The Beano's Dennis, Gnasher and Walter Join Minecraft

The Beano's Dennis, Gnasher and Walter join Minecraft By Emily Thomas Newsbeat reporter

Minecraft players must keep an eye out for "softy" Walter and his stinky pants.

Walter, Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher, from The Beano, can now be added to PC versions of the game.

Players can create the sausage for Gnasher and play with all of Dennis his most effective pranks, including catapults and stink bombs.

It's part of the Beano's larger plans to expand into digital media and its game has been born out of a partnership between the cartoon and Frima Studios, a Canadian multiplatform game developer.

Mark Cotton, who is leading the Beano's digital changes Mark Cotton, who is leading the Beano's digital changes, said to Newsbeat: "If you talk to any 7 to 11-year-old child, Minecraft is pretty much their biggest passion and love."

Mark says that the game is an extension of the comic and a way of making The Beano "a more holistic experience" for children.

He states that 32,000 comics are sold each week of the Beano which is a healthy number.

It's still much lower than the two million copies sold at the height of the magazines.

Mark says, "We are very conscious that today's children are passionate about technology."

"We must make The Beano a 360 brand which means that Dennis and Gnasher are everywhere children are, instead of expecting them to come to our store.

"So we're working on a number of initiatives in the next three to six months."

There are puzzle apps as well as interactive comics and an "action 3-D game for kids".

DC Thompson, The Beano's publisher, has already expanded the brand to include a TV show and a photo-sharing app along with YouTube channel.

Grand Theft Auto?

The comic has been around since 1938, and has a lot of adult fans. So might the Beano characters appear in any adult-oriented games? Dennis the Menace in Grand Theft Auto perhaps?
Teamextreme Minecraft Server

"No. Mark says, "No.

"We're focusing on the 7 to 11-year-old digital product at the moment, digital is about really engaging with kids and discovering their passions."

They've been working with a group of 10 Minecraft and Beano fans aged 7-11 throughout the development process.

Minnie the Minx?

"We basically asked kids"If you were to put Beano into Minecraft what do you think?'

"This was the beginning of what they had in mind. Their imaginations can go far beyond what we can do today.

"But they wanted Pranks They wanted Walter they wanted Gnasher, they wanted to dress up as Dennis and that's exactly the thing we've given them.

"We'll keep talking to them. Our goal is to expand this and to build Beanotown and let kids be creative.

"Minecraft is so popular because it gives children the ability to make decisions. If we try to restrict the kids and tell them what to do they'd reject it."

Are there any other characters who will get a look in?

Mark says, "We certainly want to extend it."

"The obvious character and the one the kids have been wanting is Minnie the Minx so we'd most likely take a look at next."