Ubisoft’s Imagine series for the DS: helping tweens to virtually live their dreams

I’ve had a lot of goals. Too many, maybe. And they’re scattered. When I was in first grade I wanted to be a nurse. But upon realizing that dealt with bloody yucky insides, I realized a dream to be a teacher. And then a writer. And then an overnight camp owner. I even wanted to be Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (that was way before NCLB). I wanted to own a cute boutique that sells things that I love. A few times I wanted to be a broadcaster, but that dream went away in 10th grade when I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes on camera in my Broadcasting elective.

In my 35+ years I’ve been lucky enough to reach some of my goals. I’m a published writer. I’ve taught 2nd, 4th and 6th grades, regular and special ed. I worked in public relations and advertising. And while I never became a broadcaster on TV, I have been on national TV. And I’m a Boutique Owner.

Ahem. That means I’ve had over 4 careers since undergrad. That’s only 13 years. Apparently, this is fairly typical, in a tweeny dreaming sense. Like me, Tweens change their career goals often. Infact, many do it several times a year. And while a 6 year old may dream to be a waitress, a tween usually has a career path in mind. One that involves management, decisions and, often, a little glamour. The craftier tweens may look to design. Scientific ones may lean towards being a vet. And fashionistas dream of boutiques and design.

So, I was sent several of Ubisoft’s Imagine series for the Nintendo DS. Can I just tell you how cool these are? If I had the Imagine series (and a DS) when I was a tween I would have been able to live my dreams virtually, to give them a try before jumping in and trying out a career. In Imagine Teacher Class Trip, tweens oversee a class on an academic competition retreat. The “teacher” uses classroom managment skills and grades papers. In Imagine Boutique Owner a tween becomes a manager/owner of a tiny boutique. As she plays, she is faced with challenges like listening to and pleasing the customer, making change and, eventually, designing new store areas, stocking them and working to make them succeed. We also have Imagine Zookeeper and Imagine Artist, but I haven’t explored those as well. (Once I gave my son the DSi to play Attack of the Giant Dinosaurs, also a sample, I haven’t had much time to get back on.)

Thanks to Ubisoft for sending sample games (and the DSi).

About Julie Meyers Pron

Julie Meyers Pron has written 815 post in this blog.

mom of 3 and wife, Julie is a former elementary school teacher and a Public Relations manager. She is the owner/editor of Just Precious, founding partner of Just Centsible, and a team member of Splash Creative Media. Julie is a PTOer, volunteer, elementary educator and that's just the beginning of the list!