Focus on the Family and Digital Praise Unveil Two New Interactive Computer Games Based on Adventures in Odyssey®
One of America's Most Popular Family Radio Shows Comes to Life in Interactive Computer Games
Atlanta, GA (June 28, 2004) - Fans of Adventures in Odyssey, one of America's most popular family radio shows, today witnessed the unveiling of two new interactive computer games for the PC and Macintosh platforms. Focus on the Family and Digital Praise, Inc. announced the two titles - Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure of the Incas™ and Adventures in Odyssey and the Sword of the Spirit™ - at the Christian Booksellers Association International 2004 show in Atlanta, where sneak previews of the games will be shown for the very first time. Digital Praise is a Silicon Valley developer of Christian games and holds rights to publish interactive games based on Adventures in Odyssey.
With over 1.2 million listeners each day, Adventures in Odyssey can be heard on over 2,000 daily broadcasts worldwide. Since its debut in 1987, Adventures in Odyssey has aired over 550 episodes.
Each of the Digital Praise Adventures in Odyssey game titles promises hours of exciting game play for ages 8 and up and features the same actors and writers from the radio program. Players join Whit, Eugene, Connie and others as they travel within and beyond the town of Odyssey, overcoming challenges and learning important life lessons.
Paul McCusker, vice president for Focus on the Family, creators of the Adventures in Odyssey radio series, stated, "We're exited about making these great characters and stories available in a medium like interactive games. Whit and the rest of the Odyssey townsfolk are here to entertain and enlighten us in a whole new way."
Rated "E" for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the games emphasize challenging, fun game play in a context that reinforces personal virtue and family values such as cooperation, forgiveness, tolerance and kindness.
"In keeping with Focus on the Family's standards for high quality, the Adventures in Odyssey interactive computer games deliver Hollywood-quality animation and audio and exciting game play that will delight and engage fans of the ever-popular radio program as well as children new to all the beloved characters in Odyssey," said Tom Bean, president and CEO of Digital Praise.
With over 150 years of combined experience at leading entertainment software companies such as The Learning Company, Disney Interactive and Nintendo, members of the Digital Praise development team have been instrumental in the creation of over 20 popular software titles, including educational favorites Carmen Sandiego, Reader Rabbit and Oregon Trail. Digital Praise is developing game titles using its proprietary game engine, FunWare™, a unique development platform designed to accelerate the prototyping and deployment of interactive games.
Outside resources are also being utilized to ensure top-quality productions. Toonacious Family Entertainment is creating the in-game movies. The Toonacious team - including Tony Bancroft, Ben Chambers and Bo Ferger - is comprised of some of the industry's best animators, directors, writers and voice-over talent. Members of the Toonacious team have been involved in leading productions, including entertainment favorites Mulan, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Stuart Little 2.
The New Adventures in Odyssey Game Titles
Digital Praise plans to release a series of interactive games based on Adventures in Odyssey. The first two titles in the series include:
Price and Availability
Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure of the Incas and Adventures in Odyssey and the Sword of the Spirit are expected to be available this fall through Christian booksellers, major online software resellers, Focus on the Family (www.family.org), and Digital Praise (www.digitalpraise.com). Each game is priced at $29.95 (MSRP).
About Digital Praise, Inc.
Digital Praise (www.digitalpraise.com) is an independent developer and publisher of interactive Christian games for kids, teens, adults and parents. The company produces games that are designed for families looking to enjoy interactive entertainment software that promotes virtues and family values like cooperation, forgiveness, tolerance and kindness, without the violence, hatred, horror and sex that fills computer gaming today. The company's goal is to equivocate the Digital Praise brand with "just good clean fun." Focus on the Family has granted Digital Praise the rights to publish interactive games based on its world-renowned radio program, Adventures in Odyssey. The company is located in Fremont, CA.
Press Contacts:
Jill Schmidt / Roxanne Pascente
Digital Praise Inc.
800-287-2279
jills@sspr.com / roxanne@sspr.com
Bill Bean
Digital Praise, Inc.
510-770-0244
bill@digitalpraise.com
©2005 Digital Praise, Inc. All rights reserved. Digital Praise is a trademark of Digital Praise Inc. Adventures in Odyssey is a registered trademark of Focus on the Family. All other trademarks and trade names are hereby recognized and may be registered to their respective owners.