Motive Games - Motive Games Press Release page

Hey Mac Software Delivers Narrator for Teen Literature Day

New multimedia story app raises the e-book "cool factor"

Ontario, Canada - April 15, 2009 - Hey Mac Software announced today that its Narrator multi-media story delivery app will be available in the App Store worldwide tomorrow, April 16: Teen Literature Day. Narrator serves as a multimedia e-reader/audiobook player and publishing platform for those looking to bring their stories onto the iPhone and iPod Touch and enhance them in ways that will appeal to children and teens. The app offers three story telling modes - including audio playback synched perfectly with a high-quality, e-reader - ideal for enhancing reading comprehension in all types of learners. Narrator can be downloaded at: http://www.itunes.com/app/Narrator.

Narrator offers built-in interaction with stories through web links, scripts, etc. - giving readers the ability to immediately dive deeper into the narrative if they so choose. Also, a broad range of layout options can be used to enhance the story: children's picture books include animated illustrations; and in YA books, characters can receive, read and scroll through emails, chat and text messages, and more that look like their real-life counterparts from the device. Finally, a built-in dictionary enables readers to instantly look up words they are reading. The App, bundled with a proof-of-concept young-adult mystery entitled Motive Games, will be available free of charge until April 23rd - one week after Teen Literature Day - after which it will be sold for $2.99.

Content for Narrator from the public domain will be available starting tomorrow as well (courtesy Librivox and Project Gutenburg) at www.heymacsoftware.com/books; and Hey Mac Software will continue to grow the list of free, public books in the months to come. The company will also make paid content available for Narrator beginning later this spring: it is already working with a number of children's authors and is looking to enter discussions with publishers and distributers of children's literature. Moreover, the company has signed up for the Shortcovers developers' program and expects to have Shortcovers content available via Narrator later this year.

"There's been a lot of talk about the need for technology providers and content owners to come together and make the iPhone a top player in the e-book market," says Mike Taylor, president of Hey Mac Software. "Our feeling is that the current technology has failed to take full advantage of the iPhone as a potential storytelling device. We hope to convince content owners and authors worldwide that making their books available in digital format, either audio or text, is just the start. Using a Narrator development toolset they can do much more yet to engage their audience - particularly when that audience is composed of children and young adults."

Narrator as a Publishing Platform Hey Mac Software has developed a simple set of end-user tools that will allow authors and publishers to format their books for Narrator. Formatting might be as simple as synching graphic text and the audio book; or it may contain web links, scripts, animation and graphic elements such as are used in the Motive Games story. The company welcomes inquires from publishers and authors about development of more elaborate custom toolsets for use with existing workflows. It is also offering a formatting service for authors of children's literature who wish to publish and distribute their works for Narrator through Hey Mac Software. A list of content and its pricing will be published at as it become available. Purchasing of content for Narrator will also be done through the website.

Motive Games and the "License to Mod" Contest For the young adult who loves video games and the technology surrounding them, Motive Games, lets them enter the world of game development and enjoy a suspenseful youth mystery with heroes who understand their interests, ideas and passion for the world's most popular form of electronic entertainment.

The story was written by L.D. Taylor, who has worked in the 3D graphics and animation industry as a writer, marcom manager and freelance journalist for over a decade. During this time she has written numerous game-focused articles for such trade publications as CGW, Digital Media Net and CGI, as well as for corporate clients including Microsoft and Autodesk. Drawing on her extensive experience and contacts in the game and graphics industries, her goal is to give young adults interested in gaming and game development an insightful look at that world - this in addition to a suspenseful mystery in which technology, including the iPhone, plays a pivotal role.

Motive Games will be released serially throughout the year as an upgrade to Narrator, as well as in free, audio-only form at the iTunes store and at www.motivegames.com. A contest (see website) is also being launched around the book that will enable readers to find clues on the internet to help them guess "who dunnit," "how," and "why" for a chance to win a Macbook and game development tools (combined value over $2500 US).

About Hey Mac Software Mike Taylor, Hey Mac's president and lead designer, has been a 3D graphics and animation software developer for the past 15 years. A long-time Mac champion, Mike was involved in the port of the Maya and Houdini 3D software packages to the Mac. More recently Mike has been developing Briefcase and Narrator for iPhone as well as contributing to the writing of Motive Games.

For and advance, review copy of Narrator: pr@heymacsoftware.com, 613-584-3026