More Than Just Child’s Play

Gibcom Multimedia – the French developer and publisher founded by gaming visionary Roland Oskian – is about to shake up the world of children’s gaming with the release of its first PC title KiPulKai: The Secret of the KiBoa this August.

The game is the result of five years of hard work by a dedicated team of game experts and children’s specialists. While offering boys and girls between the ages of eight and 13 state-of-the-art graphics and innovative gameplay, The Secret of the KiBoa will also prove a hit with parents by teaching children valuable life skills.

KiPulKia: The Secret of the KiBoa has been specifically designed to:

• Stimulate the child’s intelligence by:
  
• Encouraging him to develop his analytical and problem-solving skills through a series of unusual quests
  
• Encouraging him to develop his personality by giving him the freedom to make independent choices
  
• Teaching him about consequences and to take responsibility for his actions by giving him a range of solutions to each quest and allowing him to learn the pros and cons of each choice he makes
  
• Develop his imagination by taking him to a fabulous playground, a real world with its own legends, its mythical places, its own life
  
• Develop his communication, social interactive and co-operational skills, specifically through the Internet multi-player version, encouraging him to exchange ideas and viewpoints with other children

The Secret of the KiBoa is set in the KiPulKai universe – a beautiful fully-3D mystical land with stunning graphics and landscapes, and a range of fantastic creatures who speak a unique fully-functional language.

As the game begins, the child arrives in the middle of a peaceful village where the KiPulKai (natives) live. It’s not long before he notices one or two pretty big problems affecting life there. The fruit trees are dying, the PiPulGoe have disappeared and now old BoaDuBoa's illness is causing concern. There is a legend that says only small earthlings can solve these riddles … As the child progresses through the game’s 13 missions, he comes face to face with a variety of puzzling situations designed to stimulate his imagination and analytical capabilities.

The quests are based around real-world themes such as pollution, famine, disease, social classes and power struggles. He can solve each problem by choosing one of many possible options and, in doing so, will come to understand that (like in the real world) his smallest action can make a huge difference. Along the way, he also learns about the importance of friendship, fidelity, honesty and peace.

The Secret of the KiBoa is the first of many titles planned around the KiPulKai universe – a world that will soon exist online as Gibcom launches a multi-player option, allowing children to share their adventure with friends or play with new people.

“Any psychologist will tell you that collective games are one of the main tools for developing a child’s intelligence and sense of social structure. We wanted to transfer this to KiPulKai”, explains Manuelle Mauger, Director of Publishing.

KiPulKai: The Secret of the KiBoa will be distributed by Vivendi Universal Games in August 2002, priced £29.99