Cyber Grannies is an Edutainment Game by Kutoka Interactive, released for Windows in 1997 - two years before they would hit it big with the development of Mia's Big Adventure Collection. The game is primarily meant to teach kids the alphabet. The mascot character, Atoz the kangaroo, introduces the player to 26 different grannies, each with a name and occupation starting with a certain letter of the alphabet. The player can choose one of the letters of the alphabet, taking them to that granny's workplace. From there, the player can learn words that start with that letter, and also play minigames.
The game features 3D graphics and full voice acting.
That's why we call them Troper Grannies:
- Expository Theme Tune: The game opens with a song
by Atoz and a sentient airplane explaining that the grannies are called Cyber Grannies because they live in a computer. The song also promises words to learn and games to play. - Medium Awareness: Downplayed. The opening song makes it clear that, at the very least, Atoz knows that the grannies live "inside a machine," and that's why they're called Cyber Grannies. However, Atoz doesn't make it clear that the grannies are specifically in a computer game, or that Atoz themself knows that they're in the game too.
- Older Than They Look: Despite being called "grannies," many of the titular Cyber Grannies don't look or sound that old. They don't have any wrinkles, and most don't even have gray or white hair.
- Only Six Faces: All 26 grannies have the same, gourd-shaped head. They do have different hairstyles, and in some cases, different skin tones, but their faces are all still basically identical.
- Our Angels Are Different: Annie Granny has a painting of an angel in her studio. It's the stereotypical white-robed guy with a halo and wings. The game offers a very neutral, secular definition of "angel":"Angels are beautiful characters with wings. You can see them in many works of art. Some people believe they are good spirits."
- Punny Name: The host character is a kangaroo named Atoz. This pun depends less on the name's pronunciation (AY-tozz) and more on its spelling - A to Z.
