Press photos & graphics: https://mediavillage.dk/books-magic/

Why Augmented Reality’s future could lie with Gaming Books: Game Developers issue ‘The Little Mermaid’ as a genre defining Gaming Book

In the Nordics, the game industry is placing high hopes on the visionary ‘Books & Magic’ team to have a breakthrough with augmented reality – in the book market. Could be ‘the one’ to define a new genre, book industry insider says.

While experts have placed augmented reality (AR) in the ‘trough of disillusionment’ in the latest Gartner’s Hype Cycle Report, Danish developers might have found the magic formula to prove that AR is not just a gimmick.

The project is backed widely by the Nordic gaming sector where the Nordic Game Program last year controversially gave them a grant for being among the most promising initiatives in the industry – despite the fact that – or maybe because – Books & Magic are crossing genres with books rather than being a traditional game app.

Books & Magic is currently using Kickstarter as a way people can preorder The Little Mermaid before the official opening of sales – especially the Asian market that traditionally loves H.C. Andersen’s fairytales,is expected to attract sales.

QUOTES

Book industry expert: Head of Innovation Maz Spork | Egmont Publishing | maz.spork@egmont.com | +45 2332 2717

– I’m almost in love with everything Books & Magic stands for – helping kids to love reading as a noble cause, and the deeply innovative in combining game mechanics with a linear storytelling in a book, says Innovation Officer at Egmont Publishing, who wrote his MBA on the gaming industry.

– I believe, that ‘The Little Mermaid’ can be genre defining. Just like some people feel comic books defined their youth, the next generation might feel the same towards AR-books. The production quality is extremely high, and it is brilliant to use Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales and thinking globally from the start, he says.

Game industry expert and CEO at Interactive Denmark Jan Neiiendam | jn@interactivedenmark.dk | +45 20108178

– I am deeply impressed by Books & Magic and their drive, the way they present their product, their sales strategy and their plans for the Asian market, says Danish game industry expert Jan Neiiendam CEO at the game organisation Interactive Denmark.

Other companies working with Augmented Reality

Alec Villarreal Wurts CEO at Augmented Reality Experts | alec@augmentedrealityexperts.com.au | Australia

– I believe that there are more and more practical applications to AR and it is quickly changing from being a novelty to a useful tool. In the next few years, I think it will be applied much more.

Caspar Thykier CEO at Zappar caspar@zappar.com

Have struggled for years with publishers on convincing them to publish AR-enabled books

– Much like the music industry, the book publishing industry is still rather old fashioned in its response to all things digital and doesn’t really have the internal structures to know how to implement and execute AR within their development pipeline and commercial models.

– So the reason there aren’t AR books in bookstores, is that the technology is still only just being understood by most publishers and they are slow in seeing the opportunity, and currently don’t have the right structures in place to implement it properly.

Consultant at National Knowledge Center for Reading Charlotte Reusch| chre@ucc.dk | +45 41898825

– I would guess these books have a positive effect on children’s want to listen to stories. But the question is if it also stimulates a want to read if reading and exploring the 3D-animations are two different processes, says Charlotte Reusch from National Knowledge Center for Reading in Denmark.

CEO & Founder Mark Dalby Folkenberg | Books & Magic | mdf@appropos.dk | +45 6037 7666

According to the developers, the solution to the above issue was simply to make the puzzles of the iPad-animations dependent on clues from the book’s text.

– If the child likes the animations and puzzles, they have to be aware of the text. And if they can’t read, there is a strong motivation for learning through interaction with the parents, says Mark Dalby Folkenberg.

– The book industry doesn’t know what to do with the fact that it’s several app developers and not one author behind the book, so they are watching closely until we prove how much can be made, and therefore we manage production and distribution ourselves. This model can be used by other AR-developers in the future.

H.C. Andersen-expert Ejnar Stig Askgaard

-It’s a fantastic and interesting technique to present H.C. Andersen’s fairytales and we think it’s great his fairytales are being told and used in these new ways, says H.C. Andersen-expert Ejnar Stig Askgaard who is managing the Cultural Heritage department at Odense City Museums, in the city where H.C. Andersen grew up.

Kickstarter

Check out The Little Mermaid at Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/booksandmagic/the-little-mermaid-a-magical-augmented-reality-boo

Want to try out the AR-book for yourself for a review?

Contact CEO & Founder Mark Dalby Folkenberg on mdf@appropos.dk and get a PDF-version of the book and the instructions to download the beta-app (beta is Android only) or request a free book by snail-mail.

About Books & Magic

www.booksandmagic.com

Books & Magic deliver quality reading experiences that inspire children to read. Our professionals include some of the most experienced 3D artists, architects, developers, UX specialists and 3D artists in the business. In the past, they’ve acquired their unique skills through brands like LEGO and IO Interactive’s Hitman 47 series.
Now they bring their passion plus a combined 40+ years of game and app development experience to the world of children’s literature.

Books & Magic have combined traditional physical books with a digital app to deliver a unique new type of book that inspires children to read.

The company was founded in 2013.

The Little Mermaid book is created for the situation when parents read aloud from the book while the child explores the puzzles of an animated 3D-adventure that pops out of the pages through the lens of a tablet or smartphone.

Further information

– Press Coordinator Mark Benfeldt Kjær | mark@kempkjaer.dk | +45 4142 3635

– CEO & Founder Mark Dalby Folkenberg | Books & Magic | mdf@appropos.dk | +45 6037 7666