Making Ed Apps: StoryToy’s My Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is one of thee most loved books by parents and teachers alike. The story of how one gluttonous caterpillar changes into a magnificent butterfly after a week long binge has taken the world by storm. (If only we could achieve similar results)

Used to teach early maths (counting, sequencing and matching to name but a few), it’s most importantly popular with children themselves.

StoryToys has taken the core essence of the story and translated it into the digital market through a series of apps including Shapes and Colours and My Very Hungry Caterpillar. We chatted to Emmet O’Neill, chief product officer of StoryToys, on bringing Carle’s world to the small screen.

“My philosophy in approaching brands is, I try to licence content that I love either as a parent or as a child really resonated with me. I’m able to get inside the mind-set of a fan and also the perspective of a parent. It’s about finding out the essence of the experience.”

Winner of the BolognaRagazzi Digital Award in 2015 and the 2016 Kidscreen Award for their app The Very Hungry Caterpillar creating a game around a successful brand is always a carefully considered process, O’Neill says.

StoryToys did not want to make a literal translation of the book but rather the experience in a digital and educational setting.

“We started with a syllabus”

“We worked with the US Head start framework” O’Neill says. “It’s as close as you get to a government endorsed syllabus for preschool.”

“We took the basic learning under the maths section. Then we sketched out ideas about how these learning objectives could be translated into interactive experiences.”

In Shapes and Colours, children must order objects in terms of size, colour and shape, all focusing on critical early mathematical skills.

A tactile experience

Working on an iPad is a very tactile experience for a child. Using their hands in this manner helps develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also opens up StoryToys ability to revolutionise the learning experience to suit the user.

When demonstrating My Very Hungry Caterpillar, Emmet explains this concept.

“A younger child might just tap around the screen. An older child might be dexterous enough to pick the caterpillar up. Whatever way you might think the app should work, is exactly how it works. Some children think they might like to pick this up, some want to tap. It’s about predicting what your user’s ability is likely to be.”

Games as a service – Caterpillar responds to time

My Very Hungry Caterpillar is a Tamagotchi-like app where children take care of their very own hungry caterpillar. by feeding him from fruit picked off trees, growing flowers and vegetables in their patch, playing with the caterpillar through toys, painting, sailing on the pond and music games, the end goal is transfer your own caterpillar into a butterfly.

With regularly updates the game continues to remain fresh and current for new and experienced users alike, something very common in the mobile gaming industry. For example in Caterpillar, new areas of the game have been added since its release including an art section where children can paint with their fingers and a music section where children can experiment with shapes and patterns to create tunes.

And current content is always being updated and refreshed. In Autumn the flowers turn into pumpkins. The leaves of the trees grown brown and fall. During winter the pond freezes over. These elements extend the interest and life of the app for new and old fans of the game alike.

Phew. I think it’s time for ice-cream cone. And a pickle. And maybe one slice of Swiss cheese, salami, piece of cherry pie…

I visited StoryToys HQ in Dublin as part of my MA in 2015, speaking to Chief Product Officer Emmet O’Neill about all things education and gaming.