Creatales

This is a great app that allows the user to build their own understanding of stories whilst also celebrating their imagination and helping them to improve their language skills. The visuals of the app are really well executed as is the playability and functionality within the app allowing the ages that this app is aimed at to be able to use it successfully. I would suggest that the main use of this app is going to be for the home market with parents and children enjoying the ability to create their own stories and in turn this having an impact on the young person’s language capabilities. I don’t necessarily think it would add too much to a classroom setting, however, this doesn’t detract from the main points and successes of the app itself.

On opening the app the user is welcomed to the homepage where they have a couple of different options. These options include a couple of admin pages such as: a link to find out more information about the developer as well as the ability to contact them; a settings option that allows the user to turn the sound on and off, log in to an account as well as the option to rate the app on the app store. There are also two further buttons that take the user into the main gameplay areas of the app. The first takes the user to the main focus of the app, building and creating stories, whilst the other is a separate puzzle game. The puzzle button, for me, is a nice added bonus to the app as it allows the user the ability to play with some puzzles and also to create their own. As the app is all about creativity and the user making and creating things this is a really good addition that adds values to the app.

As mentioned the main part of the app is about creating a story, enhancing language and being creative. Once the user has clicked on the option that takes them to this they can view previous stories, continue reworking stories or create a whole new one. The graphics through the app are of good quality, something that is really important for an app that is about creating a good visual story. The user has lots of options once they enter the storybook creation side of the app. There are 17 different sticker packs that can selected, including pirates, princesses and dinosaurs. Within each of these packs there is a whole host of opportunities of backgrounds, characters and other additions to help the user build their story. There are also unlimited pages and the user even has the option to add in their own sounds which may include verbalising the story and creating a completely different experience to their story.

The app is incredibly simple to use, something that is very good considering the age range of the potential user. Objects that are placed on the page of the story can be resized, moved and changed again in a simple, pleasing way. The developers have certainly thought about this and have made sure that the app can be used by young children easily. 

This would work in an educational setting as there are certainly lots of elements that make the app beneficial to young people’s literacy development and schools would certainly benefit from advertising and promoting to parents the use of this app outside the classroom. The whole aim of the app is to build a love of reading and creating stories. The ability to add text to tell the story can help young children to improve their written work and the extra option of adding a spoken element can help enhance children’s spoken language.

Overall this is a really enjoyable app.

You can download Creatales on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.