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 lookout 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.
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Players can make an entire sausage for Gnasher and use all of Dennis his most effective pranks such as catapults and stink bombs.



It's part of Beano's larger plans to expand into digital. The mod was created as a collaboration between the cartoonist and Frima Studios, which is a Canadian multiplatform game developer.



Mark Cotton, who is responsible for digital transformations at Beano, told Newsbeat that Minecraft is "their biggest passion and most passionate love"



Mark says the game is an "extension" of The Beano comic and an attempt to make The Beano "a more overall experience" for kids.



He says that 32,000 comics are sold each week during the Beano that is an acceptable number.



It's still a lot lower than the two million copies sold at the height of the magazine.



Mark says, "We are very conscious that today's children are passionate about technology."



"We have to transform The Beano into an all-encompassing brand where Dennis and Gnasher is everywhere that children are, instead of expecting that they will come to us.



"So we're working to an entire series of articles on the coming three to six months."



Some of them include puzzle games, interactive comics, 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 application along with a YouTube channel.



Grand Theft Auto?



The comic has been around since 1938 and has a lot of adult fans. The Beano characters could also make an appearances in adult games, such as Dennis the Menace in Grand Theft Auto.



"No. Mark says, "No.



"We're focused on the 7 to 11-year-old digital product - for the moment digital for us is about truly engaging with kids and discovering their passions."



In order to accomplish this, they've consulted a group of 10 seven to 11-year-old Beano and Minecraft fans throughout the development process.



Minnie the Minx



"We mostly asked children"If Beano was to appear in Minecraft what would it look like?'



"This was their first step towards imagining what they desired. Their imaginations can go far beyond what we are able to do right now.



"But they wanted to play pranks They wanted Walter They wanted Gnasher They wanted to dress up as Dennis, and that's the thing we've given them.



"We'll continue to talk to them. We'd like to extend this and create Beanotown and let children be creative.



"Minecraft is so popular as it gives children the power. We cannot force children to do something, but they would reject it.



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



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



"Minnie the Minx is the most obvious character and the one that the kids have been asking about, so I'm going to consider next."


Website: https://extremecraft.net/