Pixza

“If all goes well, we hope to roll out our first round of beta invites in the last week of December. We aren’t going to commit to a date, but we will keep you posted of any progress/delay right here on this blog.”

So ended our previous post on this blog. That seems like a long time isn’t it! And since then, you sure haven’t heard from us here on this blog (though, we have been posting development updates on Facebook and Twitter)! So, here is a much overdue update on what has been holding us up!

First, we want to share with you some actual information about the game. We know we have been irratingly, stubbornly, frustatingly reticent about revealing the details of the game! But, that’s only because we were actively working on it, and most of the things that we tried with respect to the game play was experimental and was bound to change.

Okay, so here is some actual juice!

So, with that out of the way, why is it taking us so long? The short answer to that question is: we had to make some changes to the core game architecture – which made us rewrite our codebase about 3-4 times in the past three months. The good news though, is that it’s finally stable and the rest of the work should not be taking too long! Of course, it also goes without saying that what we are trying to achieve here is not trivial – achieving synchronization in a game with some 15 players is no mean feat (atleast not within the constraints of the browser)! Hopefully it will all be worth the wait!

We leave you with an unfiltered screenshot from the game!

Hello world! First off, for all the folks who have signed up already for the beta launch list, thank you! We are quite thrilled to see your enthusiasm, and we are totally blown away by your support!

We thought we will use this first blog post to break the ice and formally introduce ourselves! Some of you know us personally, while quite a lot of you don’t, so this Jason and Kishore for you, from Chennai, India. We are about to finish our final year in Computer Science and Engineering. We also thought we could answer some of the (many) questions a lot of people are throwing at us on what Pixza is and isn’t!

Is it a scam?
No, this is not a scam, prank or vaporware. Although we really aren’t even going to show you a screenshot or a teaser to start off with (expect it soon though), Pixza is indeed real, just like you and us! It’s something that we’ve been been thinking, working, and dreaming about for quite some time, and definitely something we can’t wait to show, share and play with our fraternity!

What’s all the hype about?
We don’t believe in hype, and hate it as much as you do. Having said that, unlike many people who already are popular and still go on such hyping schemes, we are just starting out, and we really have to reach out for people before we can launch Pixza. It’s a social game, so it cannot launch in a ghost town! If you digg it, do help us spread the word. When it finally launches, you are going to be playing it with your friends (all the time, we hope!). So, you might as well let your friends know now and ask them to sign up for our limited beta launch list or join our fan page on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. We’ll also keep you posted on all our latest developments.

What can we say about Pixza for now?
As we perceive it, Pixza will be an engaging multi player game. When launched, we believe it will be unique on several fronts – the game concept as well as the monstrous technology supporting it. Initially, when the idea of the game dawned upon us, (the complete story for another post), we were thrilled about the game’s concept – we used to talk endlessly about how the gameplay would be and at the end of each discussion “Infinite possibilities” would be the conclusion. All this before we wrote a single line of code! We had absolutely no clue what was in store for us, technologically. The technology we have used to build Pixza is a poorly documented beast – which took several hours of hacking and taming to get it working well across all major browsers! In short, we believe we have a unique game concept and some powerful technology backing it. The “really realtime” in our tag line really does mean something!

We believe the current breed of social games on facebook and on other social networking sites are quickly becoming one dimensional. And, quite a few of them are using spamming of your social stream as an excuse for viral growth. Pixza is going to be completely different and really real time. And, we will respect your privacy when it comes to broadcasting game related messages out to your friends.

What’s up with all these boxes on the page?
We’re giving you a hint about Pixza! And no, you won’t be chasing boxes around the screen in the actual game. Let’s just say, they’re a subtle hint.

When is the launch date?
If all goes well, we hope to roll out our first round of beta invites in the last week of December. We aren’t going to commit to a date, but we will keep you posted of any progress/delay right here on this blog. So be sure to bookmark this page and check back for updates. That’s all from us for now!

We’d love to hear from you! You can get in touch with us directly at contact aT pixza d0T c0M.