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ZootFly was a
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
n
video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...
specializing in the development of action adventure games for the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
, PS3 and PC. ZootFly was a member studio of the
International Game Developers Association The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorpo ...
(IGDA). The studio's most successful game was
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death ''Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death'' is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by ZootFly and Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was released worldwide on 20 September 2013. The game received mixed r ...
which made $45 million in revenue and has a score of 91% on
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. ZootFly was acquired in 2013 by a casino equipment manufacturer Interblock.


History

ZootFly was founded in December 2002 in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, Slovenia by industry veterans Boštjan Troha, Denis Rožaj and David Pangerl. In 2003 Horizonte, an independent Central European venture capital firm (founded in 1985) bought 40% of the company. In 2013 ZootFly was acquired by millionaire Joc Pečečnik who merged the studio with Interblock, one of the leading makers of luxury casino and gaming products, for an undisclosed sum. The studio kickstarted the development of casino entertainment products with advanced technologies, such as holographic imaging, virtual reality and facial and emotional recognition utilizing ZootFly's earlier research on
psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...
.


Research

ZootFly experimented extensively with the possibilities of reading and interpreting players' inputs and adapting the gameplay experience accordingly based on specific psychological profiles extrapolated via
psychometrics Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...
. According to ZootFly, users' inputs reveal comprehensive information about them—reactions in tight situations, how they use resources, how they interact and communicate, how they deal with challenges, keypress sequences, mouse movement jerkiness, actions performed when entering a new space: i.e. whether they go in the middle of the room and look around or explore details first, the average speed of their movements, etc. Zoofly researched building psychological profiles of players using their inputs and adapting the game accordingly. For example, a game could have three distinctively different conclusions and the psychometrics engine would pick the right one for the player. The goal was to avoid unwanted endings, as the game would hopefully have enough feedback to deliver what the player wanted. The immediate reactions of the game would work on positive feedback. If the player were cerebral, they would receive more cerebral challenges; if violent, more violence. Immediate responses could improve the usability/learning curves as well. For example, if the player were to quick-save often, the game might be too difficult, and if they were to not discover many rooms in a time period, they might be lost and need additional stimuli to proceed. If they were too fast and the game was not fun any-more, they might require more interesting obstacles. A psychometrics engine would change gameplay subtly to provide entertainment without frustration, automatically tailored to the specific player. Additionally, ZootFly experimented with mood changes induced by infra-sound. They employed barely audible sound (low frequency) effects to invoke deep and subconscious feelings. For example, when the engine interpreted a player as passive, the aural stimuli would make them more aggressive.


Video games


''Hollow''

ZootFly's first game, never published, was ''Hollow''. In it, players would assume the role of an expelled US journalist named Tyler Kilmore, who, upon returning to the disco-totalitarian state of Centrope reunites with his fiancée and finds himself being arrested for her murder. The game would feature four distinct environments, ranging from a disco-totalitarian metropolis to a decaying underworld. Each mission in the game would end with a movie-style action sequence showing the player's best moments.


''Panzer Elite Action: Fields of Glory''

Developed for PC and the Xbox for
JoWood Productions JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games ...
, ''Panzer Elite Action'' follows the story of three tank commanders and their crew. The German commander, encouraged by easy successes in Poland and France, moves on to the Eastern Front and the brink of victory with the taking of Stalingrad. Players meet the Russian commander in desperate straits as he helps defend Stalingrad, and follow him as the tide turns against the Germans and he joins the massive
battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...
. The American commander enters the war at the Normandy Beachhead on D-Day. After the struggle for the Bocage, he defends against the German outbreak at the Battle of the Bulge, and then drives on to the victorious crossing of the Rhine.


''First Battalion''

''
First Battalion ''Panzer Elite Action: Fields of Glory'' (sometimes just ''Panzer Elite Action'') is a video game, developed by ZootFly and published by JoWooD Productions. It was released in Europe in 2006, but was not released in North America. Gameplay ''Pa ...
'' is a North American version of ''Panzer Elite Action: Fields of Glory''. The game was published by DreamCatcher Interactive.


''Panzer Elite Action: Dunes of War''

An extension of the original ''Panzer Elite Action'', ''Panzer Elite Action: Dunes of War'' follows the story of two tank commanders and their crews through their harrowing North Africa battle campaigns. The German commander, called in to help the Italian army, moves from the European theatre to the dunes of Sahara, while the American commander enters the war on the African beaches of the Mediterranean.


''Toy Wars''

Announced on 19 January 2007, ''Toy Wars'' is a small downloadable game in the early prototype stages , for Windows, XBLA, or EDI.


''Prison Break: The Conspiracy''

'' Prison Break: The Conspiracy'' is an
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game based on the first season of the
Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
television series ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial drama television show, television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purce ...
'', released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
. The release had been set for 19 March 2010 in Germany and 26 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and 30 March 2010 in North America. The game had been in development for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and PC for release in February 2009, but was canceled when
Brash Entertainment Brash Entertainment LLC. was an American video game publisher focused on licensed games. The company was co-founded in 2007 by Thomas Tull, Bert Ellis, President and COO Nicholas Longano, and CEO and Chairman Mitch Davis. Of the first three game ...
closed down. However, ZootFly continued the development and self-funded the project for 13 months. Once the game was polished and nearly finished, it was picked up by publisher Deep Silver.


''The Expendables 2 Videogame''

Game made by ZootFly studio in short time for Ubisoft. Released in August 2012. Metacritics ranking on Xbox 360 version is 32.


''Narco Terror''

A top-down
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
video game released for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, borrowing gameplay elements from ''The Expendables 2'' video game. The team was able to correct past issues from their prior work to improve upon for Narco Terror. Release July 2013. Metacritics ranking for Xbox 360 version is more than double Expendables one - 66. (Ref. that this game really exists and is theirs http://zootfly.com/?game=narco-terror ; steam page https://web.archive.org/web/20141220195633/http://store.steampowered.com/app/225180/)


''Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death''

''Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death'' is an
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game (co-developed with
Microsoft Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...
) published by
505 Games 505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan. It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros. History 505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros. The company found its earl ...
and released on 20 September 2013. It is available for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
download for
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
. The game is inspired by blockbuster action films and features a main character who is bound to an ancient Mayan Death Mask "who’s had no-one to talk to for 2000 years". Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death grossed $45 million worldwide on a $5 million budget.


Past development

In January 2007 ZootFly placed several trailers on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
showing an early playable version of a game based on the ''
Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' franchise for the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
. Soon after it became clear that ZootFly had not secured the license to make such a game and that the development team had already been shifted to work on TimeO, a title with many similarities. Even the game footage trailers posted to YouTube were removed after Sony Pictures Entertainment requested their deletion because of their unlicensed nature. While ZootFly's title had died early in development, it helped spur interest in a game based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise and a licensed game, already under development at
Terminal Reality Terminal Reality is an American video game development and production company based in Lewisville, Texas. Founded in October 1994 by ex-Microsoft employee Mark Randel and former Mallard Software general manager Brett Combs, Terminal Reality deve ...
, was bolstered by ZootFly's failed title. Mark Randel, co-founder and head of Terminal Reality, was interviewed by
Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (or OXM for short) was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. Th ...
and in that interview stated that "''What Zootfly did for us, inadvertently, is help sell the concept. When their footage came out, we were close to our green-light meeting, and when the executives saw the reaction from the fans, they immediately knew, 'Hey, Ghostbusters is going to be a big hit – we need to put this game into production." TimeO, another title developed by the same team as ZootFly's ''Ghostbusters'' game, dropped off the radar for several years. First announced soon after the Ghostbusters prototype, it went months with little in the way of press coverage after the first flurries of activity related to its announcement. The original official web site (www.timeogame.com) went over a year without being updated before disappearing completely. Later, a few video game news originations released articles in May 2008 disclosing that Brash Entertainment was the publisher of the title, but Brash Entertainment has since shut down operations. Assumed to be without a publisher and stuck in
development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
TimeO later reappeared on ZootFly's main website with a new trailer and fresh screen shots but no information on its potential release date or publisher. Although the website doesn't list dates this information appears to be from late 2010 or early 2011, much more recent than the last batch of media from 2008.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zootfly Video game development companies Video game companies established in 2002 Video game companies disestablished in 2013 Defunct video game companies of Slovenia Slovenian companies established in 2002 2013 disestablishments in Slovenia