The Magic School Bus

The Magic School Bus is a series of educational software video games developed by Music Pen and published by Microsoft via their Microsoft Home brand. The interactive adventures are part of the larger franchise and based on The Magic School Bus book series and public television series (which originally aired on PBS).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Development – The Magic School Bus

Most of the original software games were created by the software company Music Pen Multimedia in collaboration with Microsoft and Scholastic Press, the publisher of the Magic School Bus book series. Scholastic, which created the “Magic School Bus” television series on PBS, licensed its content to Microsoft.^[5] To access the home market, Microsoft created a video game brand called Microsoft Home, and a software series was created under that umbrella.^[6][7] 

At the time, many companies lacked the expertise to develop multimedia project so turned to smaller new media companies.^[8] The company hired the garage shop Music Pen to create a program, a company started 15 years prior by concert pianist Wu and composer Philip Lui who wrote programs that taught music comprehension.^[9] After the contract, Music Pen grew from 5 people to 40,^[10] and was based in New York.^[11] The games were based on the books and the PBS show.^[12]

By 1997, Microsoft Home was struggling due to a crowded market.^[13] In 1998, Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus Adventure Series Volumes 1, 2 and 3 were announced.^[14]

The team received feedback from teachers and parents to inform their products.^[15] The series won: Software Publisher’s Association Codie award for Best Elementary Educational titles and the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. Most recently, Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus CD-ROM series by Microsoft received the FamilyPC Family Tested Software Recommended Seal in the education category and was named Top Picks of 1997 by the Toy Testing Council.^[15]

Like the TV series, the bus was animated in the usual way, in the CD-ROM games, it is typically animated with computer generated imagery (or “CGI“). In all these titles the user gets to “drive” the bus, which almost always involves clicking on the steering wheel and choosing a location. (The exception is The Magic School Bus Explores Inside the Earth where it is the gear shift instead of the steering wheel.) Most of the games in the original software were based with the book series (the original series books) and TV series.

Most of the games also have seven different locations, including the classroom. There is some goal to find a specific number of missing collectibles for the user in almost every game (with the exception of The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body). In the other games, there is a “missing collectible” minigame where the player has to find three or four missing collectibles. The video game series (both original titles and activity centers) are targeted for children ages 5–10.

The games include activities to assist the player’s learning.^[16]

System requirements vary among the games. Games with the Macintosh indication can be used on a Macintosh LC 550 or newer with a minimum of System 7.1, 8 MB RAM, 8 MB hard disk space, color monitor, and 2X CD-ROM drive.