TWIST AND TURN WITH TESSELMANIA!
A Review of TesselMania! Deluxe
by Tina Velgos
Imagine software which lets you choose from hundreds of stamps and musical selections to create and animate your own one-of-a-kind tessellated designs! Hmmm....sounds interesting, but what's a tessellated design?
Tessellations are interlocking, puzzle-like shapes inspired by the artwork of Dutch artist M.C. Escher. Tessellations blend transformational geometry with the elements of art. Math and art really DO connect!
If you are looking for software which your kids won't outgrow, you might want to check out MECC's TesselMania! Deluxe. Aimed at inspiring artists in grades 3 - 12, this is unique software which lets kids (and adults) of all ages have fun creating their own professional-looking designs and transforming them into projects like posters, greeting cards, calendars, banners, t-shirts, mugs and mousepads.
Now that TesselMania! is on CD-ROM (Win/Mac), kids can create tessellations in twice as many ways and create great projects in half the time with the ultimate tessellation tool.
Thanks to the power of the computer, kids can easily design intricate patterns which would be much more difficult and time consuming to create by hand. To create a tessellation, you start with a geometric "tile". By dragging points along its borders, you can create exciting shapes which will be repeated and interlocked on the computer screen.
Designs can be saved ,changed and printed. Hold on to your color inkjet cartridges! Also, by using "Magic buttons", kids can view animated tessellations which show how the original design was created and how the pieces fit together.
Marty, the animated monkey, narrates the on-line help system. You can click on Marty whenever you need information about choices, available tools (each tool's function), or step-by-step instructions for the project you are interested in. Marty also guides kids through an excellent "About Tessellations" section, which tells the history of tessellations and M.C. Escher's contributions to the math and art of tessellations.
Click on the Opening Screen and learn more about tessellations, create a tessellation, play with puzzles or make a project. Navigation runs sooooo smoothly in TesselMania! Deluxe. No problems installing the CD-ROM on a Macintosh Quadra, either.
In the Gallery slide show section, kids get an overview of a wide range of different tessellations, including tessellations they were created.
There are 28 ways to make tessellations in TesselMania! Deluxe. The Projects section is sure to be a hit with your kids since it helps kids turn their "radical" designs into projects like posters, banners, t-shirts, cards, 3-D objects, puzzles and more.
We let four kids, ages 4 through 16, explore TesselMania! Deluxe. Hours later, all of the kids agreed that TesselMania!Deluxe was"way cool".
A nice feature is that you can turn the music on and off or even play a different tune (Macintosh only). There are controls which allow users to select how fast a new tessellation is shown or how fast the "magic" happens.
The Puzzles section scored two thumbs up with our testers. To move the puzzle pieces, click on a piece and hold your mouse button down as you move the piece around. When you release the mouse button, the puzzle piece stays where you put it. I enjoyed using a digitizing art tablet pen-stylus while playing the puzzles section.
Of course, editing or changing the colors in TesselMania! Deluxe's color palette is a great creativity tool. The online instuctions (together with a very comprehensive manual) made this feature easy to use, eliminating the usual initial confusion often experienced with art programs.
I cringe when I hear words like "I'm B-O-R-E-D" during those long, hot summer months when the kids are off from school. TesselMania! Deluxe might be the solution! It would also be a valuable resource for parents who choose to home-school their children. There is a comprehensive Classroom Resources manual available from MECC (school version) which gives math and art teachers detailed lesson plans and classroom ideas to help integrate TesselMania! Deluxe into their own curriculum. Student Handouts, which can be copied and distributed to students, provide additional fun-filled activities for the kids.
Test drive TesselMania! Deluxe before you buy it. You can download demo versions at http://www.mecc.com
Does playing TesselMania! make you a TesselManiac? Try it and find out for yourself!
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
TesselMania! Deluxe |
| Company: |
MECC
|
| Cost: |
$39.95 home version, $79.00 school version |
System Requirements:
Windows
IBM PC or compatible
486 or higher
Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher (Windows 95)
8 MB RAM required
2 MB hard-disk space
SVGA color monitor, 256 colors at 640 x 480 resolution
Mouse or other Windows-compatible pointing device
Double speed CD-ROM drive
Windows-compatible sound card
Mouse
Macintosh
Apple Macintosh 68030, 68040 or Power Mac
System 7.1 or later
5 MB RAM required, 8 MB recommended
2 MB hard-disk space required
13" or larger monitor, 256 colors at 640 x 480 resolution or higher
Double-speed CD-ROM drive
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 4
Graphics 5
Sound 4
Interface 4
Replayability 4
Overall Score:
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