think3 Makes Learning 3-D as Easy as Playing a Video Game; Revolutionary
Approach to Learning Removes No. 1 Barrier to Broad Adoption of 3-D Design
Tools (Business Wire; 03/03/99)
BURLINGAME, CALIF. (March 3) BUSINESS WIRE -March 3, 1999--As part of its
drive to revolutionize the industry, mechanical design upstart think3(TM)
is making it easy and entertaining for 2-D designers to learn complex 3-D
skills with a new fast action, Doom(TM)-like video game.
"The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy" - the first title in a new series of
thinkfast(TM) game-based learning software from think3 - is a breakthrough
approach to education and training that drastically reduces the steep
learning curve that's typically been associated with 3-D design software in
the mechanical design industry.
"The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy" debuted today at a press conference in
Burlingame, Calif. as an industry first, where think3 outlined an inventive
business strategy and unveiled new 3-D design software that, together,
promise to completely revolutionize the $6 billion mechanical CAD software
industry. (See today's BusinessWire news release titled "Joe Costello-led
Upstart, think3, Targets Millions of 2-D Designers with Powerful,
Affordable 3-D Software That's Fun to Learn & Easy to Use").
Until now, 3-D design software has been too expensive, inflexible and
difficult to use, typically requiring several months of training and
hands-on experience for designers to become productive. With "The Monkey
Wrench Conspiracy" game- based learning software, designers see results in
hours, becoming productive in a matter of days.
"This is a radically different, consumer-oriented approach to capturing the
imaginations of more than 3 million designers out there who are still
working in 2-D," says think3 Chairman and CEO Joe Costello. "We're removing
the barriers to 3-D learning in a powerful, yet playful way. Initial
reaction to `The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy' has been amazing; our partners
and customers are `blown away' by it. This is only the beginning for think3
in the area of entire series of thinkfast learning software from think3."
"Study after study has proven that the element of fun, when injected into
the learning process, results in students having a more powerful learning
experience," adds Marc Prensky president and chief creative officer of
Corporate Gameware(TM). "When students are really engaged, they can
assimilate and retain information better and more readily draw upon
newly-learned skills. think3's commitment to ease of learning is a powerful
differentiator for the company in the MCAD world - and the high tech
industry at large."
The new 3-D video game is included with every copy of think3's new Windows-
based software, thinkdesign(TM), which is used to design common, everyday
physical objects ranging from home appliances, children's safety products
and engine parts to boutique home accessories and custom luxury
automobiles. Intergalactic World of Intrigue & Mystery Makes 3-D Design
Pop!
"The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy" 3-D video game transports the player into an
intergalactic world where the evil "Dr. Monkey Wrench" has hijacked the
"Copernicus" space station. The player becomes a "secret agent" dispatched
to deep space to rescue the hijacked space station. To survive, he must
design everything he needs for the job, starting with a simple trigger for
his gun to "kill" his enemies. Along the way, there are space walks, plenty
of bad guys and booby traps. If a design is flawed, the player is
temporarily disabled.
In the course of playing the game, designers learn and use 3-D skills.
Throughout the game, they can easily view a series of instructions
explaining how to execute the appropriate design moves, or walk through a
help list of directives on the right side of the screen. In non-gaming
mode, they have the option to take a more traditional path to learning,
which still makes 3-D learning simpler and more engaging than ever before.
Future plans for "The Monkey Wrench Conspiracy" include a follow-on version
with additional levels of complexity, new 3-D tasks and translation into
multiple languages for broader usage worldwide.
About think3
think3(TM) is a privately-held upstart company that produces software for
designing common, everyday physical objects, ranging from home appliances,
children's safety products and engine parts to boutique home accessories
and custom cars, to name a few.
Under the direction of Chairman and CEO Joe Costello, think3 is taking a
consumer marketing approach to establishing brand recognition for its 3-D
design software and making it easy to use and entertaining to learn. The
company is also leveraging the power of the Internet in all aspects of its
business, ranging from customer care, VAR partner programs and e-commerce
to sponsorship of http//:www.3zone.com, a Yahoo-like Internet service for
mechanical designers.
With think3, customers get the power of high-end 3-D mechanical design
software packages from Dassault Systems (NASDAQ: DASTY), Parametric
Technology Corp. (NASDAQ:PMTC) and Structural Dynamics Research Corp.
(NASDAQ: SDRC) at a fraction of the price - and at an even lower cost than
traditional low-end 2-D packages such as AutoCAD from Autodesk
(NASDAQ:ADSK).
think3 products are sold through a growing worldwide network of
distributors and VARs. Among the company's top customers are Alessi, Buell
Motorcycles (a division of Harley-Davidson), Candy/Hoover, Dinan, Mercedes
and Peugeot Citreon Automobile (PCA). think3 is headquartered in Santa
Clara, Calif., with engineering centered in Bologna, Italy. For more
information about think3, visit the company's new web site at
http://www.thinkthree.com. For more MCAD industry information, check out
http://www.3zone.com, sponsored by think3.
Note To Editors: think3, thinkdesign, thinkfast, thinkcare and 3zone are
trademarks of think3. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
-0- eb/sf*
CONTACT: think3 Lisa Washington, 408/987-6808
lisa.washington@thinkthree.com or
The Hoffman Agency Shelly Greenhalgh, 408/975-3039
408/218-0425 (Cellular Phone)
sgreenhalgh@hoffman.com
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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