Dr. Seuss and Minecraft Team Up for a Fresh New Gamified Learning Experience (EXCLUSIVE)

A joint effort between two popular learning and entertainment brands brings Dr. Seuss to the video game platform for the first time.

Two of the most recognizable names in children’s entertainment and learning have teamed up for a collaboration that's bound to capture the imagination—and the attention of both parents and kids.

For the first time, Minecraft is introducing the fanciful stylings of Dr. Seuss to the extremely popular game. There are three new game modes and free Dr. Seuss-themed skins that creatively blend the worlds of Dr. Seuss and Minecraft together with challenging new adventures.

All About The Dr. Seuss Minecraft Collaboration

Many parents start reading Dr. Seuss books to their children when they are babies . Kids can start reading some of Dr. Seuss's books as early as kindergarten . But Minecraft is geared toward children around age 8. This collaboration though is suitable for players of all ages.

So what can parents and kids expect from this new collab? Three new game modes involve some of your kids' favorite characters and stories.

The Lorax

This game mode is described as an escape-room mystery and starts in a forest biome. Kids will have to find their way through the enchanted forest to the Once-ler's house and the Biggered Factory. Kids will gather clues and tackle quests. But be careful—there is something unexpected in the woods.

The Cat in the Hat

In this game mode, kids will follow the famous Cat through a narrated puzzle. In typical Cat in the Hat fashion, things get messy in the house. Like the book, there are rules, but it's the player's choice whether to follow them. Oh and keep an eye out for Thing One or Thing Two.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Like the wild maze of life, in this game, players will journey through a maze. They'll get to travel through the many scenes in the book, solve riddles, and defeat whatever gets in their way. But make sure to explore the surroundings.

How Did Dr. Seuss Team Up With Minecraft?

It’s a project born out of the mutual respect Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Minecraft developers hold for each other and their shared goals of facilitating learning through entertainment .

“Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ mission is to educate and entertain generations through joyful learning. Minecraft is a perfect partner to help DSE achieve that mission,” Susan Brandt , President and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, tells Parents . " Minecraft’s immensely popular platform does just that with millions of passionate, active fans. The Minecraft world delights and entertains while providing underlying learning opportunities.”

Director of Minecraft Partner Content Todd Stevens, who at one point in his childhood was adamant that his mother read the Dr. Seuss classic Oh the Places You’ll Go! to him at least once a day, shares a similar sentiment.

“Dr. Seuss and Minecraft have a lot in common, from inspiring creativity through storytelling and imaginative creatures and characters to the wonderful worlds that encourage social skills through unconventional means,” says Stevens.

While Dr. Seuss Enterprises has traditionally focused on books and movies , Brandt acknowledges that in an increasingly digital world, the company wanted to find ways to meet children where they are and ensure access to enriching and entertaining experiences online.

Bringing Dr. Seuss' Characters to a Minecraft World

Even with the synergy between the two companies, the contrasting aesthetics of Minecraft’s signature blocky stylings and the more whimsical free-flowing visuals from Dr. Seuss's works presented a challenge for developers.

For example, the wispy tops of those tall, gangly Truffula Trees from The Lorax clearly fall outside the traditional Minecraft animation box. However, the Minecraft team successfully incorporated them, along with bear-like bar-ba-loots and the long-necked swomee-swans, into the lush Lorax-themed game mode.

“We needed something that captured the sense of wonder and discovery of Dr. Seuss’s storytelling,” Stevens explains. “To bring this to life in Minecraft, we needed a partner with a special sensibility, like Shaliquinn Schematics.”

A popular Minecraft build team of builders, designers, and image artists with a long history of creating sought-after content on the platform, Shaliquinn Schematics also helped develop the new game modes based on popular Seuss classics. Focusing on problem-solving with challenges that grow in complexity as players progress, like the mazes in the Oh, the Places You’ll Go! world, these new game modes avoid fighting bad guys and racking up wins or losses to focus more on exploration and overcoming obstacles.

“This gamifies the lessons from Dr. Seuss’s final work—you can move mountains even when faced with challenges, and you will succeed (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed),” Brandt adds, invoking a famous line from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

The new Dr. Seuss DLC for Minecraft featuring The Lorax , Cat in the Hat , and Oh, The Places You’ll Go ! is available now in the Minecraft Marketplace.

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Read the original article on Parents .