Zaark and the Night Team

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Zaark and the Night Team
Developer(s)EduConcept
Publisher(s)Maxis
Platform(s)Windows
Release1995
Genre(s)Educational, Adventure

Zaark and the Night Team is a 1995 series of two multimedia educational CD-ROMs subtitled: The Quest for Patterns and The Search for Symbols.[1][2][3][4] It was developed by EduConcept and published by Maxis as part of their brand Software Toys For Kids.[5]

Critical reception[edit]

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the title was a "neat idea" that effectively incorporated information from different subjects.[6] Obscuritory felt it was one of Maxis' "less-renowned and harder-to-explain" titles.[7] Children's Software Revue deemed it "a program were going to need to spend some time with to fully understand".[8] The Washington Post wrote "good intentions are lost to a miscalculation of young attention spans".[9] The Jerusalem Post felt it was "intelligent and entertaining".[10]

Legacy[edit]

Documents about this series are currently being held at the Computer History Museum.[11] The game was discussed as part of SimEverything: Lessons in Curious Game Design from Maxis, panel about the history and philosophy of Maxis presented at the 2017 MAGFest.[7]

It was included in the Power to the Little People Collection alongside Sim Town and Widget Workshop.[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Buckleitner, Warren (September 1995). School Tools - The best software to boost your child's learning. Working Mother Media.
  2. ^ Maxis Electronic Entertainment Expo, May 1995, Summary of Products; The Software Toys Catalog; News releases | 102710196. Maxis. 1995. Retrieved 2019-09-05 – via Computer History Museum.
  3. ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Trademarks. U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office. 1996.
  4. ^ Keizer, Gregg (1996). The Family PC guide to homework. New York: Hyperion & Family PC. ISBN 978-0-7868-8206-9 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Media, Working Mother (September 1995). Working Mother. Working Mother Media.
  6. ^ "Work masquerading as play". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 8, 1995. p. 43. Retrieved 2019-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Blog". The Obscuritory. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  8. ^ Children's Software Revue. Active Learning Associates. 1993.
  9. ^ "IF YOU CAN'T DO . . ". The Washington Post. 1995-09-27.
  10. ^ "CD-ROM commemorating Rabin now available". Science & Technology. The Jerusalem Post. 1996-01-21. p. 5.
  11. ^ Maxis Electronic Entertainment Expo, May 1995, Summary of Products; The Software Toys Catalog; News releases. Maxis. 1995.
  12. ^ "Order Form". PC Zone. No. 50. Dennis Publishing. May 1997. p. 128.