A.J.’s World of Discovery

Last updated: January 27, 2026

Overview

A.J.’s World of Discovery is an educational game for toddlers developed and published by Coktel Vision, released in 1991 for Atari ST and 1992 for DOS.¹²³⁴⁵ The game marks the debut of A.J. (known as Adibou in France), a lovable alien character who would become Coktel Vision’s most famous educational mascot, appearing in dozens of titles across three decades.¹⁶⁷⁸

Designed for children ages 4-7, the game offers a collection of mini-games and activities in colorful VGA graphics, similar in concept to The Treehouse but targeted at a younger audience.¹² A.J. serves as the player’s guide throughout, providing help with digitized speech that reviewers noted was “appropriate and never annoying.”¹

The game was developed by the original Adibou creative team: Roland Oskian (CEO of Coktel Vision and creator of the Adibou concept), Manuelle Mauger (content development), Arnaud Delrue (technical development), and Joseph Kluytmans (visual design).⁶

Game Info

Developer: Coktel Vision / MDO¹³ Publisher: Coktel Vision¹ Engine: Gob (ScummVM compatible)⁹ Platforms: DOS, Atari ST, Macintosh¹³ Release Year: 1991 (Atari ST), 1992 (DOS)²³ Series: Adibou⁶ Protagonist: A.J. / Adibou Sierra Lineage: Acquired Franchise

Story Summary

A.J.’s World of Discovery features A.J., an alien character who invites young players into his world of fun and learning.² While the game has no traditional narrative, A.J. accompanies players through various educational activities, providing assistance and encouragement throughout their exploration.¹ A.J.’s world is set on Celesta, which would become the recurring setting for later Adibou games.⁶

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

The game features a user-friendly point-and-click interface designed for very young children, with VGA graphics and intuitive controls.^12101112 Many hidden hotspots throughout the game trigger funny animations when clicked, encouraging exploration.¹ A.J. frequently breaks the fourth wall to assist and inform the player.⁶

Activities and Mini-Games

A.J.’s World of Discovery offers a diverse collection of activities:²⁹¹⁰

Creative Activities:

• Drawing Program: A surprisingly robust graphics program with color palette and paint tools for creating and saving pictures¹²
• Funny Face Maker: Design cartoon faces from different facial components or randomly generate faces²
• Sticker Book: Collect and arrange stickers²

Educational Games:

• Keyboard Typing: Learn to type using a keyboard interface²
• English Practice: Alphabet and reading/writing activities¹²
• Math/Logic Games: Educational mini-games teaching basic mathematics, with sweets as rewards for completion¹²⁹

Puzzles and Games:

• Jigsaw Puzzles: Piece together puzzles to unlock animated picture rewards²¹⁰
• Sliding Tile Puzzle: Classic tile-sliding puzzle mechanics¹
• Breakout Clone: Arkanoid-style ball and paddle game, which would become an iconic recurring feature in the series²⁹

Other Activities:

• Matchbox Car Races: Build custom tracks and race against another player or computer²¹⁰
• Garden Growing: Plant seeds and watch flowers grow over time, another iconic series feature²⁹

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Reviews of A.J.’s World of Discovery and its French counterpart Adibou were generally positive, with critics praising the educational content while noting room for improvement.

Critical Assessments:⁶

• Feibel: Noted that while educational, “there were better run and jump games available”
• Jeuxvideo: Called Adibou games “a good option for children but were too short”
• The Argus: “Praised the series for its music but criticised its ‘daft’ title”

The Home of the Underdogs review praised the game’s “vibrant graphics, user-friendly interface, and a number of fun activities,” calling it “one excellent package that toddlers are sure to enjoy.” The review noted that “more activities would have extended the program’s longevity” but still marked it as “Recommended.”¹

Modern Assessment

Aggregate Scores:

• MyAbandonware: 4.1/5 (29 votes)¹
• Glitchwave: 1.09/5.0 (4 ratings), ranked #618 for 1991¹³

The game has been preserved through abandonware archives and is now fully playable through ScummVM’s “Gob” engine, which supports all versions from the original 16-color floppy releases to the 1994 CD versions with enhanced graphics and sound.⁹¹⁴

Development

Origins

A.J.’s World of Discovery was the first title in what would become Coktel Vision’s most successful franchise.⁶ The game was created by a core team of four developers who would define the series:⁶

• Roland Oskian - CEO of Coktel Vision, conceived the Adibou character and coordinated development
• Manuelle Mauger - Managed content development
• Arnaud Delrue - Responsible for technical development
• Joseph Kluytmans - Responsible for visual quality

The games were specifically designed to be applicable within a classroom context.⁶

Production

Coktel Vision handled both development and publishing for A.J.’s World of Discovery.¹ The game was developed using the MDO system (the internal name for Coktel’s development team/tools).³ The game was designed specifically for very young children, filling a market gap for quality toddler-oriented educational software.¹

The French version was titled “Adibou - Accompagnement Scolaire 4-7 Ans,” with the name Adibou derived from the French acronym ADI meaning “Accompagnement Didacticiel Intelligent” (Intelligent Accompaniment Tutorial).³⁶

Technical Specifications

Atari ST Version:³

• Release: 1991
• Publisher: Coktel Vision
• Developer: MDO

DOS Version:¹

• Release: 1992
• Graphics: EGA (16-color) and VGA versions available
• Size: 4 MB (standard), 5 MB (EGA), 15 MB (VGA)
• DOSBox/ScummVM: Supported⁹

Macintosh Version:¹

• Size: 212 KB (Floppy Disk Image)

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
1.0	1991	Atari ST	Original French release as “Adibou”3
1.0	1992	DOS (EGA)	16-color floppy version19
1.0	1992	DOS (VGA)	Enhanced graphics version1
1.0	1992	Macintosh	Mac port1
CD	1994	DOS	CD version with richer graphics and sound9

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• A.J. was the precursor to Adibou, who became one of France’s most recognizable educational game characters⁶
• The French version’s name “Adibou” is derived from ADI (Accompagnement Didacticiel Intelligent)⁶
• In early floppy versions, A.J. spoke the same “strange gibberish” as characters in the Goblins series⁹
• Hidden hotspots throughout the game trigger silly animations¹
• Original releases included a promotion where children who completed their virtual sweets collection could mail a floppy disk to Coktel Vision for actual candy rewards⁹
• Coktel Vision would be acquired by Sierra On-Line in 1993¹⁵¹⁶
• Similar in concept to The Treehouse, but for younger audiences¹
• The series was divided into age categories: Adi (10-14), Adibou (4-7), and Adiboud’chou (18 months-3 years)⁶

Legacy

Series Context

A.J.’s World of Discovery represents the beginning of Coktel Vision’s Adibou educational franchise, which became extremely popular in France and other European markets.¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸ By 1997, the series had sold over 1.5 million copies.⁶

The series expanded beyond games into comic books, music, and a television series (Adiboo Adventure, 2009).⁶ Following various corporate changes, the IP rights eventually passed to Ubisoft, and in 2020, French company Wiloki (founded by Roland Oskian’s children) partnered with Ubisoft to revive the character with new titles in 2022.⁶

Adibou Series Timeline:

• Adibou (A.J.’s World of Discovery) (1991) - Series debut⁶
• Adiboo: Magical Playland (1996)⁶
• Adiboo: Discover series (2000)⁶
• Adibou & Le Secret de Paziral (2003)⁶
• Adibou et les Saisons Magiques (2009) - Wii⁶
• Adibou: La Chanson d’Adibou (2022) - Revival⁶

Critical Perspective

A.J.’s World of Discovery showcases Coktel Vision’s expertise in creating engaging educational content for children. The game established design patterns that would define the Adibou series for decades: patient character guidance, garden growing mechanics, Breakout-style games, and reward systems using virtual sweets.⁹

While overshadowed in North America by Sierra’s own EcoQuest and Dr. Brain series, A.J.’s World of Discovery and its Adibou successors became cultural touchstones in France, introducing a generation of French speakers to video games.⁶¹⁹²⁰

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Not currently available on digital storefronts

Preservation / Emulation

• Internet Archive - A.J.’s World of Discovery - Browser-playable DOS version¹⁴
• MyAbandonware - A.J.’s World of Discovery - DOS and Mac downloads¹
• Old-Games.com - DOS download with Easy Setup²
• BestOldGames.net - DOS download with online play¹⁰
• ScummVM - Full engine support since 2023⁹

References

Footnotes

1. MyAbandonware - A.J.’s World of Discovery - HOTUD review, user ratings, download sizes, version information, Adi connection ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷

2. Old-Games.com - A.J.’s World of Discovery - gameplay description, mini-game list, features ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Atari Legend - Adibou - Atari ST release 1991, developer MDO, series listing ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. MobyGames - A.J.’s World of Discovery - credits, release information, platform details ↩

5. IGDB - A.J.’s World of Discovery - 1991 release date, game database entry ↩

6. Wikipedia - Adibou - franchise history, creators (Oskian, Mauger, Delrue, Kluytmans), critical reception (Feibel, Jeuxvideo, The Argus), sales figures (1.5 million by 1997), Ubisoft/Wiloki revival ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴

7. Gobliiins Wikia - Coktel Vision - developer history, franchise context ↩

8. Adi and Adibou Fandom - series documentation, character information ↩

9. ScummVM - A New World of Discoveries (2023) - engine support, version compatibility, gameplay details, sweets collection, Goblins gibberish speech ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

10. BestOldGames.net - A.J.’s World of Discovery - detailed review, mini-game descriptions, release information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

11. LaunchBox Games Database - cover art, media information, release data ↩

12. GameFAQs - A.J.’s World of Discovery - user data, platform information ↩

13. Glitchwave - A.J.’s World of Discovery - user ratings (1.09/5.0), 1991 ranking (#618), platform releases ↩

14. Internet Archive - A.J.’s World of Discovery - preservation, emulation, platform availability ↩ ↩²

15. MobyGames - Coktel Vision - developer history, Sierra acquisition 1993 ↩

16. Sierra Help Wiki - Coktel Vision - Sierra acquisition details, game list ↩

17. Lemon Amiga - Adibou - Amiga version information, European release context ↩

18. Arcade Museum - Adibou - arcade and home versions context ↩

19. AdventureGamers - Coktel Vision Games - company profile, game catalog ↩

20. HardcoreGaming101 - Coktel Vision - detailed developer retrospective ↩