Learn the D-Pad, game melodies, and the Konami Code. Now if only it played games.
How do you teach a kid to play a video game?
Pop in a game, hand them the controller, and instruct, merrily.
But what if the kid is too young, like, a baby or something?
What if the child needs to learn, now, to become the next Tetris prodigy?
Hand them the "Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Lil' Gamer," of course.
Lil' Gamer plays no actual video games, yet contains basic elements that instruct game learning.
For instance, Lil' Gamer teaches button actions, screen layout, and familiar game melodies.
And, oh yeah, it teaches colors and shapes, too.
To be clear, Fisher-Price also offers the "Game & Learn Controller." Modders have rigged this toy controller to work with actual consoles. The controller is pretty cool, for a toy meant to be drooled on.
However, we'll be looking only at the Lil' Gamer, and how it teaches video game fundamentals.
Lil' Gamer looks and feels like a game console
Specifically, Lil' Gamer looks and feels like a Game Boy. Just like Mommy and Daddy's Game Boy, right?
How does the Lil' Gamer compare to the Game Boy? The Lil' Gamer has the same button configuration, the speaker is in the matching lower right corner, and the shape and size are very similar. The child learns, on a basic level, the look and feel of a handheld game console.
Lil' Gamer teaches button configuration and actions
The child learns the D-pad is on the left, and the action buttons are on the right. If instructed, the child learns to hold Lil' Gamer properly, in both hands, and use their thumbs for the buttons. If not instructed, they are still familiarized with the shape and feel, so they can recognize the form and buttons when gaming in the future.
Lil' Gamer has a thick D-pad for lil' thumbs. When you press the D-pad, it tells you what direction you're pressing: up, down, left, or right. In other words, the D-pad tells the child what a D-pad does. Baby steps!
Someday, the child can apply the D-pad directions to an actual controller, to move a character on a screen. That's when their brain will make the magic leap: I control a part of this game world!
The A and B buttons are large and satisfying to press, and I can see how a child would enjoy beeping A & B over and over, until their parents remove the batteries.
The A & B buttons make jump and attack sound effects, therefore presenting A & B as action buttons to the child. Even if the child does not associate the sounds with jumping or attack on a screen, the child still learns to associate these sounds with the action buttons, so one day will associate these sounds and buttons with actual actions on screen. They'll "make the jump!"
To be complete, here are some of the A & B sound effects: jumping, for sure; what sounds like a sword swipe; coin collect chime; special item collect; a laser shot; a "bump" sound, like trying to move an immovable game object; and, among others, a lil' beep that sounds a lot like Samus dropping a bomb from ball form. Cool!
The game card, "Puppy's Adventure," introduces kids to a cartridge that pushes in and out. Can't wait for "Puppy's Adventure 2!"
Lil' Gamer teaches screen layout
Visually, the screen introduces the characteristics of a basic platformer: protagonist ("Puppy"); background (sorry, no scrolling here); health meter (hearts); and item collection or achievement bar (here, shapes); and items to collect (again, the shapes). The screen also introduces the concept of the screen itself, though I'm pretty sure most children these days, even babies, know a screen when they see it. Note that the screen image is created with pixels, another gaming trope. Looks fun!
Lil' Gamer introduces the child to Tetris.
Not the game Tetris, but the pieces, which slide and fit together on the side of the unit. The easiest Tetris game you'll ever play!
Lil' Gamer teaches game melodies by mimicking familiar tunes
Here's how to play Lil' Gamer: Press down on the cartridge to play a song, and press the buttons for sound effects. The sound effects, listed previously, do not appear to match the songs.
Here are the songs, or rather, homages to familiar video game songs:
Kirby theme (especially the opening trill).
Pokemon? Tetris? Both?
An adventuresome number that reminds me of Zelda, and a little of Kirby.
Generic chiptune with instructions to play a game: "Jump Up, Climb Down, Left, Right, You're Good, Ready, You'll Make It, Yeah, I Knew You Could." It's like me teaching my kids to play Mario!
Super Mario. Seriously, the lyrics are set to an undeniable variation of the classic Mario Theme: "A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3, it's so much fun, to learn, and play, with me."
Generic chiptune with lyrics about colors and a rather colorful sky.
Rhythm Game: Starts with beat and "get ready" messages before naming shapes.
Lil' Gamer responds to the Konami Code
While it doesn't teach the Konami Code, Lil' Gamer reacts to up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A (there is no Start button on Lil' Gamer). After inputting the code, Lil' Gamer produces a jump sound, followed by a power-up sound and the exclamation, "You did it!" It's pretty cool of Fisher-Price to include this Easter egg, and it apparently works on the Game & Learn Controller, as well.
Final Thoughts
The Lil' Gamer may as well be shaped like an Easter egg, it contains so many: sound effects, songs, Tetris, and the Konami Code.
Overall, the Lil' Gamer is cute, fun, and instructs young children in the way of video gaming. It's an interesting choice of toy design, considering the usual toddler toys, and perhaps intended to appeal more to the parents purchasing the product than the child.
Often, baby and toddler toys are made to resemble objects the child already wants to play with, such as a phone, remote, or keys. The advantage to this is that you can give your kid some plastic keys in place of the real ones. Therefore, the toy controller makes sense, because Daddy or Mommy may have left a controller out; it's a familiar object. But how many one-year-olds want to play with a Game Boy?
Besides my own children, would a toddler even recognize a Game Boy?
This reminds me of videos where children tap Game Boy screens in frustration, unable to understand.
This explains why Lil' Gamer exists, then. Now young children can learn the proper way to play a Game Boy!
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