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.



You can now add Walter, Dennis, the Menace and Gnasher from The Beano to the PC version of the game.
games


Players can create a sausage for Gnasher and play with all of Dennis' best pranks such as catapults and stink bombs.



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



Mark Cotton, who is responsible for digital changes at Beano Mark Cotton, who is the head of digital at Beano Newsbeat that Minecraft is "their biggest passion and most cherished 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.



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



But it's far fewer than the two million magazines sold at the height of the magazine's popularity.



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



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



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



Some of them include puzzle apps as well as interactive comics and an "action 3-D game for children".



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



Grand Theft Auto?



The comic's been around since 1938 and has a lot of adult fans. The Beano characters could also make an appearances 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 focused on the 7-11-year-old digital product at the moment, digital for us is about truly engaging with kids and knowing their interests."



And to do that they've consulted an advisory group of 10 7 to 11-year-old Beano and Minecraft fans throughout the development 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 initial stage of what they had in mind. Obviously their imaginations are much greater than we can possibly do for the moment.



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



"We'll continue to communicate with them. We'd like to extend this and create Beanotown and let kids be creative.



"Minecraft is so well-known because it gives kids the power. We can't force the children to do something, and they'd resent it.



Are there any other characters that might be allowed in?



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



"The obvious character and the one that the kids have been wanting is Minnie the Minx so we'd most likely look at next."


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