Animal magic on screen

Nov 19 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

TWO of the world's biggest technology players have invested in a groundbreaking video game created by a pair of fledgling North East developers.

Mobile technology giant Nokia and software specialist Adobe have backed a pioneering new game which can be moved seamlessly from a user’s mobile phone to their PCs and back again.

The game, Dr Foof’s Animentals, was created by Middlesbrough-based developer Fluid Pixel and Gateshead’s Foof Productions on the back of major funding from several parties. Between them, Nokia and Adobe have invested around £18,000 on the game, with additional £80,000 in funding coming from North East Finance, Business Link and Gateshead Council.

The game will initially be available to download online, but its creators are also hoping to turn its cast of characters and setting into a TV series.

Animentals is a twist on the ‘cyberpet’ genre of games in that its cast of pets live in a rehab centre for animals who have been driven mad after being abandoned by their owners. It is up to the game players to nurse them back to health, rehabilitate them and release them into a safe and suitable environment.

Teesside University spin-out Fluid Pixel specialises in developing games for mobile devices and one of its previous titles – KamiCrazy – was downloaded more than 500,000 times from iTunes earlier this year. The firm was set up in 2007 by Teesside University masters graduate Stuart Varrall.

Foof Productions, which focuses on games and animation, is currently planning a new title to be launched as an iPhone App called Pimp Da Chimp.

Company founder Andy Banks said the two firms had been able to fuse the latest technology to produce a game which broke new ground.

He said: “Using Flash Lite on mobile devices along with Flash on the web, we’ve been able to use the same assets across all platforms.

“We’ve also been able to squeeze in full-motion character animation into all versions of the game, including mobile devices.

“Gone are the rather pathetic-looking sprites usually used to depict pets on mobile devices – instead we’ve been able to build rich, expressive characters.”

Foof Productions approached Fluid Pixel last year with the concept for a new game, and shortly after, a partnership was born.

The two businesses are now planning to develop a full online virtual world called the Day Care Centre where players from across the globe can interact with each other in real time.