Month: April 2017

Greetings, Internet!

Good news everyone! We’re reviving our YouTube channel! Praise the sun!

After a quick discussion with the higher ups, everyone’s favourite ‘Newbie’ will return to the online trenches with an ongoing YouTube series wherein members of our studio will play games to highlight some of the great indie content from Toronto.

The finer points are still being worked out, but essentially we’re coming out with short form (5 minute) videos playing games from small-ish studios with the hope of showing the public the kind of games we’ve got in the works here in Toronto (including the surrounding area). We’re also hoping to invite some of those game developers into our own studio to play their games with us; the intent being to build a larger and more well-knit local community.

So if you’re a developer from the GTA (or from the southern Ontario region) and you’ve got a game you’d like to see us play, send the following info to this address: Charlie[DOT]Barangan[AT]ZeMind.ca

A) Link to your game on Steam
B) Credits (Dev team, etc)
C) Contact information
D) Relevant social media

Please note that we may not always have the resources to commit to a solid release schedule. Rest assured that we will try to get around to as many games as possible, but we also need to make time for the production of our own titles. If you’ve got any further questions/comments don’t be afraid to get in touch with us on social media. The channel itself won’t be updated until we have more content, keep an eye out for us in the coming weeks!

We’d love to hear from you!
-Charlie Ze Newbie

Follow @ZeMindGames

Greetings, internet!

It is I, Charlie Ze Newbie with a new kind of blog post.

A lot of work and love goes into the games we make here at the studio. For our upcoming game, VERSUS, we’ve gone in a delightful cartoon style that is absolutely adorable. This week I sit down with Gus, one of our artists, and talk to him about his background and his thoughts about working here.

How did you get started in art?
I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid. I used to come home from school and lay down in front of my tv and watch cartoons. I used to draw fan art of the cartoons I was watching as I was watching it [laughs]. I lost it (drawing passion) in high school, although I got it back in college because I wanted to make a career out of it. In high school it didn’t seem like a possibility. Afterwards, I went to college and took art fundamentals from there.

What are your degrees?
I have two diplomas. Diplomas? Certificates? I don’t know. I have two of them since I graduated from Sheridan with the Visual Creative Arts program and I also graduated from Mohawk College with one in graphic design/animation. I thought about doing a game design program that focused on art and design programming at one point, but art still feels like an ‘Enterprising’ part of the game design field. In video game art, it always feels like we’re reaching new… Well not “Heights”, but like, “Heights”, you know? [laughs].

Influences?
I shouldn’t call any of them out. It’s funny because I’ve met a lot of them. I’m actually friends with some of them now. They’re people I aspire to, whose art I found online. But growing up, I found my influences in cartoons a lot of the time. Megaman, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Medabots. Those were great.

Speaking of which, what are your Favourite games?
My favourite game is Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced! It inspired my art style a lot. That as well as Megaman battle network. My dad took me to Germany once and I never looked up from my Gameboy (due to Megaman Battle Network). Those and of course the classics, like Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask. I have really fond memories of them all.

What are you playing right now?
Breath of the wild. Everyone’s playing that right now. Everyone who has a Nintendo Switch, anyways. I’m also playing some PC games. I like Blizzard games, like Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone. Those kinds of games.

What is the best part of working at ZeMind Games?
This is a pretty good environment. We have a dog, so what else is there? I have a computer, [laughs] The people are pretty cool. Various types of people. I’m trying to un-dig this hole that I’ve dug for myself (laughs), I don’t think you should include that there’s beer in the fridge. That’s a secret perk.

Thanks for chatting!
Thank YOU!

Hope this let you all get to know the sort of people who work here. If you’ve got the chance, we’d love it if you followed us on social media! Stay tuned for more of the people who make ZeMind Studios such a fun place to work.

Follow @ZeMindGames

What’s that? You’re a local Toronto artist interested in card games? Well step right up!

We’re on the hunt for a few extra hands for our upcoming card game. Just so anyone interested is aware, it’s based on the growing sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) that takes place in a cage (think the ‘UFC’). Players will build a deck of punches, kicks, wrestling and submission techniques to help reduce their opponent’s health to zero in as fast a manner as possible. Many card game lovers who are/were familiar of games such as the Pokemon Trading Card Game, Yu-Gi-Oh! As well as Magic: The Gathering should find some of the elements in our game familiar.

If you’re a Toronto artist who just so happens to to enjoy card games, MMA or both, drop us a line! Here’s a soft list (by no means set in stone) of what we’re looking for.

In no particular order, here’s what we’d like to see:

We’ve only just begun our hunt for local talent (we love supporting our homegrown pals!), but it’s very important to us that the art on our cards be action oriented. The style has yet to be nailed down in its finer details, but we’re imagining something with heavy inks and a dynamic perspective.

If possible we’re going for something along the lines of what ‘The Big 2’ comic publishers (Marvel or DC) would publish in one of their larger titles. Exaggerated hands and feet as well as combat in motion are all a huge plus here, so don’t be afraid to showcase your style when it comes to the ‘Art’ part of mixed-martial arts.

Preferably, we’d like to include two characters per card locked in mid-strike or in the heat of combat. Art that highlight all sorts of punches, kicks, knees will all go to the top of the stack. Combatants can be on the ground, in the air or standing as long as the violence/exaggeration levels don’t reach the ‘Mortal Kombat’ level of gore. Think less in the realms of ‘Fatalities’ and more in line with the ‘EA Sports: UFC’ series.

Don’t worry so much on background as much as getting the spirit of combat just right. We also LOVE dramatic angles, so if you’ve got a few pieces lying around that fit the bill, we’d love to see them (Via link! No files please!).

When it comes to colours, we’re hoping to see a lot of de-saturated pieces as well as heavier, comic styled inks. Inspiration wise, there are plenty of manga titles up for grabs that would help, but try and take your inspiration from fighting video games such as the Street Fighter franchise.

Don’t worry if your art doesn’t fit the requirements list perfectly, we’re still working things out so details may change. Send us what you got!

You can email a link to your portfolio, and some notes about yourself to me, Charlie Ze Intern, here charlie(DOT)barangan(AT)zemind.ca or reach out to us on social media accounts listed below.

We can’t wait to show you what we’re coming out with next!

Follow @ZeMindGames