Mission X to Launch

With smartphones an ever more integral part of kids’ lives, German book publisher Carlsen Verlag is using its experience and know-how to launch a new text adventure app for smartphones aimed at teenagers: Mission X.

Developed together with game developers Experimental Game Studio, Mission X combines exciting texts and playful aspects into an interactive storyline: the readers themselves decide on the progress of the story, arriving at specific actions with different ends. The text is combined with features (sounds, graphic elements and notifications), which ensure a realistic playing experience in real time. A sharing function enables direct exchange via social media. And the app will be available in German, Spanish and English.

“With Mission X, we want to make young people’s reading on their smartphones enjoyable,” says Mareike Hermes, Head of Business Development at Carlsen. “Storytelling meets gaming here. As new consumer habits bring new challenges for authors and publishers, we need to use our expertise to open up further perspectives in product development. “

The technical concept for Mission X was developed together with the Experimental Game Studio, which implemented Carlsen’s demands innovative programming that would highlight the dramaturgy and interactivity of the story.

Mission X is being shown as a demo at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and Carlsen will launch the first X-text adventure, “Dark Ride,” in November 2016 for iOS.

The Android version will be released early next year. Further titles for both formats are already in preparation. Find out more at www.missionX.de.