''Reader Rabbit'' (fully titled "Reader Rabbit and the Fabulous Word Factory" or alternatively known as "Reader Rabbit Builds Early Learning & Thinking") is a

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

video game and the first of the long-running '' Reader Rabbit'' edutainment series. It was made by The Learning Company for

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and later for other computers. It also made use of the KoalaPad graphics tablet. The Connelley Group helped with the

Atari 8-Bit The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

conversion in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. A Talking version was developed for the Apple IIGS in 1989. An enhanced version was released for DOS on 1991. A Deluxe version was released in 1994 for Macintosh and Windows 3.x. In 1997, the game was remade for Windows and Macintosh under the title "Reader Rabbit's Reading 1".

Development

''Reader Rabbit'' was originally conceived by the Grimm sisters; Leslie authored the game while Corinne and Cindy contributed the art. Version 1.0 of ''Reader Rabbit'', titled ''Reader Rabbit and the Fabulous Word Factory'', was released in late 1983 or early 1984 (and featured in the 1983 holiday special for '' Computer Chronicles''), while versions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 were released in 1984. Development for an updated 2.0 version began at the start of 1984. By this time, Leslie Grimm had suffered a disc fracture but was able to develop the game while bedridden, thanks to a detachable keyboard provided by her colleague Pete Rowe. Many critics and gaming historians erroneously assert that the ''Reader Rabbit'' series officially began in 1986. In 1988, the first "talking" version of ''Reader Rabbit'' was released for the Apple IIGS and Tandy 1000 computers. The game was remade as an enhanced version for DOS in 1991 to incorporate the 256-color

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...

mode, sound card option and mouse compatibility. Another remake was done as a deluxe version along with its two sequels and implemented digitized speech.

Gameplay

The game takes place in the titular Word Factory, which teaches reading and spelling in four different activities and has over 200 three-letter words and more than 70 pictures for learning. The following four activities are: *1. Sorter - the player is required to pick words that start with a chosen letter and discard the rest. *2. Labeler - out of a number of mixed up letters, the player must use those letters to spell words that match three objects on the screen. *3. Word Train - the player needs to select a word that slightly differs from the first. *4. Matchup Games - the player must match picture cards with corresponding word cards.

Reception

The Learning Company showcased the game alongside ''Number Stamper'', ''Word Spinner'', ''Addition Magician'' and ''Colorasaurus'' in the 1984 Winter

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

. Dr. Ann Piestrup praised the game for its ability to aid young learners in overcoming the difficulties of reading and its word recognition.

References

External links

* * {{Reader Rabbit 1983 video games 1990 video games 1991 video games 1994 video games 1997 video games Children's educational video games Reader Rabbit DOS games Windows games Apple II games Apple IIGS games Commodore 64 games Classic Mac OS games Atari 8-bit family games The Learning Company games Video games about rabbits and hares Video games developed in the United States Single-player video games