Nalin Sharma (PuzzleKings) talks on his curious 'ZooCube'

Ferrago talk to the man who hopes to be crowned the King of puzzles.

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Ferrago: I gather the concept behind the original puzzle game Zoocube was the result of a competition in Edge magazine. From where did you get the inspiration for this surreal concept?

NS: My goal was always to create original game ideas, so I was doing a lot of research about 8 years ago into innovation and creativity, particularly studying some of Edward de Bono’s books. About 6 years ago I had the idea of how an object in 3D space could cope if it was bombarded by objects coming in from all sides. After doodling around on my drawing pad, the central object became a cube that could rotate, and then the mechanism of matching shapes became the first Eureka! moment. The second Eureka moment came over two years later when I came up with the juggling control which was fundamental in allowing the basic game to scale.

Ferrago: What is the science behind Zoocube’s compelling gameplay, and why does it follow in the addictive footsteps of Tetris, and the like?

NS: The science is quite simple really – if you just watch the screen and try not to play ZooCube then that is quite difficult to do. This is because while you are watching it looks easy so you think you can solve the puzzle on screen if you were to play the game. This produces some kind of compulsion in people to “have one more go” because ZooCube offers an opportunity for self-improvement while playing.

Also, I used to love the old arcade games like Pacman, Defender and Galaga because they were instantly exciting. So I tried to introduce many arcade game elements into ZooCube to do two things: firstly that people could pick it up and play it immediately and secondly to introduce some element of panic within players to raise their adrenalin levels! I think these design elements make ZooCube exciting and very addictive.

Ferrago: I gather there’s some kind of ‘wacky’ plot involved – is this a game aimed at kids or will everyone find it as alluring?

NS: I think the best kind of entertainment can always be enjoyed by anybody irrespective of age or gender, whether it be the Simpsons or Star Wars – this is what we tried to do with ZooCube. The plot involves the devious Dr. Buc Ooze who has been travelling across the globe trapping the animals into geometric shapes. You, as Aon, are travelling in a flying Ark that contains a device called the ZooCube which can neutralise the shaping effects and restore animals to their normal state. Subsequently they are teleported back into the flying Ark for rehabilitation. I hope everyone finds that it adds to the gameplay experience and certainly this is the feedback we have had so far.

Ferrago: How do the lovely and bizarre visuals assist the gameplay experience?

NS: On the GameCube the key element is that by matching the animal shapes the animal inside is freed accompanied by a wonderful animation and sound which acts as a great in-game reward. This also fits perfectly with the Ark theme: the animals go in two by two… We also have some FMV sequences which explain the storyline and show level transition, beautiful 3D backgrounds, some great chillout music, and positional surround sound effects. There are also many many subtle effects such as the animals “punching-out” when there is a match, that people will only notice after a while, but these add hugely to the gaming experience.