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Mitsumasa Anno, the creator of Peperon Mura No Shiki, for ten years worked as a mathematics teacher in elementary school, and then he began to engage in professional illustration and was even awarded the HK Andersen Prize, which is awarded to the best children's writers and artists and is considered extremely prestigious in this field. Basically, Anno is known as the author of educational books, which do almost without words. They clearly explain a variety of concepts, from the usual account to factorials. His works are distinguished by an abundance of small details, because of which they can be looked at for a long time, and the characters of the books resemble Christmas elves of Santa Claus: they are little men who wear pointed caps. The game is exactly similar to another Anno book: it even starts with a clean slate along which the river flows, and then trees, people and houses appear on the open pages. Everything is very miniature and puppet. We control the first settler of the city of Pepperon with a mouse and look at different buildings, observe their inhabitants and examine the interior rich in details. In a kind of town hall, which looks like a small maze inside, you can change the time of day and year or exit the game; There are several houses with ordinary residents and many public buildings: shops, a church, a school. The architecture resembles the European “vacuum” so beloved by the Japanese: half-timbered buildings with characteristic beams on the facades, the cathedral has a high sharp turret, and each store has a sign. Wonderful music by Michiru Oshima plays in the background, similar to the soundtrack from “War and Peace”. At first glance, it seems that the surroundings are not the most original, but they feel a very warm, homely atmosphere. In the town hall you can also choose one of eleven events that transform the town. Among them are the arrival of a wandering circus, a harvest festival, a visit from Santa Claus scattering gifts, a terrible spring flood that washes off half of Pepperon, a round dance around a fire, fireworks and the flight of a night witch. In almost all houses you can look and see how the bread is baked or the barber works; a wedding is taking place in the church, another lesson is in full swing at the school. In apartment buildings, they can drink tea, hang a picture on the wall or read a newspaper, and in some places events change depending on the time of the year: they either plant or crop in the fields. There are a lot of interactive objects and funny animations on the screen, as in the quests of Humongous Entertainment, and there is even an editor that allows you to create your dream town. As for the educational component, there are no direct indications in this regard. By the internal appearance of the stores, where there are many different items, you can come up with several games for children: count all the items in the location and name them - or look at the people working there and say what this profession is called. But overall, Peperon Mura No Shiki does without any goal or plot. This is like a picture capturing moments from the life of the fabulous city of Pepperon, and everyone who visits it will definitely feel at home. |
