E3 2011: Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster Demo Preview

Microsoft's press conference during the week of the Electronic Entertainment Expo had a little something for everyone. We've seen Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster before, at a Microsoft event earlier this year, but Tim Schafer took the stage to introduce the game and what it means for him. Not only has Sesame Street made an impact on children for more than 40 years, but Big Bird taught Schafer his Bs, the Count taught him how to count, and Cookie Monster taught him how to take care of his body. Sesame Street has also taught a certain GameSpot editor English and Spanish.

Once Upon a Monster is a living storybook and a cooperative Kinect game that is meant to be played with two people--whether it's a parent and a child or two siblings. You play as Elmo and Cookie Monster, moving through each chapter of the game, as you're introduced to new furry monsters. Like the show, the game is meant to teach kids life lessons as you help your new monster friends sort through their problems. The scripted One Upon a Monster demo onstage showed a young boy and his father playing the game, waving their arms around, and jumping up and down to mimic the movements of Elmo and Cookie Monster. While the game is very cute, scripted performances with young children always feels a bit off (remember Sprinkles?). In the second part of the demo, the two were trying to reach out and grab as many quirky little bugs that were flying around the screen as they could.

Schafer wrapped up the short demo with a sweet story about how his 3-year-old daughter asked if he was making a game for her. For the first time, he can say to her that he is going into work and making something that she will truly be excited about. Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster is set to come out this fall on the Kinect.