Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Tales of a vegetable matter


So, what do Madame Bovary, Rocky, The Mikado and King David's encounter with the Philistine Goliath in First Samuel have in common?

They are all suitable subject matter for the next game we are going to release, Game Wave VeggieTales.

If you aren’t familiar with VeggieTales, which means you are also not familiar with having kids, they were first introduced in 1993 becoming the first ever completely computer generated “cartoon” series ever made.

Since then, and 50-million copies later, VeggieTales has grown into a Saturday morning staple and a major family favorite especially appreciated by kids of wee variety.

It’s a perfect pairing for us, as our current suite of games has a decidedly older slant to it. We've been working on this for a while, trying to find the perfect licensing partner to address that hole in our library. Who knew kids could be so tough! And the moral VeggieTales stories are a perfect fit for our family first, last and always philosophy.

However, perhaps the biggest bonus is how hilarious it is seeing all of our guys up to their ears in Bob the Tomato and Archibald Asparagus animations. It’s hard not to giggle during the sometimes heated meetings discussing staying "true" to the character of Larry the Cucumber.

But that’s the nature of the gaming business. We’re taking play very seriously around here, especially since the folks who are going to be playing the thing will be our own kids.

We’re thrilled with this partnership with VeggieTales, and I hope you are as well.

More details to come of course but for now you'll have to make due with the official Press Release.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

What every dorm room needs

Got kids in higher education? I’m sure you are trying to convince yourself that the burgeoning scholars you just sent off to that psychotically expensive college are studying every waking minute they are there - and dreaming serious scholastic thoughts while asleep.

After all, that would be the only sensible thing to do, considering all that cash you just forked over.


But ummm…you probably went as well right? After my first day, I woke up the next morning with a lampshade on my head - and no idea how it got there.


Suffice it to say, things haven’t changed all that much when it comes to life at University.


Now, this may sound like a bit of a sales pitch, and in truth, it is. But I have to tell you about some of the feedback we’ve been getting from the college age crowd, and their Game Wave nights.


“We’re not nerds! Just had to say that up front, but I’d like to thank you guys, and my mom, for the Game Wave. We’ve been holding tournaments after class a couple of times a week, and everyone is going ape___ over the thing. We’re thinking of going to our house head and seeing if she can set up a college wide championship…”


Kids staying in dorm rooms to play educational games? It actually happens. So, if you’re thinking of dropping by the little Einstein to see how they are doing, why not bring along something that they will not only enjoy, but could also keep them out of the pub.


Well, not all the time.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Here's the promo we were too chicken to let fly

Last Christmas we wanted to make a splash in papers while all the Wii and PS3 frenzy was underway. Their consoles were dominating the press and we could hardly get a word in edgewise so the thinking was, we need to make some noise on our own.

This was the design for a flyer that was going to be released in major markets across North America at the height of the Christmas shopping season, but in the last minute, there was an internal mood swing and we collectively wussed out. (You can click on the image for a larger view)

Well, I have to admit, I didn't. I thought it was an awesome promo, but the powers that be ended kiaboshing the thing at the 11th hour.

I have no idea if it was a good decision or a bad decision, but I'd like to hear what you would have thought if you heard a gaming company suggest to you to "Beat Your Kids!"

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Too much chocolate


The thing about working at a games development company is that it is all fun and games - literally. We work on games. We think about games. We talk about games. At lunch, occasionally we even play games.

Sounds like fun, and it is. However there are times when it’s a little bit too much of a good thing. And one of those times is now.

Whenever a game is set for release, it has to go through an extensive quality and assurance regime so when you buy a copy of the thing, when you get it home you’ll be able to play it uninterrupted by crashes, glitches or booboo’s. I would bore you with the gory details of what all that entails, but it basically breaks down to these two simple rules:

Play the game.

A lot.

Now, I like playing Sudoku. I would even say on a Sunday morning watching Meet the Press with a Sudoku puzzle in front of me is one of my favorite weekly rituals.

But when you are involved in the QA process of a Sudoku game, like we all are presently, I suspect the guy who originally came up with the Sudoku game concept back in 1979, a feller named Howard Garns, would say, “No more! I beg you, just a little chess. Please!”

And it’s not just about those of us who work here at ZAPiT Games either. You should try living with us. We’re so busy doing on our own things during working hours, that the QA process tends to get shoved to home time. That means when a game is set for release, connubial bliss is strained to the max by almost endless playing of the game in an attempt to break it. No where in my wedding vows was, "for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for playing games eight hours a night, for seemingly weeks on end..."


And that heavy-duty call to game playing arms stretches to the extended family and friends as well.

Me: “Hey, you guys busy on Saturday night? How about a BBQ?”

So called friends: “Nice try. We know you have a new game coming out. We’re not going through that again!”

Slackers.

The plus side of course is, we will all end up being pretty much Sudoku gods when all this is over, and when you get your copy hopefully we’ll have caught everything.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get my wife Leslie out of the bathroom. For some reason she’s been in there for hours!