Let's Draw
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Majesco Games Developer: Agatsuma Entertainment Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 Genre: Editor/ Simulation
Graphics & Sound: Last year at E3, every publisher was chasing two key markets, girls and younger kids. This effectively gave us two new "types" of game: kid-friendly titles aiming to teach them something and the Imagine: Something ending in a "Z" series. The latter has seen surprising success with girls (that is, if you judge success by the number of questions asked about a game on Yahoo Answers), but the "teaching" games have so far been as well received as long division. The great thing about Let's Draw is its understanding and focus on its audience, younger kids. Presentation is sharp enough to be attractive, but never overwhelming. Much of the emphasis is placed on kids who can't read yet, but still want to play games. Text is used sparingly and replaced with symbols or, when possible, audio. Drawing exercises are accompanied by voiced instructions. The concept is great, but used in the wrong spots. Spoken step-by-step directions when drawing are great, but when used alongside a step-by-step visual, it seems a bit redundant. Then again, redundancy is always a good thing, though navigating menus are probably more in need of voice instruction. Menus are designed well, so kids should be able to find their way around. At the same time, some require just enough drilling down that some sort of non-text directions might help.
Gameplay: Let's Draw is a "teaching" game, but unlike past attempts it actually works. The concept isn't high-level math, but the focus is just as important. As a former middle school teacher, I can attest to creativity being one of the last things taught in school. Some schools still have art and drama classes, but with such a big focus on achievement tests, many have morphed into "reading/ math enrichment" periods rather than a chance for kids to work other parts of their brains. Although Let's Draw features an actual game component, most of the focus is placed on drawing. Art elements are split between a Sketchbook and guided instruction. Sketchpad gives users a blank slate and a small set of tools to draw and color whatever they want. Guided instruction is similar to the free-form Sketchbook. Rather than jumping right to drawing, kids first choose from 100+ drawings. These include simple shapes as well as complex objects, like vehicles or dinosaurs. Mini-games also provide encouragement. Everything a player draws is saved in a gallery. After choosing a mini-game, it will pull its cast of characters from the gallery, populating the game with your creations. I'm 31 and got a kick out of seeing my drawings show up in Whack-a-Mole, so I can only imagine a younger reaction.
Difficulty: Kids should figure out the ins-and-outs of tools quickly. The skinny line is a skinny mark, fat line a fat one, and so on. The same goes for mini-games, which are just complicated enough to be interesting, but never overly. Most of the games are similar to those found in other games. Even without instructions, kids should pick up concepts quickly. Although the menu layout is a little confusing, choosing what to draw is a snap. I really liked how items ramp up in complexity, which should help when building up skill confidence. Even better, there's no progress-based "unlocking" method; everything is available from the start. I've noticed a tendency for kid-focused games is to force kids through simple lessons before getting to bigger things. The theory is great, but ignores kids with skill. At some point, people need to learn to start small, so might as well teach them to self-guide early.
Game Mechanics: Each guided drawing begins with a simple shape and shows kids how to add other shapes to create something else. It's the same method used in art schools and does an effective job at encouraging players to look at the world around them in a different way. Rather than seeing a chair, they might see it as a series of rectangles and squares, hopefully encouraging them to try and draw it in the Sketchbook. I also liked the avoidance of any sort of "tracing" concept. It's a cool way to learn, but once you start, its hard to stop tracing everything. The drawing space feels a bit limiting, but this isn't the developer's fault; they're just doing what they can with what they're given. I would have liked a few other tools, like a simple animation program or just a flood fill option, but there's enough here to keep kids occupied. It's not MS Paint or Photoshop, but it suffices. The only aspect of control to give me issues was the somewhat slippery touch interface. Drawing felt a little too sensitive, a trait that may have contributed to the limiting feeling more than the physical size of the screen. It never felt too loose, but drawing small details, like the T-Rex's teeth, was tricky. Coloring in the lines was also thorny. I was usually able to get right up to the edge, but always went a little under or over the line. I want to see more applications like Let's Draw on the DS. It isn't exactly a game, but will probably spend more time in the game slot than MarioKart. Though it could use a few additional features, it's fun and encourages creativity - so what more could you really want for a budding artist?
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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