Plot and gameplay
The series consists of point and click adventures, requiring players to interact with an inventory and with characters in order to complete puzzles and advance the story. The main character is intended to be a caricature of the arrogant Israeli, with a worldview that "the whole world is an idiot – and that talk can not be done quietly, only with shouting". The plot of ''Piposh'' follows the quirky adventures of its main character, flawed actor Hezi Piposh and "morbidly tactless guy in his attempts to reach Hollywood and make it big". In the first game, he boards the wrong boat and has numerous antics, including being caught up in a murder. He can interrogate characters, break into their rooms, and accuse them of murder. In ''Piposh 2,'' Piposh finds himself trapped on an island populated by dwarves, who help him assemble an aviation device to escape. ''Halom SheHitgashem'' is focused on eight strange acquaintances who are invited to the castle of an eccentric man. ''Piposh 3D'' revolves around a political revolution that ensues because the entire country decides to become vegetarian, replacing meat with tofu.History
Conception and ''In the Interest of Ratings'' (1997–98)
In the late 1980 while Ronan Gluzman was at the age of 13, he began his computer gaming career by creating games and animations on Macromedia Mac Director software. After he left the Israeli army and while his brother Roy was still a member, they set up a small graphics business in''Piposh'' (1998–99)
The Gluzman brothers wrote the text and the code, drew the backgrounds and characters, and created the animations; in addition they convinced actors Shai Avivi, Amos Shuv, Anat Magen, Ilan Peled, Dudu Zar, Meni Pe'er, and Ilan Ganani (as Piposh) to voice characters voluntarily. The game was developed by four people in a garage, at a time when the computer gaming industry in Israel was considered practically non-existent. Glutzman recalls that Guillotine was not particularly well managed, lacked business planning and didn't have a financial focus, and instead consisted of a naive team who wanted to simply make something "fun and cool". ''Rest of the series (2000–04)
Roy left the series during production of the second game, believing that in addition to piracy, the distribution networks weren't as efficient at bringing video games to stores as other products like Israeli music. According to Ronan, his brother did not have prowess in the business and marketing side to succeed in the industry. After leaving, Roy moved away from sensationalist nature of the entertainment and gaming industry, and instead focused in personal creative projects. On his own Ronan began to suffer financially, which would continue for years while making the Piposh games. By 2003 he was living on 30 shekels a day. He would later explain that at the time, to be a video game developer in Israel, one was expected not to make money. While the first game took 1.5 years to make, the team spent a year making Piposh 2, and a year making ''Halom SheItgashem''. Each time the developers made a game, they did it independently and without external funding. Once a title neared completion, Guillotine spoke to their distribution company to print discs and send them to stores. However, as the distribution company was very large they didn't have time to invest into a small local game like ''Piposh'' so the games ended up being sent out two weeks later than intended, once the advertising and buzz had died down. For each title, Ronan produced advertising materials such as posters, business cards and funny stickers. ''Piposh 3D'' was the series' first foray into 3D graphics, after using traditional animation for the previous games; this title was directed by Roy Lazarowitz. By this point the developers had grown tired of their distributor and sought to use Indogram, which represented fewer games and could therefore invest more time into each. It was developed using the A5 engine, which Guillotine had purchased specifically for this title. 2004 saw the English release of ''Piposh'' entitled ''Piposh Holywood'', which was to be published by The Phantom after Phantom Entertainment bought the distribution rights electronically. ''Ynet'' noted that if successful, it would have been a notable achievement for the industry, seeing the first Israeli video game released on console, but noting the unclear outcome of this venture. Guillotine had aimed to translate their first Piposh game to break it into the international market, however the text and dubbing translations became an astronomical task due to the original game having a badly-constructed programming interface. The foreign adaption of the first game is known worldwide by its English title. The games were not intended to meet the technological standards of the global industry, particularly in terms of graphics. They were not targeted at a worldwide audience, instead appealing to Israeli teenagers who were not necessarily gamers, but who wanted immature content with cultural references they would understand. ''Haaretz'' contends that despite the development team tapping into the minds of local youth, the rampant pirate copying phenomenon prevented them from making a living of their games. ''Piposh'' saw numerous opportunities for franchise expansion over its history. The team gave up a NIS 20,000 offer byAftermath (2005–17)
The last title developed by Guillotine was the network-strategy nonsense game Vajimon, which saw players fight against each other over the internet using a variety of vegetables. Around 2003–4, the company's operations were terminated and its managers retired. Ronen left the industry soon after due to the financial and mental burden the series had given him, and became a yacht skipper. He earned money as a writer of games for interactive TV and cell phone in a leading high tech company. In 2005, the brothers lectured for a Gameology course at Beit Berl College as part of the first Israeli curriculum course for video game development. The program was started by Dr. Diana Silverman Keller who discovered while writing her thesis that there was no formal education in the field of game creation in the country. She noted that "Despite the success of Israeli high-tech, the Israelis do not excel at developing games". Keller contacted Ronan, who at the time was known as the "spiritual father of the Israeli gaming community", and he soon became a central figure in the program. On May 7, 2008, on Israel's 60th Independence Day, all Guillotine games were re-released free to download on the Internet. By this time, it was impossible to get the games anymore, as there were no orderly backups. Ronan Gluzman noted that the games were unplayable unless the player had a Windows 95 computer, and commented "I felt that I had to do this, in order to save the game from falling into the abyss". Tal Dinovich, a fan of the series who had volunteered for years on the site and answered phone calls from stuck players, helped locate all the game files and create updated versions that would work on Windows XP. Ronan noted it was strange to revisit these games after having not touched them since the series ended in 2003. While he had since moved on from the series, Ronen did create a Facebook group for the fans who had grown up with the series and wanted to reminisce. According toComeback (2018–present)
In 2018, Piposh creators announced they would produce a reboot of the game, due for release in September 2019.Critical reception
The games became a cult hit in Israel, known for their unique humor, original characters and a satirical look at Israeli society. Ronen is notable for being one of a few Israelis who have managed to develop a computer game within the country and distribute it in Israel. According to ''Timeout'', the games are hilarious and brave. ''Eser'' felt that Piposh was a "semi-decent adventure game". Bikorate felt the title had a "fascinating plot and humor ahead of its time". The student newsletter Factor thought the game was "more funny, more ingenious, and generally more universal" than ''In the Interest of Ratings'' had been a year earlier, and felt the two games were "exemplary examples of Israeli creativity". ''Sport5'' listed the game in their article ''There is honor: the greatest Israeli computer games ever'', rating it 10/10 and praising its unique crazy and sharp sense of creativity and humour, as well as for sparking one of the "most cohesive computer game communities ever in the country". ''Haaretz'' deemed it ultimately a failed initiative to establish the Israeli video gaming industry, despite its significance. Vgames deemed the series "the most daring attempt to create computer games for Israeli audiences only". In 2001, ''Ynet'' asserted that the few games of Israeli origin such as Piposh were "quite negligible in terms of scope and technicality", and were "not close to being competitive in the global market", however in 2003 the site saw the series as a source of Israeli pride. The site would later come to feel that the series offered some of the most "bizarre, funny and hallucinatory quests" to come out of gaming, noting that the first title is widely regarded as a cult game, and that many peculiar moments from the series are etched into the minds of players. Bikorate thought Piposh 2 surprised with its "witty and satirical jokes about Israeli society". The Hebrew site ''Eser,'' despite having sympathy for Israeli game developers, who are "forced to work in almost impossible conditions" when compared to their American and European colleagues, gave Piposh 3D a scathing review; while calling its premise amusing, and noting that the patient ''Piposh'' fanbase would overlook its inferior graphics the site felt the game was very bad, likening it to a "singer singing without makeup". ''Ynet'' criticised 3D's graphics and interface, though noted its humour and charm might make up for the experience. Ben-Ari feels a sense of patriotism toward the game as a piece of video gaming software that is proudly and unabashedly Israeli. Factor thought the series attempt to enter the 3D market was an "utter failure". Even though Walla thought Piposh 3D was a bad game, it thought the game looked like a masterpiece in comparison with ''Dangerous Vaults'', a Lara Croft parody that forces players to have sex with animals. When news of a fan-made Piposh 2.5 was brought to Nana 10, the site made an emotional appeal to its readers, hoping to attract anyone who could "help this promising project take shape", while hoping it would be the first of many. Meanwhile, 2all.co.il wished the developers success. Noting a recent campaign to name a road in Israel "Lara Croft street", Nana 10 hoped that soon there would be a "Piposh street" to honour the series. The paper believed Piposh to the possibly the most successful and profitable Israeli computer gaming project, deeming Guillotine a champion of the local industry. Makorrishon deemed Guillotine a "stubborn pioneer" due to persisting with making a game in Israel, though noted that despite their bravery, the company did close down a mere 6 years later. Looking back at the games in 2008, Ronen was impressed at how the humour held up, and noted ultimately that Piposh is "not a game of technology, but of people, behavior and relationships". Comedy Children listed the original title as the only Israeli entry in an article entitled "The Most Funny Games". According to Gadgety, the games have "earned cult status among Israeli players". Calcalist deemed it "most important series of games - well, the only one - that was done in Israel in this millennium". Additionally, it argued that the series' humor that combined the nonsense of LucasArts and Sierra with the experimental weirdness of Channel 2. Ronen has said that "What ''Piposh'' is good at is being crazy, being delusional and telling a good story with an emphasis on humor and Israeliness".References
{{reflist 1999 video games Adventure games Video games developed in Israel Windows games Windows-only games