Rockett's New School
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| Rockett's New School | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Purple Moon |
| Release | 1997 |
Rockett's New School is a 1997 girl-oriented video game developed by Silicon Valley–based Purple Moon. It was directed by Brenda Laurel.
Production
[edit]Five years of research was spent on the game.[1] During this time, Laurel discovered that boys and girls play games differently, and that girls wanted a more slower-paced and introspective experience as opposed to the action-based twitch gameplay that appealed to boys.[2] A website launch and a serious media hype preceded the release of Purple Moon's first two titles: Rockett's New School and Secret Paths.[1] Two 30-second TV spots for the games were aired on network and cable stations in New York and Chicago in October-November 1997.[3] Rockett even appeared with a moustache in the "Got Milk?" ad series.[4] The game was conceived as part of an episodic series of CD-ROMS, with unresolved plot elements that would be addressed in the following titles.[1] Episode 2, Rockett's Tricky Decision, was expected to come out in January 1998.[1] The game's success led to a website, merchandise, and talks about a television adaption.[5] Mattel bought Purple Moon in 1999 in order to add the Rockett brand to their successful girls video gaming empire that had begun with Barbie.[6] Mattel aimed to expand the franchise with a book series.[7] Another game entitled Starfire Soccer Challenge was not serialised due to the imminent acquisition of the company by Mattel.
Gameplay and design
[edit]The game follows Rockett Movado as she begins the first day of eighth grade at her new school.[8] The game's genre is "friendship adventures for girls", which Wired deemed to be a new game category created by Brenda Laurel, Purple Moon's co-founder.[1] The game's design was built on the notion of girls not wanting to play as a superhero, rather as a friend, experiencing real-life events, encounters, and emotions that they would understand.[1] The player can discover more about each player by examining their locker or reading their journal, which allowed each character more three-dimensionality than in traditional hero vs villain games.[9] The game avoids text when it can and instead portrays information through graphical imagery, in order to help players identify with the protagonist by seeing what she sees.[10]
In the sequel, Rockett's Tricky Decision, Rockett is invited to two parties on the same night.[11]
Critical reception
[edit]The first Christmas sell-in exceeded the developer's expectations, and the press coverage was 95 percent positive.[12] During December 1997 alone, Rockett's New School sold 39,174 units in the United States, for revenues of $1.1 million.[13] It ultimately sold 250,000 units.[14] However, a review by The New York Times commented that he didn't need to play the game with young girls because he knew a bad game when he saw it, which was reprinted in a popular Silicon Valley newspaper San Jose Mercury News.[15] The title became attacked by both reviewers (who felt it was objectively a poor game) and feminists (who felt it was a bad example of what a "game for girls" could be).[16] Entertainment Weekly described the title as "thoughtfully addictive".[4] CNN asserts that while successful, the games never "became the runaway hits the company hoped they would be".[17]
In a retrospective review, BuzzFeed called the title "The Mean Girls Of '90s Games".[18] Laurel herself asserts that girls found a community within the game.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Purple Moon Finally Rises". WIRED. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ a b LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes". Jezebel. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Purple Moon Taps Hoffman/Lewis To Promote Its CD-Roms For Girls". Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ a b "The Practical Futurist: Girls Just Want To Have Games". Newsweek. 2002-09-03. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Purple Moon sets - Feb. 19, 1999". money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Mattel buys Purple Moon - Mar. 18, 1999". money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ OLDHAM, JENNIFER (1999-03-19). "Mattel to Buy Girls' Games Innovator Purple Moon". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Rockett's New School: Description". mathequity.terc.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "CNN - Interactive equal opportunity - June 22, 1997". edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "Hypertext Now: The Hypertext Patterns of "Rockett's New School"". www.eastgate.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "CNN - Interactive equal opportunity - June 22, 1997". edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes". Jezebel. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ Slaton, Joyce. "The Games Girls Play: Who Says Girls are Afraid of Mice?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 13, 1998. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Sb983142367395144229". Archived from the original on 2001-03-02.
- ^ LatoyaPeterson. "Beyond Rockett and Purple Moon: Gender, Gaming, and Stereotypes". Jezebel. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "She Tried To Make Good Video Games For Girls, Whatever That Meant". Kotaku Australia. 2012-05-29. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ Anderson, Lessley. "CNN - Purple Moon to be eclipsed? - February 17, 1999". edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
- ^ "How Rockett's New School Was The Mean Girls Of '90s Games". BuzzFeed Community. Archived from the original on 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-04-01.