game developers

Who are you and what do you do in the video game industry?

My name is Alex Bortoluzzi, and I’m the CEO of Xoobis. We’re an indie outfit focusing on iOS and Android games.

How did you get your start developing video games?

I owned a motion graphics company in Brazil for several years when, tired of making flying logos, I decided it made more sense to pursue my true passion – making games. I’ve met an art director online that liked my portfolio, got hired and moved to L.A. in 1997. Since then I’ve worked on more than 12 games, most of them big-budget, AAA franchises like Spider-Man, Call of Duty, James Bond and Transformers.

What are you currently working on or just released?

We are working on Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time!  a sequel to the original Zombie Wonderland on iOS. Both games are published by Chillingo.

Where did you come up with the idea for Zombie Wonderland?

I’ve played a ton of zombie games in my youth and as an adult and they mostly stick to the same script, relying on the same weapon types and zombies. Things like flamethrowers, rocket launchers, shotguns and the same zombies looking for their next fix. We decided to go in a different direction. A place where zombies are mostly a nuisance because they come to your place and dirty up the carpet. Chuck, our hero, is a mix between a loudmouth exterminator and the cleaner from Pulp Fiction – Harvey Keitel’s “The Wolf” — but with a heavy dose of OCD. Besides, I’ve always been intrigued by how people make a huge mess on zombie movies but nobody offers to clean it up!

Chuck seems like a cool dude, but where did his obsession with cleanliness come from?

Well, we always put a bit of ourselves in the game. I’m a bit of a neat freak, I like my stuff and my house organized and clean. Nothing too crazy, just enough. Like making sure the toilet paper roll always unrolls forward and not backwards. Ah, and that the glasses make neat rows in the cupboard. Organized by type and size – of course! And the shirts are organized by color in the closet. Ok, better stop now :)

I see that Zombie Wonderland is being published by Chillingo (a division of Electronic Arts), how has that process been and is there anything you would change?

Working with Chillingo has been great. They really get mobile games; they have years of experience in mobile now, and their lineup speaks for itself. We are very happy to partner with Chillingo for the upcoming iOS version of Zombie Wonderland 2, as they really helped us make Zombie Wonderland a superior gaming experience.

How has the move from an established development studio to independent developer been? What has been the biggest challenge? 

I come from a world where 130+ people teams are trivial, including multimillion dollar budgets, high-profile licenses and a lot of different people working on specific systems. Scaling down to a single person team for Zombie Wonderland, working exclusively with external developers and contractors, it really gave me a good understanding of the big picture. Now that Xoobis has five people working on site, plus three coders as external contractors for Zombie Wonderland 2, the experience of going full indie has rewarded us with a lot of knowledge and insight on what it takes to build a team. We cherish the opportunity of working on our own IPs, and all the joys and headaches that it brings too. At the end of the day, no matter how crazy it is, we are the ones choosing colors for the eyes of the zombies, and that is awesome.

I see you have a lite version of Zombie Wonderland, would you say that has help or hurt your game and why?

Our Lite version came out a bit too late for its own good. We are busy pushing Zombie Wonderland 2 to be a proper sequel (unlike some of the “fake” sequels common in mobile gaming), so we couldn’t spend too much time on the Lite version. We are proud of it, though: it includes a full level with all of the unique game mechanics of Zombie Wonderland intact.

Xoobis is definitely a unique company name, what does it mean and where did it come from?

We get asked that a lot, actually. Back when we were starting the company, we spent a couple days trying to find a name and domain — it was really hard to find something that was not already taken. So we made it up. It’s actually an anglicized version of a pet name my wife gave me. She created it, and it looked great as a URL too, so we went for it.

In the credits to Zombie Wonderland, there are quite a few names.  How many devs are on the team and how have you grown as a company?

The long list of names in the credits is to honor the many people that came forward to help us finish it. So many talented and loyal friends, and even complete strangers, from all walks of life, gave us so much, helped us in so many ways that was impossible not to recognize them in the credits.

The game was mostly done by me, and a coder in Canada, Matt Jewkes from Twisted Oak Games. I had a fantastic animator friend, Jim Zachary, donate his precious time during the holidays to create the animations. A couple good friends modeled or texture some of the assets. Another friend, Phil Donahue, did Chuck’s voice. Another one did the movie, and some others helped us with legal paperwork and documentation. All the rest was pretty much me and my wife. It was a grueling four months to get it all done, but we did it and we are very proud of it. It’s our baby :)

What are you working on currently, anything to share or will you tease us with something?

Zombie Wonderland 2: Outta Time!  is our new game, coming out before Halloween. It’s a big follow-up to the original game, with 10 levels, 25 zombies and even time travel! Instead of the two different weapons we had in the first one, now we can choose between super cool turret weapons, area weapons and special bullets for Betsy, Chuck’s beloved shotgun. And the weapons are crazy, wacky stuff. No flamethrowers and chainsaws in Chuck’s arsenal. We will have a giant zombie-eating carnivore plant, a wind-up explosive brain toy, and even a baby Death Worm borrowed from the famous iOS game. It’s going to be epic!

Anything else you wish to share with the readers of GamingBits?

Join Chuck this October and travel in time to ancient Egypt, medieval Japan, a haunted castle and even a Viking village (!), along with frantic action in lovely Niceville, shooting cute zombies along the way for fun and profit. Because there is nothing more annoying than cute zombies!

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Thanks to Luis from Novy PR and Alex Bortoluzzi, CEO of Xoobis for making this interview possible!

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