Nick Jr.com Launches First 3D Game For Preschoolers

Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Little kids can now play video games online just like their big kid counterparts with NickJr.com's launch of the first 3D online game for preschoolers and their parents, "Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure." Based upon Nick Jr.'s "Dora the Explorer," the number-one preschool show on commercial TV and convergent with the upcoming prime time TV special, "Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" is a multi-level 3D game that enables preschoolers to play the role of Dora in an exclusive adventure. The game features bilingual/Spanish skills learning for preschoolers and complements the debut of the primetime television special entitled "Dora's Backpack Adventure" that airs on Nickelodeon, Monday, March 4 at 8 p.m. (all times ET/PT).

"Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" is a multi-level, Spanish learning game that enables preschoolers to play the role of Dora in an exclusive adventure. The game complements the debut of the primetime television special entitled "Dora's Backpack Adventure" that airs on Nickelodeon, Monday, March 4 at 8 p.m. (all times ET/PT).

"Like the television series, 'Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure' incorporates innovative, interactive learning for preschoolers. We wanted to use 3D technology to put little kids in the driver's seat so that they can control their gaming experience," said Kyra Reppen, General Manager, NickJr.com "This game gives preschoolers the ability to decide which direction to go, which places to explore, and even when to stop Swiper."

"Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" is a first-person, "over the shoulder" game similar in style to console games those made for Play Station, which will enable preschoolers to navigate Dora, through a visually rich, 3D environment to collect the library books that Swiper has hidden. Just like in the show, Dora confronts many obstacles along the way and players will need to direct Dora over logs, across bridges, and along detours in the path. "Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" offers increased challenges and rewards with multiple navigation controls and skill levels.

As special feature, players can explore Dora's world by visiting the homes of her friends, including Boots' treehouse and Benny's barn. At each stop, kids collect a Special Postcard which parents can print out for kids to color and send. Following the television show's curriculum, the game teaches preschoolers how to count in both English and Spanish. "Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" also teaches spatial relations and promotes navigation and memory skills. There are three levels of play -- Easy, Medium, and Hard -- all informed by preschool curriculum. Beginning February 25, 2002, Nick Jr. TV viewers will be asked to go to NickJr.com to help Dora the Explorer collect books that Swiper has hidden and return them to the library.

Designed with preschoolers and parents in mind, NickJr.com provides instructions and tips to help parents guide their preschoolers through the game. In addition, "Dora's 3D Backpack Adventure" can be navigated with either the mouse or with keyboard controls, so parents can choose the type of navigation that best suits their child's abilities.

In addition to the game, NickJr.com has launched a "Dora's Backpack Adventure" site for parents to extend the special episode with their kids. The site features a personalized bilingual adventure story, reading activities based on the show's educational messages and Latin-themed book recommendations for kids.

Dora is the first Nick Jr. character to appear online prior to her on-air debut. The Dora the Explorer web site launched on NickJr.com in July 2000 with games and an interactive English/Spanish dictionary for preschoolers. Since its launch, the Dora the Explorer site has remained one of the most popular areas on NickJr.com which continues to develop innovative, interactive games, stories and activities for preschoolers and their parents.

Nick Jr. will debut a prime-time television special, called "Dora's Backpack Adventure," on Monday, March 4, at 8 p.m. (all times ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. In "Dora's Backpack Adventure," Dora remembers how she met her wonderful friend Backpack and takes viewers along on a trip to the library together. Through Dora's interactive games and problem-solving activities, this episode will build the audience's reading comprehension by emphasizing listening, organization and vocabulary-building skills.

In the TV special, "Dora's Backpack Adventure," Dora remembers how her Papi (voiced by Esai Morales) and Mami gave her a surprise gift, Backpack -- a special backpack who speaks English and Spanish just like Dora. Backpack carries everything Dora needs, from an umbrella to a map to find the quickest way to get to the library. As Dora and Boots go on an adventure to return her books to the library before it closes, Backpack helps them to get there just in time.

Nick Jr. has partnered with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, to promote libraries and the magic of books and reading with this episode of Dora the Explorer.

"Dora the Explorer," which airs at 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. weekdays on Nick Jr. and Saturdays on CBS (check local listings), is a play-along, animated adventure series starring Dora, a 7-year-old Latina heroine who lives inside a computer, where her adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests. Dora explores her world just as pre-schoolers do everyday, and the show is designed to actively engage its audience in an interactive, CD-ROM-style quest using a variety of learning techniques. In every episode, Dora and Boots invite the audience to participate in an exciting adventure, where each step of their journey consists of a problem or puzzle in which Dora and the audience must think their way through in order to solve the next problem. Dora is bilingual and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals.

NickJr.com is the premiere online destination for preschoolers and their parents featuring a variety of parenting resources and innovative games to help parents maximize the time they spend with their children both online and off. NickJr.com is one of several web sites created and operated by Nickelodeon Online, a division of Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon, now in its 23rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 84 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than six consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

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