There are two things that make localization of children’s apps different than typical apps. First – including assets for multiple languages in a single app means each additional language can result in much bigger app files sizes. This is because children’s apps often include a lot of voice over. Second – users may want to switch back and forth between languages frequently. In traditional apps users are more likely to use the app in their native language and stick with that. With children’s apps parents often want to have their little ones play in multiple languages as a way of improving their language skills.

1. Publish two separate apps

The advantage here is that the apps are smaller in size (no need to include localized versions of all the assets. Also, everything about the app from the search-engine-friendly URL in the app store to the app name and content is in the native language making it fairly clear when promoting the app in different languages. Even if their device is set up in English you can send them to a URL where you can be sure they will see the French app name and description in the app store. The downside is that families who want their kids to play in both languages have to buy the app twice. It also means maintaining two apps so QA and updates can take a bit longer.

2. Publish one app and build a language setting into the app

The advantage here is that parents and kids can fairly easily switch back and forth between languages. File sizes grow because you need to include assets for both languages. In apps like Stella and Sam that means duplicate copies of audio files as well as all the graphics used in menus. The big disadvantage though is there is no way to localize the app name on the device. The books and the tv show have a significant audience in France and French Canada and Stella and Sam is actually Stella et Sacha in French. So promoting a ‘Stella and Sam App’ and then relying on native French speakers to navigate to the appropriate setting is less than ideal.

3. Publish one app and rely on the device’s language setting

Apple’s development tools include a fairly elegant method for supporting multiple languages within a single app. File sizes are still big but following this approach means that everything from the app’s name on the device right down to the graphics assets are set based on the language setting on the device. This is the method that Apple recommends but it’s designed more for localizing an app like Safari than it is for a kid’s game or storybook. For native French users this gives the same advantages as #1, namely that the entire experience from end-to-end is in French. The big downside is that users who want to switch back and forth need to navigate away from the app to the Settings App to switch languages and then come back to the app.

The File Size Issue

As I’ve mentioned, embedding assets for more than one language can result in very large file sizes. The Stella and Sam Apps include 2.5 minutes of high-quality video and two sets of videos would have pushed our file sizes from about 60MB to around 100MB. Based on a suggestion from an Apple engineer at WWDC we looked into building an app that would download these large assets on the first run. But after looking into this we opted against the idea for three reasons: extra development and QA time to build a thoroughly-tested system for managing the download process, a long delay when the app is first launched and the assets load, and frustration and disappointment if parents first launch the app while offline. Although we embedded all the assets, we were able cut down on file size by separating out the audio tracks from the video. Since only the audio is different we embed one video track and two audio tracks. Based on the language settings we play the appropriate audio track and sync it up with the video.

Conclusion

As a parent, I love the idea that kids can hear the story and play the activities in both languages as a way to re-inforce their language skills. As someone who has worked with software for non-English users I also understand how important a seamless native-language experience is to having legitimacy in these markets. Making the decision was difficult but in the end we chose #3. It allowed us to publish a single app while offering a completely French experience right down to the app names. Also, following Apple’s recommendations generally means fewer surprises down the road.

So far I’ve had one support email asking about how to switch languages and one bad review from a user who was clearly unaware of how to switch languages. As we anticipated, this solution is not ideal for parents who want to switch between the languages frequently. However, for native speakers it has worked tremendously well. Apple featured the Stella and Sam Apps in both the Great Canadian Apps and Apps en Français sections.

Final Tip

One issue we ran into was how to link French-Canadian users to the App in iTunes without displaying the preview page in English. If we used the link as provided from Apple it would display the English preview page. Unable to turn up anything in Apple’s docs I started playing with the URL and discovered that adding a ‘&l=fr’ to the end of the URL forces the display of the French app details on the preview page.

This weekend Stella & Sam Online launches on Playhousedisney.ca to coincide with the premiere of the television series. At the heart of the micro site is a series of Online Adventures that seamlessly marry animated narratives with simple online activities. The idea is that pre-schoolers join nine-year old Stella, her four-year old brother Sam and their dog Fred on a quest – whether it’s finding their lost toboggan or searching for the Night Giant. There are a total of four stories with three activities each that will roll out over the course of the series. Each Online Adventure will also be available for the iPad.

We started developing the online property three years ago – generating ideas and falling in love with the characters.

Our challenge was to take popular books and a new television series into the online space and create completely original content. We had strong characters thanks to author/illustrator Marie-Louise Gay, beautiful animation from Mercury Filmworks and fun narratives from our television production partner Radical Sheep. We also had a healthy budget from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, the Canadian Media Fund and Playhouse Disney.

We were creating a property for preschoolers (3-5 year olds) so the other challenge was to keep it simple; not let technology get in the way of the online experience.

How did we do this?

Watched kids play

Unlike lots of pre-school television and online content, we discovered that Stella & Sam was a series that breathes.  There were no fast cuts, loud voices, bright colours or “hit me over the head learning.” Watching an 11-minute episode was like watching my four-year old godson play with his friends. It was unpredictable, real, fun and there was always something that was explored or discovered; whether it was finding an imaginary treasure or turning a bunch of boxes into a fort.

We wanted to get to know our audience so we visited pre-schoolers in their homes. We had them play with iPhone apps, websites and traditional games. We talked to parents – the gatekeepers – about how they pick content for their children and what activities they liked to play with their children.

We also read the books and watched all the episodes to come up with activity ideas. Since most of the series takes place outdoors with Stella and Sam exploring the natural world a lot of the online activities and narratives took place outdoors.

Built prototypes

We created prototypes for all the online activities – shifting from our original idea to make games with clear learning outcomes to games that were open-ended and that encouraged creative expression. We knew that if a game could capture a child’s attention at a basic level (using placeholder artwork) then once it was polished it would still be engaging.

At several stages of production, we invited children to our studio to test our games and give us feedback. We tweaked the games they enjoyed and tossed out the ideas they didn’t like or that didn’t work.

Then we came up with the framework for the Online Adventure so that the online property was not “just a bunch of games”. We sent the game prototypes to our writer and asked him to create a narrative so that the activities were tightly integrated with the story. Each Online Adventure lasts four to ten minutes and the child determines how long they want to play.

As we developed the online property we needed to ensure the content would work on the web as well as take advantage of the touch screen interface when ported to the iPad.

Collaborated with various creators

We were surrounded by a group of people who loved the property and who all had a clear vision for the  property. They had a respect for and understanding of pre-schoolers and their parents. We collaborated with them to create the online property.  Bob Ardiel, the series story editor, wrote original scripts for the Online Adventure narratives, Mercury Filmworks produced the animation and Rachel (the voice of Stella), Miles (the voice of Sam) and Tony (the voice of Fred) narrated the Online Adventures and the games.  Marie-Louise Gay, and Michelle, John and Jain at Radical Sheep reviewed the scripts, storyboards and animations.

Like the books and the television series, Stella & Sam Online encourages children to use their imagination and explore the world around them. By watching children play, testing our ideas throughout production and collaborating with the creators, we built an online experience that is simple but that remains true to the spirit of the books and the television series.

Our original sorry page was a simple parody of the Twitter fail whale featuring Owen from the show. Funny, yes, but not very effective from an SEO standpoint. We quickly decided to add our SEO copy underneath the fail image so the full site description would appear in the search results. For the benefit of Canadians who land on the sorry page as a result of a search we also added the real site URL and a highly visible welcome link to usher Canadians into the site.

The final step in our workaround strategy was to launch two campaigns: a Google Adwords series and a YouTube Promoted Video spot to target Canadian Total Drama keyword searches. These have been extremely successful in driving traffic to the site to date, and while the bulk of our site traffic still comes directly from a link on the homepage of our broadcast partner’s site at Teletoon.com, the number of users finding the site independently is steadily growing.

In an ideal world we wouldn’t need to geobolock our content at all, but when a geoblock is necessary, be aware that it may affect how your desired target audience finds its way to your site too.

If you have any other suggestions or strategies for helping audiences find geoblocked sites, please post a comment!

Tickle Tap Apps kicked off with a pitch written back in early 2009. At the time zinc Roe had produced only a couple of iPhone apps and had never designed preschool content based on a touch interface. We dug deep into our own pockets to finance the project and it was the first where we were selling content directly to parents.

Sound Shaker launched in November 2009 and in the year since then we’ve launched a total of ten individual apps along with the two bundle apps. This project embodies much of what I love about zinc roe. We dove into unchartered territory, learned as we went and discussed and debated everything from the merits of openGL to how four-year-olds held iPhones. Some apps ideas progressed smoothly. Others veered all over the place before we got them on track.

The apps have had an overwhelmingly positive response from parents and kids. And the story is much the same in the industry. We’re learned a great deal through our work on this project. The exciting news is that while Tickle Tap Apps is winding down we have some really fantastic new kids iPhone projects to apply all that we’ve learned.

We have a great team who made this project happen. All of us want to thank our colleagues for their advice and support and the parents and kids for their feedback and encouragement.

This is probably one of the bigger projects I had the opportunity to work on here at Zinc Roe, and I must say, it was an awesome experience. Not only did I learn more about code performance and optimization, I also learned that the word “Taiko” means “drum” in japanese!!!

Since a lot of the things that were done behind the scenes for this game were new to me, I decided to do a write up going through some coding challenges we had for creating the game.

Over at my blog post, you’ll read about how we dealt with the big bitmaps, managing multiple swf files, and different ways to display video with flash.

So let’s go! NEXT STOP => Carlo’s Blog!

This is a little story about a storybuilder and a project that came and went and came back again. Way back when the universe was young and zinc Roe was operating out of a bachelor apartment we created this thing called flashcan. It was a simple tool that let users drag and drop artwork onto a background and add text. This was pretty nifty stuff for the year 2000. We approached some clients and ended up licensing it to Teletoon and Family Channel.

Flashcan caught the attention of a team working at the CBC and soon I was in Vancouver working with the cbcr3 team to rebuild it as the CBC storybuilder. Shortly after the launch of the most-beautiful cbc4kids.ca site the project was cancelled and it disappeared into the ether. But not long after we started working with the Toronto Public Library. Once again we went back and improved things and launched it as part of the new KidsSpace website. The library also uses the system for their Summer Reading Club sites. This summer it will showcase the work of Werner Zimmerman.

In each of its various incarnations the storybuilder idea has resonated with kids and each project was just as rewarding as the last. For us, it also brought us in contact with some especially gifted folks – the artists who created the assets, the designers who helped shape the interface, the teachers and educators who integrated it into their classrooms and the kids who continue to produce crazy and amazing work with these tools.

Arctic Shuffle Sneak Peak from Jason Krogh on Vimeo.