Zoop To The Future! 1st Official Gameplay Footage + Live Action Intro From Us (The Creators!)
by Joey Rodriguez - 10/28/2011

It's what you've been waiting for, like the salavating dogs that you are! Check out the very first gameplay video of "Zoop To The Future!"

As a special bonus treat, Danny and I filmed a live action intro to give you a little background before jumping right into the video. Zoop To The Future! is a new point-n-click adventure game staring myself, Joey, my brother Danny, and our best friend, an adorable, blobby ghost named Prickley Pete (who loves marshmallows)! Control all three of us as you solve puzzles across 20 different time periods, interacting with over 300 unique characters using over 300 different items. Solve complex puzzles across multiple time periods, use your mind, your head, AND your brain to solve logic puzzles, and use your quick thinking to outwit action puzzles, where split second decisions could mean that dinosuar you're riding has to jump over a baby duck!

Zoop To The Future! Official Update #2
by Joey Rodriguez - 08/01/2011

We continued to work on the script, improving character models, and building our new engine (more info on that later) over the last week. Here is a transformation we thought you'd enjoy:

Zoop To The Future! Official Update #3
by Joey Rodriguez - 08/08/2011

2 Year Anniversary! - On August 8th, 2009, the very first episode of The Somewhat Comical Adventures of Prickley Pete! premiered. Two years ago! That's nuts. It's been about a year and half since the Season 1 (Or Cycle 1 as we annoyingly like to call it) finale and hopefully Prickley Pete's non-playable adventures will continue with the release of Zoop To The Future!.

In honor of the two year anniversary, please watch an episode (or two or fourteen and a half): http://www.thesomewhatcomicaladventuresofprickleypete.com/episodes.html.

Proove It! - Our Proof of Concept/Beta "thing" continues to move switfly. Background characters now have thier own idle animations, you can start conversations and choose branching dialogue, even try to drink that bubbly sarsparilla (don't worry, Prickley Pete wouldn't even pick it up with his stubby arms). Character and inventory design is still chugging along as we have added almost 30 new characters. The script and puzzles get better and better everyday. Our toughest time period is in the works in which you will have to control Joey, Danny, and Prickley Pete seperately in three different time periods, where what you do in the past has a dramatic (but funny) impact on the future.

They're All Sticky! - We got our test stickers from Zazzle this week, they actually came out pretty good considering that cost us a whopping $1.05 to produce. As special treat we are giving away one free sticker (choose from Bristley Billy, Spikey Sara, or Prickleysaurus Rex) as well as one mini-sticker featuring Prickley Pete. Simply send your name and address to merch@zooptothefuture.com and we will send you a sticker(s) free of charge! Supplies are super-limited, so you'll probably get the one you want as nobody even visits this site anymore, right?

Spikey Sara Treats! - If you eat them, you will die! (For Ghosts Only)

Zoop To The Future! Official Update #2
by Joey Rodriguez - 08/01/2011

We continued to work on the script, improving character models, and building our new engine (more info on that later) over the last week. Here is a transformation we thought you'd enjoy:

Zoop To The Future! Official Update #1
by Joey Rodriguez - 07/25/2011

It's been two weeks into the OFFICIAL start of Zoop To The Future!, the others were like running starts where Prickley Pete has to get up to full speed before he can actually be super cute. We've gotten a lot done including redrawing over 110 of the 250+ characters that are going to appear in the game (remember, that's characters you can talk to and interact with, it doesn't even count background nonsense characters!). Every Monday will be our official update day (starting today) with bits and pieces of news that we think you'd like to know about (or not know...okay).

Vector Graphics - Back when the game was up and running in August of 2010, we were using bitmap images which could be exporting at basically any size and quality but when translated from a JPG or PNG, no matter how small the file size was to begin with, the resulting bitmap image would be several, if not ten, times bigger. basically leading us to calculate the finished size of the game would probably be at least 3 - 5 GB for art alone. This, coupled with the tons of sounds files (voice, sound effects, and music), meant the game could balloon to over 10 GB (no, really!). But because of Danny's past work expierience in the "real" game industry, he's learned a few tricks, mainly that we can take Vector images from Flash and render them in the game as Vector images. This means that no matter how far you zoomed in on the image, the quality would still remain 100% clear. And unlike JPGs and PNGs, we would have to output only one file and we could zoom in for close-ups during conversations and cutscenes and not have to worry about the quality dipping or having one scene have multiple images all at different qualities. This approach allows us to fit tons of images into the game with very little space needed, meaning the game can be longer and more detailed.

Action Puzzles - The script continues to be added onto almost everyday. Not only have we gone through almost all the script, but nothing that was previously written has been changed, only added on to! When finished, the script should be over 1000 pages long (and that doesn't even include context menu responses for the environment and your inventory). We're trying to include as many puzzle types as possible in the game: dialogue puzzles, inventory puzzles, POV puzzles, and even (what we like to call) action puzzles. Action puzzles are basically scenes in the game where action is happening on screen and you can use certain phrases to impact the gameplay. For instance, one puzzle involves a Minotaur fighting atop the buildings of Ancient Greece against a wiley thief. As Prickley Pete you must shout out commands to the Minotaur (who isn't so confident in his fighting abilities) in order to defeat the thief. You tell him when to strike, block and kill through dialogue choices (most of them hilarious...well). Each action puzzle ramps up the difficulty and the ridiculousness, but we don't ram them down your throat like other games (we could, but Prickley Pete isn't mean).

Logos - Lastly, our new logo has gone through a little change, making it a little more "update-ey". Click on the image below to embiggen.

Zoop To The Future! Mega Updates + Prickley Pete's First Book Appearance!
by Joey Rodriguez - 05/02/2011

Yes, we are still hard at work on Zoop To The Future! and I thought that you could use an update or five.

1. We are currently working on the level design and below is a sneak peak at just one of the over 80+ backgrounds that will be featured in the game. This one is the Waiting Room of Dr. Richard "Dick Chumpy" Bebebe Bebeerbutts, Ph. D's Office.

2. The Zoop To The Future! script continues to grow everday, it is already up to 800 pages with no signs of stopping! We are making sure that for the $5 price tag you will be getting over 40 hours of playtime and laughs (...maybe).

3. Prickley Pete will make his first appearance in a book (in a non-speaking, T-Shirt role) starting Summer 2011 in a children's book that I illustrated. The book is called A Reel Cool Summer and it is based on an experience I had with my siblings one boring, hot summer day. You can get the book starting this summer over at the publisher's official website: www.readtomepublishingllc.com. Prickley Pete, Joey, and Danny will also be making their own book childrens debut (in speaking roles of course) in a brand new Prickley Pete adventure just for kids (and adults too, can't forget about them, they are the only ones who can actually read these things!). The book will be about Prickley Pete getting stuck overnight at the mall and the strange things that go on when the lights go out. It will feature the same hilarious style of the show and game and will come with an Audio CD featuring voices and sound effects so you can listen and follow along too!

4. For those of you (all one of you) who haven't been following us, we used to have donations accounts set up with various websites: Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, 8BitFunding, etc., but we decided that we would make Zoop To The Future! without funding from others and we would put up the minimal budget ourselves. We didn't think it was fair to take people's money, even though they would get items in return for said money, when we could do it ourselves. Crowd funding is a nice idea, but it felt like stealing, really, and we didn't want to steal from the people who wanted us to succeed. Any money donated, was returned to the donor and we published this message to let everyone know our decision behind making the game on our own:

"First off, don't worry! Zoop To The Future! is still going full speed ahead and it's getting more hilarious by the day, but unfortunately (or fortunately for your bank accounts) we have decided to cancel the funding here on Kickstater (as well as on 8 Bit Funding). We reached a point where we felt taking your money just wouldn't be appropriate. While we do need about $2,000 to complete the project, these expenses are basically for the licenses to the programs we are using so that we can legally sell the game without someone complaining. Realistically we don't need those licenses until .01 seconds before the game actually goes on sale. Until then we can continue to use the versions we have. "The goal of using Kickstarter was more than to get money, it was to get a few people excited who may have spread the word or at least kept the game on their radar, and we've accomplished that, more than I thought we would actually. But despite starting Zoop To The Future! over 5 times here on Kickstarter, and not to mention the countless other projects we've started, we've never appeared on the front page, nor have we been interviewed by Kickstarter as they constantly do with almost every project under the sun. We just came to the conclusion that the types of projects that are on Kickstarter are not the type of project we're creating. We don't claim to be creating art nor do we claim to be better than anything that came before us, and that seems to be the attitude here on Kickstarter (not all projects, but most that seem to get hundreds of thousands of dollars). We give it our all and never sacrifice or dumb it down or try to copy every single game that came before us. We are in our own little world and whether people will latch on to that world and think it's funny, that'll have to wait until the game is released. We hope they do...they better! "So, really, we just felt guilty taking your money. Our goal is to release a 40+ hour game for less than $5, in order to do that we really shouldn't ask anyone for more than that, and even that just seems awkward. We'd like to EARN your $5 with the finished game. It makes the countless hours of work we've already put in and will continue to put in to Zoop To The Future! WAY more satisfying than being handed the tools to complete it. "As a thank you to everyone who pledged you will still be getting a free copy of the game, and we will be sending you a Prickley Pete doll as well as some stickers and other cool merch we had already printed up. When you get a chance you can send me a message here on Kickster with your full name and mailing address and we will send your cool stuff out for no charge. "Thanks for supporting Prickley Pete and his time traveling adventure! We will continue to use this Kickstarter page to update you will all the new art and new game play videos that are coming soon. We hope everyone continues to follow us up until release time. Thanks again! Zoop!"

5. Also, for those who don't know, we are planning, and have partly scripted, to have over 8 expansion packs to Zoop To The Future! that will bring totally new adventures that add onto the main story and branch off as their own separate entities. The expansion packs will be priced at about $2 or $3 and will feature 15 - 20 hours of new puzzles, time periods, characters, and hilarious dialogue. The first expansion, "Untitled Zoop To The Future! Expansion Pack 01" (as it's known), will be a direct sequel to the main game kicking off where Zoop To The Future! ends. So if you have both, the game continues without skipping a beat. If you don't then you have to watch the 47 minute long credit sequence which features non-stop text and super-words (bigger words). We are hoping to release the expanion day and date with the main game or hopefully very soon after so you can guide Prickley Pete through the...well I don't want to give it away...or do I?

...

...

...

No.

Zoop!

6. For those of you who are itching to get a piece of Prickley Pete merchandise, we have opened up a shop over at Cafe Press (you can now use the MERCH link at the top of the page as well). Right now you can get a Prickley Pete Throw Pillow and that's about it. We are working on adding new items little by little. If you'd like a Prickley Pete Plush Doll, you can get your fill over at the official store on The Somewhat Comical Adventures of Prickley Pete! website.

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New Ways To Donate + A Sneak Peek At The Zoop To The Future! Script!
by Joey Rodriguez - 01/28/2011



If you're skeptical that Kickstarter is going to empty your bank account of all of your precious $4.39 then head over to 8 Bit Funding. It's kind of like Kickstarter but they use PayPal instead of Amazon payments and they fundraise specifically for games (not of that artsy stuff that Prickley Pete hates!). So if you've got a little extra cash in your PayPal account (all it takes is $5 to get a copy of the finished game) why not put it to good use and fuel Prickley Pete adventures through time?

As a special treat, if you donate (even just $1) to us on Kickstarter or 8 Bit Funding, then you will get a 10 page sneak peek at the Zoop To The Future! script! As soon as you donate you will be able to read about Prickley Pete's encounter with a prehistoric ancestor!

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The 2nd Annual Zoop To The Future! We're Too Lazy To Write Our Own Songs Contest Extravaganza and Fun Time Foodrinkery!!
by Joey Rodriguez - 12/02/2010



That's right! You could have your own original music included in the finished game! Interested? Check out the official entry page for all the details and prizes!

www.zooptothefuture/lazysongcontest

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Zoop to the Future: Design Decisions #1
by Joey Rodriguez - 11/04/2010



When we started designing Zoop to the Future, we made the decision that the game should be completely playable with only the mouse. Forcing keyboard interaction in something as simple and slowly-paced as an adventure game is just making things too complicated. We are still planning on having keyboard shortcuts for the people who like them, but we feel that they shouldn't be forced on the player. So we started playing old adventure games for inspiration. After playing through The Curse of Monkey Island, Sam and Max Hit the Road, The Secret of Monkey Island, part of Full Throttle,and parts of Day of the Tentacle, we came to a few conclusions:

1. Having verbs for every action is frustrating. When the player is stumped he/she will just try every action on every item.
2. Manually cycling through actions (Sam and Max) is even more frustrating, especially when you miss the action you want by 1 click and have to cycle all the way back through.
3. The "boot" is the most useful action in Full Throttle.
4. Holding down the mouse button to get to the actions takes way too long.

So with that, we started to design our own system. In The Curse of Monkey Island, when you want to interact with an object you move your mouse over the object, and click-and-hold the left mouse button until the interaction menu comes up. It doesn't seem too bad. The actions are easy to identify, and the menu fits the theme of the game. The problem comes when you try to speed up your play. What we kept finding was that not only would we get frustrated that the menu didn't open up faster, but that on top of that we would easily miss the action we were trying to use.



We would often find that we would easily go past the action we wanted (whether it was too far left/right, or too high), and click. Causing the menu to disappear. Then we would have to go through the click-and-hold procedure again, then slow ourselves down and make sure that we could hit the right action.

We knew now that we needed to make the menu faster, we needed to make the user more accurate, and we wanted a default action for quick access. But depending on how our menu looked, the controls would be different. So we set out to design the menu. Since we were originally going to make the game for Xbox Live Indie Games, we wanted it to be easy to use with a game pad. So the first few iterations were circular (Everybody loves radial menus!), but we eventually decided that it would be too awkward with a mouse. So we had to simplify it. Eventually we settled on our current design:



So here's how it works. To bypass the click-and-hold, the menu is bound to the right mouse button, but it will only show up when your mouse is over an object that you can interact with. When the menu comes up the mouse cursor will disappear and the context menu will track left/right mouse movements. As soon as it opens, the eyeball will already be selected. This way if you need to look at an object, a quick right-left click will perform the "look at. To get to either the Hand or the Mouth, its as simple as a flick of the wrist. The movement will be capped at the ends so that if you travel too far to the side, you won't have to travel all the way back to get to the center. It's all still within a reasonable range. And most importantly: Once you've entered the context menu you can't miss an action. To exit the menu you have to either left-click to choose the action, or simply right-click to do nothing and close the menu.

As of last week, the menu was implemented in the game so we could test it. It needs a little tweaking though, such as the distance to the ends. It should be easy to access the ends quickly, but it also needs to be easy to get back to the center without over-shooting it and ending up on the opposite side. We'll also need to start putting in some real puzzles to put it to the test before going back and making major changes, but we're very happy with how it's turned out.

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Check Out The New Gameplay Screenshots at Indie Gaming News
by Joey Rodriguez - 10/26/2010

If you're interested in some new Zoop To The Future! gamplay screenshots and some new art, head over to the Indie Gaming News website and check them out!

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Zoop To The Future! - Trailer #1: W....w-w....what?
by Joey Rodriguez - 10/24/2010

You know those trailers where they just flash a bunch of stuff at random and don't really tell you anything about what the product actually is. Well this is one of them! Enter the mysterious world of...whatever...Enjoy!

Don't forget to donate to Zoop To The Future!. You get awesome stuff in return, like free copies of the game, free Prickley Pete plush dolls, T-Shirts, music, and more! You can now donate two different ways, by visiting our Kickstarter page and pledging an amount and if we meet our goal you pay, if we don't meet our goal, nobody pays. Or, you can visit the new website GoFundMe and donate by using PayPal!

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Welcome To The Official Site of "Zoop To The Future!"
by Joey Rodriguez - 10/15/2010

Now that Zoop To The Future! is getting off the ground, it's time to dedicate a little web space to Prickley Pete's brand new adventure!

You'll be able to check out all the latest news and gameplay footage as well as watch all 14 1/2 episodes of The Somewhat Comical Adventures of Prickley Pete! the show that Zoop To The Future! is based on. Once the game is released you'll be able to purchase it here as well!

We are currently fundraising right now in order to fuel the various development costs for Zoop To The Future!, if you are interested in donating or would like more info, head over to our official fundraising page on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/gxu50s

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Zoop To The Future! A Somewhat Comical Point-N-Click Adventure
by Joey Rodriguez - 10/15/2010



Zoop To The Future! is going to be our first big game and we thought we should share a little info about it.

The game will be a point-n-click adventure in the style of The Curse of Monkey Island, Sam & Max: Hit The Road, and Day of the Tentacle. You will be able to control all three main characters (Joey, Danny, and Prickley Pete) at once and you will be able to use them independently to solve puzzles from across the room and across the space time contiuum!

After getting a mysterious letter from the past, Prickley Pete soon learns that his family timeline is in danger of being altered and he could possibly lose his "Zoop!" forever! Oh, and maybe he wouldn't exist...or something. Prickley Pete and his two best friends, Joey and Danny, must jump into action in order to fix time!

Featuring wacky characters, hilarious dialogue, and some mind-bending puzzles, Zoop To The Future! will be released for PC, Mac, Linux, and iPad.

For more info, check out our fundraising page on Kickstarter: http://kck.st/gxu50s