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 need to watch out for "softy" Walter 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 create the sausage for Gnasher and play with all of Dennis Gnasher's best tricks such as catapults, stink bombs.



It's part of the Beano's bigger plans to expand into digital. The mod was developed in collaboration with the cartoonist and Frima Studios, which is a Canadian multiplatform game developer.



Mark Cotton, who is the head of digital transformation at Beano Mark Cotton, who is the head of digital at Beano Newsbeat that Minecraft is "their most fervent passion and their greatest love"



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



"Roughly 32,000 comics are sold every week of the Beano which is a very healthy number," he says.



It's still far lower than the two million copies sold during the height of the magazines.



"We are very aware kids today are captivated by digital technology," says Mark.



"We have to transform The Beano into a 360 brand where Dennis and Gnasher is everywhere that children are, instead expecting that they will come to us.



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



Some of these initiatives include puzzle apps as well as an interactive comic and an "action 3D game for kids".



The Beano's publisher DC Thompson has already extended the brand's reach to a television show, a photo-sharing app and a YouTube channel.



Grand Theft Auto?



The comic has been around since 1938, and has a lot of adult fans. Also, could the Beano characters appear in any adult games - Dennis the Menace in Grand Theft Auto perhaps?



"No. Mark says, "No.



"We are focused on the 7-11-year-old digital product. In the present, digital is all about engaging with children and understanding their interests.



They've been working with 10 Minecraft and Beano enthusiasts aged 7-11 throughout the creation process.



Minnie the Minx



"We basically asked our kids"If you were to put Beano into Minecraft What do you think you would see?



"This was the beginning of what they envisioned. Their imaginations obviously go far beyond what we can imagine for the moment.



"But they wanted pranks They wanted Walter They wanted Gnasher They wanted to dress up as Dennis and that's what we've offered them.



"We'll continue to talk to them. Proximal.org We'd like to expand this and build Beanotown so that kids can be creative.



"Minecraft is so well-known because it gives children the power. If we tried to control the kids and tell them what they should do they'd reject it."



Are there any other characters who could be allowed in?



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



"The obvious character and the one the kids have been wanting is Minnie the Minx so we'll probably consider next."


Here's my website: https://proximal.org/