Saturday, February 11, 2012

cafe murder



Cafe Murder??? Yep. A couple of guys in Athens, Georgia, are responsible for this new manga-influenced computer game. I may have a nephew or two interested in this and I'm pretty sure Sam Johnson would have liked it, too.
Why did fliss get involved? Well, the project involves home-grown talent. I find myself actively seeking local, i.e., specifically Georgia-based, unique ideas. Admittedly, my rationale is fairly selfish: I want to be able to interact in person with these creative folk, should the situation allow. Meeting them face to face is a bit difficult - and expensive - if their film or play or book or art is halfway across the continent.
The comic factor caught my fancy, too. These guys call their group "Beaver Toad Software". Seriously.
But perhaps the brightness of the characters and the artwork of this game were the true attraction. I want to know more about this brother and sister team, carrying on the work at their deceased father's deli. The brother (Stabby Grizzle) is a bit unstable, we learn, and the sister (Rainy Grizzle) has to run interference between him and the customers whilst using a bazooka to assemble the tasty sandwiches. That's right - she makes the meals with a BAZOOKA. THAT alone is a novel idea!
The thirteen customers each have their own back story and include a food critic, a celebrity, a picky old lady, and a fellow named Pincushion. Rainy is tasked with having to try to please the customers for her tips - while keeping Stabby from having his way with them. I think it's going to be great fun!
Apparently, I'm not the only one. The guys have used a format which will allow the game to play on iPhones, which should be a big boost for recognition of their company. Beta testing was to occur last night at FourAthens. Here's to much success!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Update #33
Mar 13, 2012
Long Time No Update

Howdy everybody!

The fated day has come…. We are officially out of Kickstarter funds. But we have made huge progress on Cafe Murder, thanks to all of you! It has lit up the faces of many Beta testers and gotten many compliments.

What we have so far is the basic gameplay - running around catching ingredients and preventing stabbings- honed pretty well. Next we just have to divide it up into difficulty levels, with menus and whatnot.

A big new Beta should be coming out soon, with a helpful tutorial mode to explain what's going on. Send me your UDID if you haven't already. If you have, expect an email with a link to the new Beta soon.

The only catch is that our rate of progress may slightly slow down now, since we'll have to focus a little on some extra money-making ventures on the side, but Cafe Murder is almost there and we won't stop till it is!

To celebrate, here are our three amazing Kickstarter backers who chose to become characters in the game as their reward. Their names are Granny Grizzle, Louie Grizzle, and Thomas Grizzle. Behold!

Zack

Anonymous said...

Update #42
Oct 18, 2012
IGF Entry, Trailer, Tutorial

We entered the Independent Games Festival just before the deadline last night.

Made trailer and tutorial videos for it. The trailer is below; see tutorial here (file is too big to upload): https://vimeo.com/51645949

The game is starting to resemble a game. A very fun one. Gameplay is divided into days, and customers, if satisfied, can be raised from zero to four hearts, each according to their personality.

Personally I love playing it. I hope all the beta testers do, too. And someday paying customers. Thanks for making it possible.

いつもありがとうございます。ザックです。

昨日インディペンデント・ゲーム・フェスティバルにCafe Murderを投稿しました。そのためにCMとチュートリアルを作ってみましたので、是非見ていただきたいと思います。CMは下で、チュートリアルはこちら:https://vimeo.com/51645949