Plaidcats: Art of Christopher Cyr Art Books Projects About

Zoombinis

Background Design, Asset Animation, UI

Tablet & Desktop Game
Fablevision, TERC, Learning Games Network
Launched 2015

Hip-hip, ZOOMBINIS! When the evil Bloats take over Zoombini Isle it’s up to you to help the Zoombinis navigate the treacherous, pizza-troll filled logical puzzles on their way to a new home. Will every Zoombini make it?

Zoombinis is a remake of the original desktop game released in the ‘90s. I was approached by FableVision, who had partnered with TERC and the Learning Games Network to bring the title back better than ever. The project presented some unique challenges. We knew that new art was necessary, given the lack of high-def original art files. But to what extent would we make changes? How could we balance nostalgia with fresh, innovative ideas?

Behind the Scenes: Finding the Look

Luckily, I was given the go-ahead to infuse a new light into the world of Zoombinis and inject some new ideas while still holding true to the core experience that would drive that feeling of nostalgia. My aim was to make it seem just as amazing as it would have looked then, but with the sensibility of modern expectations.

The project was satisfyingly massive, to say the least! I created all of the backgrounds, UI elements, animated assets like the Lion’s Lair… in terms of in game visuals, everything with the exception of character animations. Having that monumental amount of scope and control allowed me to really interconnect the world in a great way. Locations seem to be intwined, small elements tell a second story of time long past. I hope that players really enjoy playing in the strange world we created.

Zoombinis is available on:
iOS Store for iPad, Google Play Store, Broderbund, Steam, Amazon Kindle



Gallery of Backgrounds


Back to Projects