VALLEY WEEKEND : CD-ROMs Are Family Affair at This Company : Roaring Mouse produces children’s programs offering fun and learning, with help from the little ones in the producers’ families.

For David Miller and Bill Patterson, computer gaming is truly family entertainment. As the co-founders of Roaring Mouse Entertainment, the two Westlake Village men produce children’s CD-ROMs that draw on the talents of their families.

Patterson’s wife, an award-winning painter, creates the scenes. Miller’s wife writes the music. Miller’s oldest son is the lead programmer. And the brood of kids that run through Roaring Mouse’s small, informal office provide ideas, character voices and sharp criticism.

The company’s first two CD-ROMs, Ocean Explorers and Zoo Explorers, are a joy to play and offer something not found in many games--redeeming qualities. Make no mistake: These are games, but as fun as they are they also offer kids the chance to learn a little something.

And along the way, the children of the Miller and Patterson families are learning a little, too. Hunter Patterson, 7, for instance, provided the voices for many of the characters in Ocean Explorers.

“It’s fun,” Hunter said, demonstrating one of his favorite features of the game--a belching refrigerator. “It’s great.”

For Miller and Patterson--who got their start in movies and television--that kind of feedback from their kids and their friends is critical to making games that appeal to the under-10 crowd. On the main Ocean Explorers screen, for instance, children were invited in so Miller and Patterson could see which item they clicked on first.

Over and over, the kids were invited back to test different games on the CD-ROMs, which pack in dozens of different screens and activities. So many, in fact, that Sarah Miller and Charlotte Patterson, both 5, rarely tire of Zoo Explorers--even though they’ve followed its creation from the beginning.

On a recent Saturday morning, they played the same hide-and-seek game again and again. Finally, they clicked over to a jokes section, where they laughed outrageously over some pretty bad jokes.

For Mason Miller, 24, it’s that kind of response that makes programming children’s games exciting. A hacker since he was 9, Mason Miller is the company’s lead programmer and said children’s games allow more flexibility than games designed for adults, which tend to take themselves far too seriously.

But for younger brother Jordan, 9, who provided the voice of Zoo Explorers mascot, Splash, the whole video game business is getting boring. He has no plans to stay in the family business any longer than he has to.

His plans: pro basketball.

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