Horrid Henry - Missions of Mischief
Nintendo DS and Wii – SouthPeak – Released October 2009
Avril Digital produced this Nintendo DS and Wii platform game, based on the hit TV character for Asylum Entertainment. Avril identified the property and lead the development of the game concept which secured the licence from rights-holders, Novel Entertainment.
Avril Digital oversaw the production process, briefing and managing the design and art team, sound designer and software engineers. Avril was responsible to the executive producers at Asylum and Novel for maintaining quality and scheduling the production to submission to Nintendo.
Avril Digital commissioned the localisation assets for French, Italian, German and Spanish including voice recording in those languages. The company also developed the game manual for the publisher.
Avril Digital devised and conducted focus-testing on the title with a group of 6-12 year old players which contributed directly to the improvement of the finished product.
High School Musical
Didj – LeapFrog – Released August 2009
Avril Digital produced this maths and music learning title based on the Disney Channel movie for Asylum Entertainment. Avril was responsible for the management of the design, art and engineering teams providing a hub for the remotely located team members.
Avril was the primary contact with the production and QA team at LeapFrog and was critical in the compliance of the title with LeapFrog’s Learning Path system – a unique feature for a hand-held gaming platform which enables players and their parents to review progress in the learning elements of the game via their PC.
Avril Digital played a key role in ensuring that the title met the approval of Disney, especially with regard to the recreation of the characters and locations from the films in a new art direction.
Star Wars: Jedi Trials
Didj – LeapFrog – Released July 2009
Avril Digital produced this physics learning title based on the Star Wars:Clone Wars movie, for Asylum Entertainment. Avril was responsible for the management of the design, art and engineering teams providing a hub for the remotely located team members.
Avril was the primary contact with the production and QA team at LeapFrog. The title was the first 3D product on the Didj platform and the team faced considerable technical and aesthetic challenges in production. Avril lead the development team through these issues working closely with Asylum and LeapFrog executives to a timely delivery of the title.
Avril was responsible for the sound design and direction on this title working with High Score Productions to create music and sound effects which have been key to recreating the Star Wars universe on the platform.
Tracy Beaker - the Game
Nintendo DS and PC – P2 Games – Released September 2009
Avril Digital produced this title, based on the best-selling childrens’ books, for Nintendo DS and PC for Asylum Entertainment.
Avril Digital were the primary contact with the publisher and rights holder and took particular responsibility that the graphic representations of the characters and the story and script for the game met with the licensor’s approval.
The main challenge on this title was to set a new art direction for 3D mesh character models from a starting point of a very distinctive 2D illustrative style in the books.
Day-to-day, Avril managed the design and game coding team ensuring that the project kept to budget and schedule. The company also developed the game manual for the publisher.
Avril Digital devised and conducted focus testing with a group of 6 to 12 year old players, changing the flow of the game and improving the tutorials as a result.
Peppa Pig
Nintendo DS and Wii – Ubisoft – Released November 2008
Avril Digital produced this game, based on the hit TV animation series for pre- and infant school aged children, for Asylum Entertainment. Avril Digital worked directly with the publisher and rights holder and took responsibility that the graphic representations of the characters, objects, environments and animations met the expectations of the licensor.
It was crucial that the game should be accessible and fun to the target age group and Avril Digital devised and ran a number of focus groups with young players in order to refine the design. A system of pictographic tutorial screens were developed as a result.
Avril Digital was responsible for the sound design and engineering on the title including scripting and recording new voices for French and German. Avril also oversaw the text localisation to these languages and the company also developed the game manual for the publisher.
The DS version of the game was one of the best-selling titles in the UK for Christmas 2008.
