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[Malte Burup]

-an interactive storybook.

OUT NOW! GET IT HERE:

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1110844741

WATCH THE TRAILER:

ABOUT:

An adventurous tale of friendship and crazy robots.

Explore the magical forest planet together with Sofus, the little gnorf.
Build a spaceship and help Sofus on his dangerous journey to the Moonmachine.
Escape the prison of the robot king and survive the Rusty Sea.
Find your way through the pipe labyrinth together with the one-wheeled robot Zum-Zum.
Repair the heart of the Moonmachine so daylight will shine once more.


An interactive storybook for kids between 4-8 years of age.

    Interactive illustrations
    Fully animated characters
    100+ verses with rhymes, narrated by Catty Donnelly
    Unique music and sound effects in every scene.
    Three adventurous chapters containing 19 scenes

Development blog:
http://www.themoonmachine.blogspot.dk/p/chapters.html

[ephoete]

So witty I love it, truly. Too bad there's no English translation so far though but that forces us to trigger our imagination to figure out what it's all about.

[Malte Burup]

Hey Ephoete

Don't worry, the English version will be out shortly after the Danish version.
I am planning to test it in Denmark, as I live here, before releasing it to an larger audience.

I have already made a translation, but I need a English language specialist to look it through.
The verses will rhyme, which makes the translation a bit complicated.

Here's a (unedited) example of the translation. From the "rocket illustration":

Sofus was all set and ready to fly.
All he needed to do was to say goodbye.
He had never seen a cooler looking space ship.
The gnorf was more than excited for the trip.




I'm not exactly sure what to call Sofus' species.
Right now its Gnof in Danish and Gnorf in English.
Sounds a bit grumpy though..

Any suggestions?

[NicolaiGD]

Oh, I remember this from spiludvikling.dk! It looks cool.

Held og lykke med projektet 

[ghoulkid86]

Altid spændende med danske spillere på banen

This is looking good. I'm usually not all that into the hand drawn style in games but somehow this does it for me. I think 'Gnorf' works better in Danish too by the way. I assume it's pronounced [gnårf].

[Jad]

Jag uppskattar all danska i spelet. Fler danska spel. <3

[ephoete]

Ok good to know. Looking forward to hearing the soundtrack anyway!

[TheChaoticGood]

It has a very unique art style. Does look good as a children book.

[Malte Burup]

Hello everybody!

Thank you all for your comments and feedback!
Gnårf does sound quite good in danish - strange how I never thought of that.
I still feel that there is a more fitting word for this creature.

Please feel free to come with suggestions :-)


Right now we are working on a mini game within the book.
In the story, Sofus journeys through space in his rocket, but bumps into moontrash and crashes into the Moonmachine.
We figured - why not make this into an ENDLESS RUNNER GAME?
You will "die" no matter what - but who will be able to survive the longest?



We might upload a version of the mini game so you guys can test it.
So stay tuned :-)

-Malte

[Malte Burup]

TEASER TRAILER!




WATCH IT HERE:




-Malte

[rj]

uh yes please give this to me put it on my computer or other device

[Malte Burup]

To RJ.

It will be released on iPad. Maybe later on android tablets or even phones.

[Malte Burup]

YO!

I am on the lookout for english voice actors. Any suggestions?

For example: "John Hurt in storyteller".
That would be a fine comment - just so I have some reference to work from.

The book needs one narrator which can switch between a old warm narrator voice
and the voices of these guys (except Zum-Zum who only goes "bleep bleep"):



-Malte

[ephoete]

Just looked at the trailer once again and cannot support more than saying I wish I were a child again to enjoy the experience as it should be. Excellent drawings within this bizarre world.

I really like the soundtrack as well by the way. Pure, innocent and yet instantly evocative (I'm just slightly bewildered regarding the mastering, the trailer theme sounds a bit muffled overall and the stereo image is a tad awkward, like unreal and dispersed).

[Malte Burup]

Thanks again Ephoete

It should be said that, even though it is a children's book, the design aims towards the parents as well :-)
Maybe the book will even make some grown ups feel like kids again :-D That would be fine by me.

The soundtrack is not mastered yet, but what you hear in the trailer is not that far off. I will definitely take your words with me into the mix. Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts!

-Malte

[MereMonkey]

This is looking amazing Malte, very interesting art style!

[Malte Burup]

Thanks Mere_Monkey!

The art style is inspired by lots of things,
but mostly things like Machinarium, old lucas Arts adventure games, Shaun Tan and Primordia.

- Malte

[acatalept]

Love the look of this -- "patchwork Machinarium" was the first thing that came to mind, and that's nothing but praise

As a parent of kids in your target age-range (who love Machinarium almost as much as I do), I can't wait to see the finished product.

Considering this is both for kids, and the inner child in us grown-ups too , could I suggest taking the "Chapters" content from your blog to create a "Making Of" or "History" or the like as a sort of special feature that is accessible from the title screen in the final app?  This would be a really nice extra for fans, and something I don't remember seeing in an app before, and you've basically already created the content on your blog...

I have already made a translation, but I need a English language specialist to look it through.
The verses will rhyme, which makes the translation a bit complicated.
Here's a (unedited) example of the translation. From the "rocket illustration":

Sofus was all set and ready to fly.
All he needed to do was to say goodbye.
He had never seen a cooler looking space ship.
The gnorf was more than excited for the trip.

I'm no "specialist", just a word nerd but can I offer a suggestion on rhythm?  Whenever I'm reading poetry out loud with my kids, I get hung up when there are inconsistencies in the rhythm/meter... I'd go so far as to say meter can be as important as rhyming, depending on the type of verse you're going for.  For example, with some small adjustments the above passage might read (emphases on the bold text):

Sofus was set, and ready to fly.
All he needed to do was to say his goodbyes
He'd never seen such a cool-looking space ship.
The gnorf was so thrilled for his upcoming trip!

Of course there are many kinds of meter, this is only one rough example -- please take with a grain of salt  And of course there can be drawbacks to this approach too, in that it might come out too "sign-songish" or Dr. Seussy if that's not what you're going for.

But whatever you decide, it looks like you're well on your way to something special.  Best of luck!

[NinthPower]

yes I want to play this 

[Malte Burup]

Thanks guys!

And thanks alot for your ideas and suggestions Acatalept! Really cool idea with the "behind the scenes" in the App. I will definitly consider it, and include the feature if there's time and space.

The rhythm/meter is something I have thought about alot. I am no word-nerd as you, so it is really cool to see what you did with the verse. I am still looking for someone to edit my translation of the 100 verses, so if you want to help or know anyone, then please contact me :-)

I am so happy to hear that your kids like Machinarium! That must mean that I am on the right track!

-Malte