Gamervescent, for which Opening Night was their first video game, wrote retrospectively that over time they learnt that the title unleashed the "greatest unintentional hilarity of all time".[19]Theatre in Cyberspace wrote that the game was elegant and that it could be more directly applied to the classroom.[20]
A series of plays from the game have been uploaded to YouTube.[21]
^"New Version of Storybook Weaver Deluxe Available Now With Enhanced Creativity Features". PR Newswire. January 13, 1997. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^ abCovert, Colin (January 15, 1996). . Star Tribune. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
^ ab. MECC. February 3, 1997. Archived from the original on February 3, 1997. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ ab"Opening Night". MobyGames. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^. MECC. February 3, 1997. Archived from the original on February 3, 1997. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Opening Night". Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^Dixon, Pam (January 1, 1996). TakeCharge Computing for Teens and Parents. IDG Books Worldwide. ISBN9780764501012.
^ abYates, William T. (December 26, 1996). . World Village. Archived from the original on December 26, 1996. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Opening Night: Behind the Scenes back cover". MECC. 1995.
^"MINNESOTA EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING CORPORATION (MECC) REPORTS HIGHER REVENUE, NET INCOME FOR 2ND QUARTER". PR Newswire. October 17, 1995. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^"MECC MOVES INTO TOP FIVE IN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE SALES FOR 1995; 9 TITLES RANK AMONG TOP 100 HOLIDAY SELLERS". PR Newswire. February 12, 1996. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^Alexander, Steve (September 25, 1997). . Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016.
^Oldenburg, Don; Stoltz, Craig (December 27, 1995). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
^Robinette, Michelle (September 19, 1997). Macs For Teachers. Wiley. ISBN9780764502262.
^Yates, William T. (December 26, 1996). . THe School House Play. Archived from the original on December 26, 1996. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^. June 20, 2001. Archived from the original on June 20, 2001. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Bubnic, Anne (January 17, 1999). . Parents – Educators – Publishers. Archived from the original on January 17, 1999. Retrieved January 23, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Bryan, Bethany (November 20, 2012). "A Retrospective on the First (BEST) Game I Ever Owned -". Gamervescent. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
^Schrum, Stephen Alan (January 1, 1999). Theatre in Cyberspace: Issues of Teaching, Acting and Directing. P. Lang. ISBN9780820441405.
^"A Retrospective on the First (BEST) Game I Ever Owned – Gamervescent". Gamervescent. November 30, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
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Opening Night is a 1995 education simulation video game by MECC and developed in cooperation with The Children s Theatre Company in Minneapolis It is aimed at children aged 10 and up 1 Opening NightCover artDeveloper s MECCPublisher s MECCPlatform s Windows MacintoshRelease1995Genre s Education simulation Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Release 4 Critical reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksGameplay editPlayers create direct and perform mystery plays in a lifelike theatre featuring The Children s Theatre Company actors in period costumes 2 They do this by manipulating multimedia including 40 actors 100 sets and 300 props to create stories 3 Lighting music and sound effects can be later added 4 To access an item players first choose the Category Viewer to choose the category then next the Item Viewer to choose the item Double clicking on the item places it onto the stage 5 The game was curriculum driven it aimed to allow students to use their creativity to write scripts and create plays for assessments 3 and to use their imagination 6 A timer helps synchronise actions while the recorder is used to capture action Text to speech technology allows the player to hear the character say what they have written 7 however if words are mispronounced they are encouraged to type the words out phonetically instead 8 Star Tribune commented that the dialogue can either appear at the bottom of the screen like movie subtitles or spoken in a Stephen Hawking monotone 2 Development editThe actors were added by first being filmed or photographed then digitized into the game in a similar vein to Mortal Kombat 4 A bonus expansion pack named Opening Night Behind the Scenes was released in 1995 on Windows 3 1 and Macintosh It was developed in cooperation with The Children s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and published by MECC The disk illustrated how the game was made and showed how a theatre operates Players could watch interviews by industry professionals from The Children s Theatre Company and look up terms in a glossary 9 10 The CD also include Quicktime movies showing tours of different aspects of the theatre 8 Release editDale LaFrenz MECC president and chief executive officer commented that she expected Opening Night alongside MayaQuest and Math Munchers Deluxe to be released in time for the pre holiday selling season of 1995 11 The game was the 73rd best selling title during the November December 1995 period holiday season 12 Critical reception editStar Tribune positively compared MECC s Opening Night 1995 to The Learning Company s The American Girls Premiere 1997 which the newspaper considered to be a mere repackaging of the MECC video game While The American Girls Premiere offered players the ability to record their own voices Star Tribune otherwise considered it to be redundant to the earlier game and thought Opening Night s fans would find the newer title unnecessary 13 The Washington Post thought the game would only appeal to fully fledged theatre enthusiasts while turning off more casual creative types 14 Macs For Teachers described the product as very cool 15 William T Yates of The School House Review and World Village gave the game 5 out of 5 stars commenting that the game would increase players interest in and love of the theatre 16 17 Anne Bubnic of Pep Holiday Hits thought the game was for aspiring actors and actresses and chose it as one of the best picks for the holiday season 18 Gamervescent for which Opening Night was their first video game wrote retrospectively that over time they learnt that the title unleashed the greatest unintentional hilarity of all time 19 Theatre in Cyberspace wrote that the game was elegant and that it could be more directly applied to the classroom 20 A series of plays from the game have been uploaded to YouTube 21 See also editThe American Girls Premiere a theatrical simulation computer game built upon the same engine References edit New Version of Storybook Weaver Deluxe Available Now With Enhanced Creativity Features PR Newswire January 13 1997 Retrieved January 23 2017 a b Covert Colin January 15 1996 MINNESOTA MULTIMEDIA Now the Minnesota Connection is in the CD ROM business Star Tribune Archived from the original on February 2 2017 a b MECC Product Forum Opening Night MECC February 3 1997 Archived from the original on February 3 1997 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link a b Opening Night MobyGames Retrieved January 23 2017 Opening Night Tips and Secrets MECC February 3 1997 Archived from the original on February 3 1997 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Opening Night Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium Retrieved January 23 2017 Dixon Pam January 1 1996 TakeCharge Computing for Teens and Parents IDG Books Worldwide ISBN 9780764501012 a b Yates William T December 26 1996 IT S OPENING NIGHT FOR YOUR PLAY A Review of Opening Night World Village Archived from the original on December 26 1996 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Opening Night Behind the Scenes Opening Night Behind the Scenes back cover MECC 1995 MINNESOTA EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING CORPORATION MECC REPORTS HIGHER REVENUE NET INCOME FOR 2ND QUARTER PR Newswire October 17 1995 Retrieved January 23 2017 MECC MOVES INTO TOP FIVE IN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE SALES FOR 1995 9 TITLES RANK AMONG TOP 100 HOLIDAY SELLERS PR Newswire February 12 1996 Retrieved January 23 2017 Alexander Steve September 25 1997 CD ROM lets girls create historical stage plays Software industry is remiss no longer Star Tribune Archived from the original on October 8 2016 Oldenburg Don Stoltz Craig December 27 1995 Time in a Bottle The Washington Post Archived from the original on February 2 2017 Robinette Michelle September 19 1997 Macs For Teachers Wiley ISBN 9780764502262 Yates William T December 26 1996 Opening Night THe School House Play Archived from the original on December 26 1996 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Opening Night June 20 2001 Archived from the original on June 20 2001 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Bubnic Anne January 17 1999 HOLIDAY BEST BETS Parents Educators Publishers Archived from the original on January 17 1999 Retrieved January 23 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Bryan Bethany November 20 2012 A Retrospective on the First BEST Game I Ever Owned Gamervescent Retrieved January 23 2017 Schrum Stephen Alan January 1 1999 Theatre in Cyberspace Issues of Teaching Acting and Directing P Lang ISBN 9780820441405 A Retrospective on the First BEST Game I Ever Owned Gamervescent Gamervescent November 30 2012 Retrieved January 23 2017 External links editOpening Night at MobyGames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Opening Night video game amp oldid 1067142353, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
