Hey guys -- my name's Gavin Purcell and I worked on this game with Jimmy.
Jimmy was very involved from the beginning. He and I came up with the concept for the game WAY too long ago and then worked with a very small core team (one developer and couple artists -- with lots of other help along the way) to make the game.
The game is produced under the name Sparklefarmer which is a tiny app/game production company that Jimmy & I started a while back.
We wanted this game to be simple but fun and maybe a little addicting. I was of the opinion that mobile games had been getting a little too complicated and too fancied up with 3d and wanted something that felt like those early iPhone game experiences. The first thing we came up with was the swipe to switch mechanic and I think that's the one that's truly vital to the game. It might feel a little weird at first but we worked really hard on getting that one thing right.
Anyways, thanks for submitting to Product Hunt and I'll answer any other questions people have here!
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Hunter
@gavinpurcell exactly the background info I was looking for. Very cool!
I complained about the swiping when really it's not the interaction itself, but the lack of explanation. Maybe I skipped the walk through? Do green tracks bounce you back? I've been playing it more and I'm starting to figure it out but some more up front info would be helpful.
@bradenhamm yeah, the walkthrough explains all that but the green tracks are there at the beginning to make sure you see what the safest path is. They bounce you off and back onto a different road.
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Hunter
@gavinpurcell I was getting bounced back and forth between 2 green tracks and I was like, "WHAT IS GOING ON?!"
I didn't know you and @jimmyfallon started a game studio, @gavinpurcell. Very cool. I had ambitions to create my own games as a kid. The furthest I got was to build a 3D room using Valve's Hammer Editor. It was glorious.
We're seeing more celebrities make games, some of which have blown up to rival revenues from their career in the media/entertainment business (Kim Kardashian's game being one of the more prominent, recent examples). What's your goal with Tedzy and are you planning to make more of these games?
Thanks @rrhoover!
We're not sure where we're going to go with this yet -- now that we've released this game we're looking at how to support it going forward. And then maybe something else?
The cool thing is that Jimmy loves games and always has. In fact, the biggest news around the office today is the release of the new Mario Kart tracks. 200cc is going to be mind blowing.
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@rrhoover@gavinpurcell Gavin, I have some experience launching and marketing gaming companies and am based in NYC. Very cool stuff here. Would love to chat some more if interested. andrew.k.rosenberg@gmail.com
Another example of how apps and games are becoming media. Downloading now. 🐻
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Hunter
It's interesting to see Jimmy working on apps like this. I'm really curious to know what level of involvement he actually had. His idea, or did he invest?
I like the "elasticity" it seems to have towards the center so it's hard to just fall of the edge, but the swiping to left or right to move to another track seems counter intuitive.
Fun game for a commute.
Right now the most interesting thing about this app is that Jimmy Fallon's name is connected to it.
Considering the endless runner genre and simple creative structure, my feedback would be to lean on Jimmy Fallon's creative talent and make the game hilarious.
Adult Swim has done a great job making parodies of game mechanic tropes and mobile genres with their games. What they lack in game design innovation they make up for with good writing and great creative.
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This game definitely feels very @jimmyfallon haha wouldn't be surprised if that was his voice being Tedzy.
Bonk!
Bonk!
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Bonk!
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theSkimm 2.0
Jason and Tyler 100mph Podcast - Episode 1