The Tales of PurFUNple is PUBLISHED!

After a lot of work and a several setbacks, Cindy and Ray have persevered and published The Tales of PurFUNple.  This children's storybook is loaded with all kinds of paper crafts that highlight important life lessons that all kids should learn.

Packed within twenty-three exciting chapters, the pages of The Tales of PurFUNple are filled with character cut-out illustrations that will delight the reader and help teach each of the life lessons.  The pictures are ready to jump off the pages and into the panoramic paper set.   

Your child can act out a different ending and practice each lesson with their new set of shiny pearls.  For more information about the book, go to www.thetalesofpurfunple.com.  If you'd like to purchase it for yourself or anyone who is raising young children, there is a link to Amazon on our website.  

Also visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thetalesofpurfunple and share this exciting news with your friends and family. 

PurFUNple Interactive e-Book is in Production





Johnny & Cindi prep Pigston for his photo session

I'm happy to share with you that The Land of PurFUNple interactive e-Book is officially in production.  Cindi and Ray have spent countless hours building a detailed shot list for more than 130 images for the primary scenes in the story.  Over the last two days, Cindi, Ray and Johnny have been shooting both still images and video (see photo) of the 3D clay models that Cindi meticulously created. 

Pigston image used on Welcome Page

With these images completed, the storyline and images can be merged into the e-Book software. Ray used one of the images shot in the photo session shown above and placed it into an Welcome page, showing one of the ways these images will be used. The e-Book will be interactive which means story will come to life using sound effects, limited animation and options for the child to either read the story or listen to a pre-recorded narration.  Optionally, a parent or grandparent can record their voice reading the story, so the child can hear a loved one reading to them. 

Our hope is to have the e-Book completed and ready for distribution through i-tunes and Amazon by the end of this year.  We are excited about the possibility of introducing the Land of PurFUNple to thousand of young people.  Of course, we will promote the e-Book using press releases, Youtube videos and learning platforms for teachers and home schooling parents to increase interest.

Purple Predicament E-Book Is Being Development

As we reported earlier, Cindi has been hard at work creating 3D clay models of all the characters in our story titled, Pigston & Penelope's Purple Predicament.   Last count she is up to 38 models. The photo on the left shows a few of the 38.  As a part of our effort to bring attention to the Land of PurFUNple and the characters that live there, the Click Bug team is developing an electronic (e) book version of the story for distribution prior to the launch of the virtual world.   Cindi, Ray and Johnny along with our talented voice talent, JD, are working hard to create a fun, interactive version of the story including animation, voice characterization and sound effects for kids and their parents to enjoy.   Our hope is to have the E-book completed before the Christmas season so it can be given as a holiday gift.

3D Model Help Accelerate Animation of Characters

 

As we continue to move toward the completion of the Alpha phase of The Land of PurFUNple, one of Click Bug Studio’s founders, author of our story line and lead graphic artist, Cindi Blandford has dug into the creation of all     the characters in the kingdom.  Working from her original sketches, Cindi has created 3 dimensional clay models of all the characters including meticulous painting and accessorizing of each.   As you can see from these photos, the characters are starting to come to life, taking on a personality of their own.  

One of the advantages of creating these models is the elimination of a lot of hand created animation.  Johnny Carpenter, founder and Director of Audio & Video Production, is going to put each character on a turntable and index the turntable to move 360 degrees, taking a still picture every 5 degrees.  The result is the creation of files that can be used to animate the character movement instead of creating them in other software.  That saves us time and money.  Brilliant!   

New Home Page Artwork Feature PurFUNple Characters

Work is moving along nicely on the Alpha phase of the Land of PurFUNple. One of the first projects we have tackled is the creation of new home screens that will greet kids when they sign in to the site.  

Each screen features key characters in the kingdom and will rotate every five seconds so each player will see all five screens and, hopefully, be attracted and select one character screen as their favorite. Just in case you aren't familiar with all of the characters, I'll give you a run down starting with the top image and moving down.

 

Pigston, the Purple Prince, greets players at the entrance to the kingdom.

Our new and improved heroine,Penelope, makes you feel welcome as you enter the garden.

Slade and Gnat hang out in the swamp.

Patches the Pack Rat recycles in his tunnel below the kingdom.

The mischievous Possums go for a joy ride on Pigston's boat.

Players will be given the option to select their favorite screen and each time they log in subsequently that screen will be shown each time they log into the site. 

Alpha Production Phase of PurFUNple Started March 1

We are excited to announce that work has begun on the Alpha phase of production for The Land of PurFUNple. "What does that mean," you might ask. Well, after months of work on the complete virtual world design document, Ray and Cindi have determine which key elements of the site we can start working on now. After determining what can be built right away, Ray, Cindi and several independent contractors have begun developing the most basic components of the site.
   

In the production cycle of PurFUNple, the Alpha phase is strictly an internal process that will take about 4 months and allow the team to develop and test components including the main feature set, navigation through the 3D envirnoment and more.

"It feels great to finally get started on the Land of PurFUNple after working on the concept for a long time." Commented Ray Shingler, New Product Development Director for Click Bug Studios. "The hope is that by July 1, we will be able to start on the Beta site which will include more of the games, activities and missions for a limited number of kids to test." Shingler continued.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support. We will do our best to keep you in the loop as more exciting news comes out of our work.

Click Bug Studios Partnering with Elevate Ventures

In order to develop our initial product, The Land of PurFUNple, as quickly as possible, we are working with Elevate Ventures, Inc., a venture development organization with management responsibilities for the State of Indiana’s venture capital funds. Their mission is to nurture and develop emerging and existing high-potential businesses into high-performing, Indiana-based companies.  They accomplish this by providing access to capital, rigorous business analysis, and robust advisory services that connect companies with the resources they need to succeed long-term. As a not-for-profit organization, they are able offer unbiased, in-depth perspective and recommendations. 

Click Bug is working closely with the Northwest Indiana Region, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Charlie McGill, to make sure we are able to qualify for additional funding through one of several programs available through Elevate Ventures.  As we continue to develop The Land of PurFUNple, we will be working with Charlie in order to position Click Bug Studios as a worthy investment candidate.