Kuato Studios is developing Marvel Hero Tales, an educational app in which popular heroes such as Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel will help players between between the ages of 7 and 11 develop their language and reading skills by creating comic books.
The app allows children to personalize their experiences through the Narrative Action System and will follow them as they "level up by completing activities such as word collection and comprehension of words." Players then use those words to help create a story by building sentences that transform into comic book panels. These choice will affect the story's direction. At the very end of the story, players will be able to read and share the book with friends and family.
Kuato Studios worked with the Center For Applied Language Studies at the University of Portland Oregon and teachers in the United Kingdom to develop the app. Storylines will be adapted to the age of players.
“This is the most personal project I've ever been involved with, not just because of my love of the Marvel Universe, but also because as a child with undiagnosed dyslexia, school, and particularly reading, was incredibly challenging for me," Kuato Studios CEO Mark Horneff said in the press release for the game. "I remember one day when I was 8, my Mum picked me up from school and gave me a copy of Spider-Man - my very first introduction to Marvel. From that moment on I was hooked; I read it cover to cover every day. Those adventures fed not only my imagination, but my confidence as a storyteller and my passion for reading. My hope is that Marvel Hero Tales will inspire a new generation of Marvel readers and storytellers, and in some small way, allow that 8-year-old to repay some of the debt I owe to Peter Parker.”
Kuato Studios is known for developing Disney Story Realms and the TalesMaker Engine, which transforms gameplay experiences into stories. You can see images from the game below:
Marvel Hero Tales is available now on iOS and Android devices.