March represented a new high for SnowCastle Interactive. It began with the announcement on March 1 that our new game project Festival of Magic had been granted NOK 1 million in development support from the Norwegian Film Institute. Just days later we were named the Most Promising New Norwegian Developer at Gullstikka, the annual Norwegian Game Award Show. Bendik had just completed his little acceptance speech when he was called up on the podium once again to receive the second award, this time for Best Artistic Achievement in a Norwegian Game for Hogworld: Gnart’s Adventure. So here is to you, Gnart, for a pretty amazing trophy shelf in your short life!

There was lots more in March as well: Bendik and Eivind attended GDC in San Francisco and came back inspired by great workshops and meetings with their pockets stuffed with calling cards. Erik travelled to Italy, where he was one of the speakers at the Tools of Change Conference, part of the Bologna Book Fair. His talk to the book publishing industry on how game developers bring a new perspective to interactive storytelling was well received and quoted in the Italian press.

Oh, and while we are at it: Our good friends at Virtual Game Worlds also received a grant from the Norwegian Film Institute for their new title, Company of Mammals. I menton this because, the credits for both concept art and direction in Company of Mammals go to SnowCastle artists Fredrik and Fridtjof!

So, not a bad month at all.

We at Snowcastle Interactive are proud to announce our next production called Festival of Magic!

Festival of Magic aims to innovate and combine tried and true game design in a visually stunning world. Follow Amon, a young hero in the mysterious town of Ragland and his captivating adventure in the city’s many exciting environments!

Columnist Jinny Gudmundsen gave Hogworld: Gnart’s Adventure a 4 stars out of 4 rating in her weekly column Kid’s Tech in USA Today this week. The column titled Five Amazing Apps for Kids ends its review of Hogworld with the following:

“With stunning 3D visuals, a varied soundtrack, great voice acting and interactions that are seamlessly incorporated into the story, kids will be transported into another world. It is one of the most sophisticated yet accessible book apps published so far.”

Daniel Donahoo, a regular contributor on the GeeekDad blog at wired.com has written a great developer profile on SnowCastle Interactive. Check it out here.

These are character designs for some of the guys the player get to control.

In the meantime, check out these (they’re works in progress and I’ll update when they get to a more polished state )

Click the images for larger versions!

- Fredrik

“The exciting atmosphere and beautiful graphics grip them (the children) immediately. As a digital children’s story this is a big and welcome step towards more interactivity,”

Norway’s largest newspaper, Aftenposten

Hogworld is an interactive story about the adventures of the timid little hogbunny, Gnart. He has to get to the dentist by sundown, but to get there he has to pass through some pretty scary places. On his way, Gnart makes several new friends and confronts his fears. The story is a true interactive experience that makes full use of the iPad touch interface. Beautiful artwork enhanced by semi 3D effects and animations as well as music, sound effects and voice makes this a unique app somewhere between a book and a game. You may want to follow the story and then go back to explore the environments, which are full of beauty and surprises. Or you can pause to explore at any time.

Hogworld is intended for children 4 and over, but we do think quite a few adults may enjoy the app also. Available in iTunes app store in a few days!  Sign up here to be among the first to know when the app is released.