Slam Dunk Typing

Overview

Slam Dunk Typing is a sports-themed edutainment typing tutor developed by Mary Boies Software (with Learn Technologies) and published by Creative Wonders for the PC (running Windows) and Macintosh on June 1997.

The game uses seven basketball-themed minigames (known as "drills") to evaluate both typing speed and accuracy. It was developed with Macromedia Director 5 and uses animated renders of simple 3D models.

Minigames

All minigames (other than Sports Reporter) have 10 difficulty levels, 7 of which train on certain groups of letters.

• Passing Drill - Four basketball players are passing a ball to each-other as many times as they can within 1 minute, 30 seconds. Pressing the right letter passes the ball (and gives a point), while pressing the wrong letter takes away a point.

• Free Throw Drill - Players are attempting to make as many free throw shots as they can within 2 minutes. They must initiate each shot by beginning to type the word instructed, and have a limited amount of time to finish the word correctly before the shot is either successful (which grants a point) or failed.

• Slam Dunk Drill - Players are attempting to make as many high-scoring dunks as they can within 2 minutes. They have a limited amount of time to correctly type the phrase instructed and are judged based on how fast they type it (up to 10 points).

• Heads Up Drill - Giant basketballs are falling from the ceiling and destroying the court. Players have a limited amount of time to type the full word correctly on each basketball to destroy them (granting a point) with their lasers before they hit the court (damaging that part of the court). A blimp can be optionally destroyed in the same manner for bonus points. Once the court is fully destroyed, the game ends.

• Horse Drill - Players are attempting to make as many "trick" shots (which bounce off of multiple objects) as they can within 2 minutes. For each object they must bounce off of, they have a limited amount of time to type the word correctly (which grants a point).

• Game Time - Simulating an actual 3-on-3 basketball game (with four intervals of 1 minute, 30 seconds), players must maneuver their basketball player in an isometric perspective using their four dedicated movement keys and two dedicated passing keys (which passes the ball on Offense and changes the player character on Defense). On Offense, players shoot the ball in the same way as Free Throw Drill once they are close enough to the basket. On Defense, players can attempt to steal the ball (by obstructing the ball carrier) and can block shots by correctly typing the instructed word before it scores.

• Sports Reporter - Standard speed test, where players type articles describing actual basketball players. There are no difficulty levels, and players are judged on their Words Per Minute.