ItzaBitza is a simulation game in which your child’s creativity powers the construction of the game world. It gives your child the control to provide for the main characters, called Sketchies, by drawing the objects into the world.
More and more, young children spend their time in front of the computer. This is a perfect way for them to channel their creativity and to practice their reading skills.
Here’s what Margaret Johnson, CEO of Sabi, Inc. has to say:
A little background to put our game in context. I have two daughters. When my oldest was 8, she had a brain tumor. After her operation, one of the few things she took pleasure in was playing inappropriate Xbox games. As I watched her, I loved the quality of the gameplay and the feeling of self-confidence and success she felt as she made progress.
Fast forward and I became passionate about creating computer games for our younger kids that delight the kids and give them a feeling of self-confidence I saw my daughter get from playing video games, but also provide learning in core 21st century skills like reading comprehension and creative expression.
We incubated our games – learning approach for three years while we were at Microsoft, then spun off into Sabi and shipped ItzaBitza. There are many things unique about ItzaBitza. The one magical piece is Living Ink. Which you’ll see.
You can get a feel for what others are saying here
About Living Ink
When the game asks for your child to draw a house, only their imagination limits the type of house they can draw. Whether it is a fairytale toad stool house or an elaborate castle, the game will accept any series of shapes and smartly integrate them as part of the game. Living Ink enables the unprecedented freedom of expression in ItzaBitza by using advanced recognition technology developed at Microsoft Research.
It is fun watching your creations come to life in the story. It helps the child learn about cause and effect because they see the reaction of the Sketchies to what they drew. Did you draw your house without a door or windows? The Sketchies will let you know. Draw a cloud and the rain starts. Draw stars to turn day into night.
Throughout the game you would also find star challenges. They are like mini-challenges within a playset. Some are easy, some are puzzles you would have to figure out.
What are the system requirements for the ItzaBitza:
- OS: Windows XP/Vista(tm)
- Processor: -1 Ghz or faster
- Ram: -512 MB RAM
- Video: – 64 MB DirectX® 9.0c compliant
- Sound: – DirectX® 9.0c compliant
- Input devices: – Mouse, keyboard
You can download a 2-day trial here.
Margaret has also given me a activation key to give away to one lucky reader. To enter, go to ItzaBitza, come back on comment on what you learned about the game that was not mentioned here. This needs to be done before the extra entries become available.
Bonus entries:
- Blog about this giveaway with a link back here and ItzaBitza
- Follow my blog
- Grab my button
- Subscribe via email
- Follow me on Twitter. The button is on the left sidebar. Please leave your profile name.
Remember to leave extra comments for all that you do. Please make sure that your email address is on your public profile or in your comment. If I have no way of contacting the winner, another one will be chosen. I will be using Random.org to pick the winner.
This contest is open to everyone and ends on April 14, 2009 at 10:00pm PST. Good luck!
