Kiwaka
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Kiwaka is an educational game for
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,
macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
and
tvOS tvOS (formerly known as Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. Starting with the second-generation, ...
designed to teach children about
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
. The app was developed by the Portuguese software company Landka in collaboration with scientific institutions such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Kiwaka explores the concept of tangential learning. In the game, an elephant lights up stars to complete constellations and, after each level, an education module is presented to learn more about these constellations. The importance of rules that regulate learning modules and game experience is discussed by Moreno, C., in a case study about Kiwaka. The app was featured in the Kids section of the App Store and reached the top sales of apps for kids in 9 countries.


Features

Kiwaka is part game and part lesson, combining entertainment and education. The concept behind the app is a true legend according to witch "fireflies carry lights from the stars". The purpose of the game is to help a pink elephant to catch fireflies revealing constellations in the night sky. Once all the stars in a constellation are completed, detailed information about the constellation is provided, such as the description of the associated greek myth, a video explaining how to find the constellation in the night sky and the location and description of the most important stars, galaxies and nebulae. Soundtrack was composed by the Emmy nominee David Ari Leon.


Game Story

The game takes place in Kiwaka (a real location in
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, Africa) where four creatures learn about an ancient legend according to witch fireflies carry the light from the stars. The creatures take on a journey to collect fireflies and learn about the mysteries and ancient myths behind each constellation. An interactive book app "Kiwaka Story" telling the tale of the characters was launched simultaneously with the game. The book app is targeted at young children and narrated by Diogo Morgado.


Gameplay

Kiwaka is a side-scrolling game with a simple tap control system. The player controls a pink elephant (Kudi) as he travels in a floating soap bubble collecting fireflies and avoiding different obstacles. Each firefly will light up a star in the night sky revealing hidden constellations. At the end of each level the player can look at a star map and learn about the constellations "earned" throughout the game. Two interactive star maps are presented: one for the northern hemisphere constellations and the other for the southern hemisphere constellations.


Tangential Learning

Kiwaka engages tangential learning by providing relevant scientific information about stars and constellations "earned" throughout the game. This information includes astronomy details about the constellations, an explanation on how to find the constellation in the night sky, and the locations, descriptions and images of the most important stars, galaxies and nebulae. Most of these images come from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) image libraries and depict deep-space objects that can actually be found in the constellations. Links are provided to
ESA , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
and ESO websites for more information about these objects. Kiwaka also presents information about the classical mythology behind each constellation. Users are introduced to classical Greek literature examples, such as the story of Cassiopeia and the myth of Perseus and the Medusa. The drawings of constellations depicted in the app are from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia, the famous Atlas of constellations by
Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; pl, Jan Heweliusz; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor ...
.


Development and release

The project Kiwaka was developed by Landka over a period of two years leading to the simultaneously publication of the iOS game "Kiwaka" and the book app "Kiwaka Story" on June 5, 2014. Kiwaka was featured in Kids section of the App Store and reached the top sales of apps for kids in 9 countries. The macOS and tvOS versions were released on May, 2017. The app received generally positive reviews from press and scientific community.


References


External links

{{Official website, http://landka.com/apps/kiwaka 2014 video games IOS games Indie video games MacOS games Side-scrolling platform games Educational video games Educational software Video games developed in Portugal Video games scored by David Ari Leon