Notes

The Beano's Dennis, Gnasher and Walter Join Minecraft

The Beano's Dennis, Gnasher and Walter join Minecraft By Emily Thomas Newsbeat reporter



Minecraft players should be on the watch for Walter "softy" and his stinky pants.



Walter, Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher from The Beano, can now be added to PC versions of the game.



Players can make a sausage for Gnasher and use all of Dennis' best pranks including catapults, stink bombs.



It's part of the Beano's larger plans to expand into digital media and its game has been born from a partnership between the show and Frima Studios, a Canadian multiplatform game developer.



Mark Cotton, who is the Beano's chief digital officer, said to Newsbeat: "If you talk to any 7 to 11-year-old child, Minecraft is probably their biggest passion and love."



Mark says that the game is an extension of the comic and a way of making The Beano "a more holistic experience" for children.



"Roughly 32,000 comics are sold each week in the Beano - so still an impressive number," he says.



It's still a lot less than the two million copies sold at the peak of the magazines.



"We are very aware kids today are obsessed with digital," Mark says. Mark.



"We need to turn The Beano into a 360-degree brand where Dennis and Gnasher is everywhere kids are, instead expecting that they will come to us.



"So we're currently working on a variety of initiatives over the next three to six months."



There are puzzle games interactive comics, puzzle games, and an "action 3-D game for kids".



DC Thompson, The Beano's publisher has already expanded The Beano brand to include a TV show and a photo-sharing app as well as YouTube channel.



Grand Theft Auto?



The comic's been in existence since 1938 and has a lot of adult fans. The Beano characters might also make an appearance in adult games, like Dennis the Menace in Grand Theft Auto.



"No. We don't have anything to focus on right now," says Mark.



"We're focussing on the 7 to 11-year-old digital product - for the moment, digital is about really engaging with children and understanding their passions."



They've been working with a group of 10 Minecraft and Beano fans aged 7-11 during the development process.



Minnie the Minx?



"We mostly asked children"If Beano were to be in Minecraft What would it look like?



"This was their first step towards imagining what they desired. Obviously their imaginations are much greater than we can possibly do at the moment.



"But they wanted pranks. They wanted Walter, Gnasher and Dennis. That's what they got.



"We'll continue to talk to them. Our goal is to expand this and to build Beanotown and let children be creative.
979UC


"Minecraft is so popular because it gives kids the power. If we try to restrict the kids and tell them what they should do, they'd reject it."



Are there any other characters that could be allowed to participate in?



"We certainly want to extend it," says Mark.



"The obvious character and the one the kids have been asking for is Minnie the Minx so that's what we'd probably take a look at next."


Homepage: https://979uc.com/