- Release Date: 2000
- Genre: Educational
- Style: Reading
- Similar Games: JumpStart 2nd Grade (Hybrid Windows/Mac), JumpStart 1st Grade (Hybrid Windows/Mac), Arthur's Reading Race (Hybrid Windows/Mac), Reader Rabbit: Learn to Read with Phonics (Hybrid Windows/Mac), Reading K-1 (Hybrid Windows/Mac)
Game Description
Reading Blaster: Ages 4-6 fosters reading readiness in children while they complete five activity areas with the help of intergalactic characters in an undersea world. Each activity has five levels of eight rounds each. After mastering all five activities, children will be able to enter a maze to reach a hidden treasure chest.Each level reinforces specific reading concepts. In Sand Dollar Matching, players match phonic sounds to letters and identify pairs of beginning sounds, rhyming words, and opposite words. Building words and sentences is the concept behind Clamshell Scramble, while Letter Dive has children focusing on uppercase and lowercase letters in a sequence.
Seahorse Race involves identifying similarities and differences between shapes, letters, and words. In Hidden Picture, children sort pictures by category (animal, vegetable, and so forth) or by sound.
An additional area in the program is the Treasure Room where players can write and send B-mail, read and listen to storybooks, or print out a word list. Progress charts are also available throughout the program.
~ Angela Leeper, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
This is an update to the original game developed by~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
Production Credits
READING BLASTER AGES 4-6 (CD 1); Producer: Lori Fitzpatrick; Lead Programmer: David H. T. Lee; Technical Developer: Chris Jackson; Lead Artist: Lawrence Jackson; Sound Designers: Jeffrey Gund, Tom Zehnder, James Phillipsen; Executive Producer: Cathy Siegel, M.Ed.; Additional Programmers: Minh Tang, Robert Baily, Norman Bashamburger; Install Programmers: Andrew Rich, Tim Wilkinson, Gina Schmitz; System Programmers: Tyler Wilson, Kristine Sato, Thomas Su; Background Illustration: Gwen Robinson; Additional Illustration: Dick Lester, Ellen J. Kirk, Dave Rees, Charles Morales, Chris Kreidel, Ben Badgett, Joe Herron, Freddy Chan; Animators: Todd Hoff, Richard Walsh, Seth Reek; Graphic Technician: Freddy Chan; Blaster Launcher: Mark Bishay, Dana K. Feffer, Jeffrey HoSee, Bryen Aoyama, Ellen J. Kirk, Megumi Itoh, Freddy Chan, Brandon Valdez; Sound Engineer: Rich Seitz; Dialog Editors: Rich Seitz, Gopika Sharma, James Phillipsen; Talent Coordinator: Tom Keegan; Blaster Voice and Announcer: Dee Bradley Baker; Galactic Commander Voice and Sea Friends: Jennifer Hale; Narrator: Beth Wernick; B-Mail Voice: Rob Kramer; Additional Voices: Ashley Taney Langarica, Ernesto De La Cruz, Michelle Jang, Coby Jennings, Melissa J. McPherson, Kristopher Bhall, Tiler Broadnax, Shayna Duke, Frank E. Halfacre II, Javier Diaz, Jr., Jacob Bannon, Megan Janumis, Anthony Mero; Content: Jenny Voight, Cathy Siegel, M.Ed., Jennie Nash, Johanna Blakley; Usability: Lisa Biossat; Quality Assurance Lead: Renee Foster; Quality Assurance Assistant Lead: Brandon Valdez; Quality Assurance Configuration: John Coke, Jason Cai, Jamie Rios, Paul Lin, Lawrence Feinberg, Jonathan Schwichtenberg, Richard Benavides; Quality Assurance Testers: Andrew J. Nolley, Dan Carroll, Jaime Rios, J. P. Andrews, Kiera Jackson, Rey Castillo, Sandra Romero, Tim Ho, Willy Guerrero, Hilarion Leyretana, Christopher McNicholas; User Manual: Stephanie Calcott, Elizabeth McDonald, William Oksner; User Manual Layout: Cathy Johnson; BLASTER INTRO MOVIE Art Direction: Joey Herron; 2D Animation: Brent Whittington; 3D Animation: David Rees; Illustrator: Ellen J. Kirk; Lead Vocal: Vicky Bottelson; Guitars: Tom Zehnder; Bass: Tim Zehnder; Drums: Rich Seitz; Backing Vocals: Josh Breslow; Storyboards: Ben Badgett, Alison Eagle, Byron Fox; Production Engineer: Amanda Cukingnan; Music Composer & Producer: Tom Zehnder; Clean Up: Kristen Sych, Seth Reek, Brian Reynolds; Video Compression: Gopikan Sharma, Christian Johnson; Special Thanks: Jacquie Harlan, Johanna Blakley, Jeremy Bishop, Denise Pace, Bob Dietz, Christian Johnson, Leslie House, Elizabeth McDonald, Stephanie Calcott, Faye Schwartz, Shawn Crosby, Geoffrey Jost, Ray Swan, Ben Badgett, Tommi Seagren, Bryen Aoyama, Deborah Cherlin, Rosalind Emmett, Dana Feffer, Joe Ellis, Rod Shean, Randall Linch, Lisa Bollinger, Joe Hines, Leslie Nakashima, Rebecca Dupont, the hundreds of kids who play tested our game throughout development; BLASTER'S VIRTUAL CLASSROOM (CD 2); HAVAS/KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE UNITED STATES Producer: Joanne Irish; Associate Producer: Tommi Johnson; Director of Programming: Bob Dietz; Programming Team: Michal Todorovic, Rick Juang, Nicolas Soukoff; Art Directors: Ben Badgett, Ellen Kirk; Graphics Team: Seth Reek, Mary Miller; Senior Technical Developer: Bryen Aoyama; Senior Producer: Mark Bishay; Executive Producer: Cathy Siegel, M.Ed.; Script: Tom Keegan; Sound Engineer: Rich Seitz; Voice of Max Blaster: Dee Bradley; Installation: Gina Schmitz, Tim Wilkerson; Virtual Classes Content: Ann Bishay, Michele Sholty, Cindy Wechsung, Melisa Gruneisen, Lisa Bridges, Jeff Bridges, Karen Kelly, Michelle Dilts, Cathy Siegel, M.Ed., Tommi Johnson; Technical Development: Tommi Johnson, Paul Egan; Editors: Tommi Johnson, Eric Johnson, Paul Egan, Cathy Siegel, M.Ed.; Cyberclub Content: Joanne Irish, Jennie Nash, Sophie Barr, Jessie Dietz, Zoe Irish, Pamela Blanford, Joe Skelley, Andrea Geli; Manual Design and Layout: Mary Wadman; QA Manager: Bob Applegate; QA Project Lead: Dave Basen; QA Associate Lead: Bill Pham; QATesters: Misty Warner, Bruce Morgan, Raquel Hunter, Micah Olguin, James Miller, Frank Larkin, Donald Morales, Javier Alvarez, Dolly Shueh, Ashik Islam; QA Lab Coordinator: Michael Hewitt; QA Engineer: Richard Benavides; QA Configuration: Jason Perry, Afolabi Akibola, Rich Gardner; QA Management: Rod Shean, Stuart Hay, Randy Linch, Bob Applegate, Mike Bowman, Lawrence Feinberg, Wladia Summers, Renée Foster, Michael Gonzales; Marketing Team Director: Al Simone; Brand Manager: Judy Hum; Associate Brand Manager: Rebecca Dupont; Special Thanks to: Leslie House, Jean Daniel Page, Heather Marsden, Mary Gaynor, Celine Ullas, Herve Iniguez, Judee Schultz, Fanny Grenon, Dominique Chevallier, Faye Schwartz, Rod Shean, Neil Irish; HAVAS/COKTEL FRANCE Original Concept: R. Oskian, M.Mauger; Project Coordination: D. Chevrier, M. Mauger, P. Lamarque, E. Viau, G. Lembert; Programming: H. Iniguez, A. Delrue; Environment: P. Couteau, J. Laurent; Internet: H. Denis, C. Grosjean, P. Couteau, R. Guillier, T.Younsi, O. Clain; System: B. Hasnier, B. Vidal-Madjar, R. Meyer, D. Besson; Server: M. Marciacq, O. Vanden Bos, A. Bui, S. Sepot; Mac Conversion: B. Hasnier, R. Meyer, M. Ellallouf; Graphics and 3-D Animation: F. Chauvelot, F. Morisset, P. Gilhodes, F. Mauduit, J. C. Charter; 3-D Animation: Societe Gribouille, P. Bonfils, S. Rey, Y. Mabille, E. Gambini; 2-D Graphics: J. Kluytmans, F. Nobre, J. Rey, P. Pautrot, V. Barbe; Scripts and Scenarios: K. A. Gassama, M. Mauger, D. Chevrier; Assistant Project Managers: G. Martins, J. Vivet, C. Rose-Quiminal, Y. Le Bouquin; Sound and Music: A. Hermans, M. Charrier, F.Van Brabandt, S. Canto, F. Rotsztein, C. Martin; STUDIO BIG WHEELS Actor: P-A. de Garrigues; Documentation, Picture and Video Research: D. Chevallier; Script Treatment: Energie Video, A. Franz, J. Lamoureux, M. Charrier; Games and Bonuses Research: V. Bezault, D. Chevallier, B. Vidal-Madjar, T. Jacquel, C. Gazeau; Testing and Mastering: E. Lejeune, J. Laurent, C. Rose-Quiminal, C. Kreitz, E. Sauzeau; Quality Control: P-E. Jacoupy, R-G.Tramis, P. Chan-Kane-Lin, C. Brasseur, F. Mayer, O. Viret, F. .Jacquemot, J. Dron, N. Debira, C. Kreitz, T. Delaplace, X. Severin; Technical Support: V. Dupont; Online Marketing and Exploitation: L. Barra, S. Langloys, R. Lopes; Customer Services: D. Chevallier, S. David; Cyber CLUB: S. Garnault, G. Pubellier, K. A. Gassama; Marketing: M. Thongsavarn, L. Barbier; Photographic Images: NASA, Jacana, Galaxy Contact, Corel, Digital Stock, "Images+ 1996Photodisc," Editions Gaud, Musée National de l'Automobile, Collection Schlumpf
~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
