At first light in The Year of Mayan Mistake, Kuhu laughed. Behold, there is only one Future. Only one Knower of It. And only one wheel on most unicycles!

Where hast thou gone, all ye resolutions? Blazing Speed!

The Winds of Change carry many things far and wide, including my napkin. Kuhu hates mustard!

This rug is old.

Jennifer Kraengel will defeat her father in Bejeweled Blitz!

The moment is coming and is soon to be past, and all will know: I am the holder of Zombie shoes, for it is a pair and an opportunity and a yuck!

To be or not, to the letter I see: the time to rise and face your challenge is nigh. It is also time for a haircut!

You have asked and I have answered: check your toothbrush!

And soon the tall golden man shall stand above us all! Beware, for you will stare in awe as the orchestra plays a farewell song. And everyone will know, again: the Academy is stupid.

Blog Ride Editor’s Note: Want to know what the future holds for you? Add a comment. Kuhu shall speak again.

Without holiday there is no happy. Without happy there is no holiday. And yet, there is always fruitcake.

In the fortieth month of the Donkey’s Last Bray, you shall walk with a cane. On that cane, stripes, and within, a delightful peppermint chill!

The vanquishing of fear is the beginning of strong. But woe to even the most heroic of men when they encounter the Spectacle of the Spectacled Worm!

And they lit the candles and wrapped them with fine linens. And as they slumbered, they woke to the cries of The Great Alarm. That was stupid.

There is coming soon the weeping of reindeer, for behold: the Steed flies faster… and it blazes!

In the moment of the pie, you will ask yourself: why do I exist? And Kuhu shall speak: lemon meringue!

Blog Ride Editor’s Note: Want to know what the future holds for you? Add a comment. Kuhu shall speak again.

And the steed shall blaze and the rubied hopper shall smile, and the fragments and facets of joy will cover the earth. But woe unto those whose minute expires!

In the year of the Thumping Foot, ice will blanket the ground and chipmunks will weep.

Sight is the enemy of vision; those who cannot see cannot know: cheese is delicious!

No, that is not really silk.

And the clouds called caution to those who inquired: never shall the adventure travel; but the adventurer shall travel; never shall the game play itself, but the player plays the game; never shall the zombies know the other side, but the zombies shall know the other other side.

Put down the apple and pick up the apple… nay, the worm is coming!

For those who ask why: future holds possibilities. Future holds truth. Kuhu holds a napkin with a strong left hand!

Blog Ride Editor’s Note: Want to know what the future holds for you? Add a comment. Kuhu shall speak again.

In the year of the hangtoothed squirrel the world will discover joy!

Mountains of snow inside a mountainous cave will soon melt away, leading to truth and zombies in spring!

Do not ask who knows what fun comes in the shadow of the diamond squall. It is the sound of glory washing over the ship of hearts, and verily, the happy harpsichord will answer with a wee little whistle!

In the eighth hour of the week’s end, you will stub your toe. Stupid couch.

And behold, in the seventh generation of the fifth demand, the Four Challengers of Awesome will burst from the clouds on steeds of fire. Powered by the eternal Flame gem, they will plant a chip of knowledge in the minds of all, bringing unending fun and mindfulness without need of hands or devices.

And now, Kuhu will reveal one last truth before silence returns.

Tomorrow, at lunch, Kuhu shall have fries with that.

Blog Ride Editor’s Note: Want to know what the future holds for you? Add a comment. Kuhu shall speak again.

In today’s post, Ty shares with us some of his favorite things about working at PopCap. Thanks Ty!
-The Editors

PopCap's Ty Roberts

My favorite memory at PopCap
It was my first interview with PopCap. I walked into the office through a pair of wooden doors during Christmas season. The first thing that greeted me was a Christmas tree decorated with lights… and Chuzzles. The Chuzzles weren’t entirely visible, but their little eyeballs just kind of stuck out of the tree. Then the friendliest person in the world said hello and asked if I wanted a soda.

It’s tough to turn down a Chuzzle Christmas tree and free sodas. It was a great first impression that has always stuck with me.

My favorite game(s) that I have worked on
This one is a toss-up. The games I work on are really special to me and I tend to invest emotionally in each one. It doesn’t matter if it’s something that very few people will end up buying. I give each game as much love and attention as I can. I suppose it’s like having a kid, except you don’t have to save for its college education.

Bookworm for the Nintendo DS and the new Bejeweled Blitz for iPhone/iPad are far and away my two favorites. I’m extremely proud of these two. Lex has always had a special place in my heart and to be able to give him the treatment and the game that he deserved was absolutely wonderful. Bejeweled Blitz on the iPhone was a labor of love as well as a gigantic challenge. Trying to redesign a game that hundreds of thousands of people play every single day is not an easy task, but the team I worked with was up for the challenge.

On a side note, redesigning Bejeweled Blitz was an amazing experience. That team is incredibly passionate about the game and it showed each and every day. There was not a single day, no matter the challenge, that the team waned in their expectations or efforts. Every member was dedicated to making a super great game. Those folks literally made a dream of mine come true.

My favorite PopCap game(s)
I waffle on this one too. I swear I’m not trying to be PC about it, but I really love both Peggle and Bookworm. Peggle was the first game I worked on here at PopCap back when I was a test lead. Bookworm was my go-to game when I was down. I don’t know why but playing Bookworm always made me feel better. There was just something about Lex. I still play both games almost every day.

My favorite non-PopCap game (at the moment)
That’s easy: Triple Town by Spry Fox. It is a very simple game that has a great puzzle and strategy element to it. It’s also very… well… cute. It’s currently on Facebook and iOS platforms but I think the best experience is on Facebook. I just cannot stop playing it and I’ve hooked several people on it already.

Since I am a console fiend, I have to mention MW4 and Batman: Arkham City. Both are stellar games in their own right although getting shot on Modern Warfare 4 by 12-year-old kids isn’t the greatest feeling in the world.

However Triple Town’s teeny-tiny ninja bears beat the Batman for me this year.

My favorite Xbox Live achievement in a PopCap game
I think I have to go with one that I wrote for Astropop. It’s about completing a level in 25 seconds or less. During production, the PopCap producer I was working with had asked me to write up a bunch of achievement ideas. I went ahead and wrote quite a few of them, including completing a level in 25 seconds or less. I couldn’t think of a good name so I just made one up really quick and stuck it in there with the full intention of changing it later. I never got around to changing it. So, “Captain Quick Brick” stuck.

My favorite thing about releasing a game
It’s seeing it in the stores and reminiscing about what it took to get it there. It’s a real sense of accomplishment to be able to physically pick up a cartridge or a disc at a local retailer. That is a really cool feeling. If it’s a digital game (such as Bejeweled Blitz for iOS), then it has to be seeing someone random play it. The last three flights I have been on I’ve seen at least one person playing one of our games on their iPad or iPhone.

My favorite thing about PopCap
This one is hard because there are so many great things about working here. I think that the games are awesome, but the people that make them are just as fun as the games. It has always been my belief that you can go out to lunch with a random crew of PopCap folks and have a great time. There are tons of smart and creative people here that keep me going every day. The great games are made by great people.

Thanks everyone for reading.

Hi, folks! Have you ever wondered how a Peggle Master develops his or her particular Magic Power? No? Think carefully. Surely you’ve thought of it at least once, even if it was only two seconds ago when you read the “Have you ever wondered how a Peggle Master develops his or her Magic Power” sentence three sentences back. Yeah. I thought so.
- – -
As it turns out, Magic Power development is a fascinating process full of delight and heartbreak! One might think it’s as simple as waving a magic horn around, mumbling a few incantations and praying the magical forces of the Peggleverse dump a fully realized Power directly in front of your face. If one thought that, however, one would be incredibly off.

No, even the simplest of Magic Powers (Jimmy’s Multiball springs to mind) requires a great deal of careful contemplation. A host of considerations demand attention. Is it fun? Is it useful? Is it easy to understand? Is anybody going to have to put in overtime to create it? And so on.

Once these issues have been exhaustively discussed over piping hot mugs of magic potion, it’s time to implement the new Power and see how it plays. The basic implementation usually only takes a couple of days along with three bushels of straw magically converted into gold. Once the time and straw-gold has been expended, the aspiring Peggle Master may now try the Power out on a real live Peggle board. Even in a primitive state without bells, whistles or party-style noisemakers, a good Magic Power will reveal its amazingness quickly. Conversely, no amount of fancy lace and additional frippery can make a clumsy, ineffective or non-moneymaking Power work.

Once the decision to proceed with the Power has been made, then innumerable elves, fairies and pixies are brought in to sprinkle the Power with various degrees of awesomesauce and wonderjuice. The Power is then tested extensively by a crack crew of badgers and hippos (and hippobadgers), all of them playing the new Power over and over again looking for any sign that its use might wipe out all of existence. Once the Power has been cleared for universal safety, then and only then is it implemented into the larger Peggle game.

It takes a lot of effort and inspiration to create a Peggle Magic Power, but I hope you’ll agree it’s supremely worth it!

Reposted from the official Bjorn Blog – Talk to the Horn. 

Hi, folks! It’s been relatively quiet around the Institute for the last few days. Normally, I strive for calm efficiency, but too much sanity can get a little dull. Consequently, I think it’s time for an adventure! But which one? There are so many to choose from…

- – -

Peggle Challenge

Maybe we should issue a challenge to the Peggle Academy! You know, the group of fiendish Peggle cheats and criminals ruled with an iron hoof by none other than Academician Fnord Unicorn. They look just like us, except with beards, eyepatches and hue-shifted color palettes! It would provide a competitive angle, and we’d get to confront our evil dark sides in the bargain!

Peggle Moonquest

What if the moon disappeared? We’d have to drop everything and fan out across the land to find it. We’d search desk drawers, look under piles of dead leaves and explore monster-filled caverns in our desperate quest to return our shiny silver buddy to the heavens! That could be kind of a kick.

Peggle Franchise

Supposing we suddenly needed to expand Peggle in every direction? I’d have to send the various Masters to strange and inhospitable realms where they could establish new Peggle Institutes, while I would be forced to walk the lonely paths and explore the lost niches for new Masters, new Magic Powers and new ways to enjoy Peggle! I could certainly get behind such an effort.

Mo Peggle Mo Money

What if we suddenly ran out of money and needed cash? We’d need to rediscover some of your human economic ingenuity and learn how to arbitrage currencies, set up clothing stores and establish casinos. We’d beg money on the streets and move in the highest circles of Peggle power soliciting donations. That could be kind of fun — and terrifying, to boot!

Peggle Invasion

What if awful beings from beneath reality attacked the Peggle Universe? Imagine if these prickly beasts of pure darkness sought to eat joy, consume happiness and desaturate every rainbow they could find! It’d be the solemn duty of every Master I know to summon our Peggleness in order to repel the invasion!

As you can see, we have many adventurous possibilities from which to choose, all turgidly gravid with dramatic potential! I think I’ll kick back with a coffee and some magic yogurt while I’m trying to decide…

Reposted from the official Bjorn Blog – Talk to the Horn. 

Hi, folks! While I will always stand firm in my absolute allegiance to Peggle as the greatest and only of all games, sometimes PopCap comes out with something new that almost makes me reconsider. This time it’s a dandy little confection called Solitaire Blitz!
- – -
I’ve played card games on the internet before, and while some of them are amusing, I find most to be miserable failures so dire they force a unicorn to question his desire to live. Not so with Solitaire Blitz!

It’s a simple variation on classic solitaire in which suits of the cards don’t matter and one may match cards both up and down. So, for example, you could play 6, 7, 8, 7, 8, 9, 10 in sequence and the game would reward you handsomely for your wisdom. This simple change allows for a snappy, fast-paced game with just the right level of challenge. And, of course, it’s a PopCap Blitz game, so each round comes in tasty little one-minute chunks so appealing you’ll gorge yourself on them for hours.

As if these keenly designed game elements weren’t enough, Solitaire Blitz jingles with expressive life as the game places the player in an inviting nautical scene. Delightful aquatic figures pop up at key moments to confer additional multipliers as soothing music and sound effects make you wonder how you ever were able to experience happiness before.

In other words, it’s fun! Try it out!

Reposted from the official Bjorn Blog – Talk to the Horn. 

If you look in stores today, you’ll find a bunch of cards featuring hearts, flowers, puppies and other adorable imagery. However, I feel there’s something seriously lacking in these cards. Something… amphibian! Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all kittens and candy, there’s totally room for our green, croaking compadres!

To celebrate this February 14th with our froggy friends and our favorite valentines, the Zuma Blitz art team put together some awesome Valentine’s Day cards for you to print out and share! There are two cards, click here and here to print them out.

I think this one is my personal favorite:

Which valentine gets your heart all aflutter? Let us know what you think! Or better yet, take a pic of your valentine and share it on our Wall!

Tara is PopCap’s Community Manager for Zuma and you can find her on the Zuma Blitz Facebook fan page. 

Hi folks,

I’m not one of the usual writers for the PopCap blog but given all that’s been going on recently, both at PopCap and otherwise, I wanted to take the time to do something radical for you:

Write.

The last couple of months have been an absolute whirlwind. I’ve been involved with a couple new projects at PopCap (none of which are announced yet, but stay tuned!) as well as spending some time on the side with my band working on finishing, launching, and promoting our new album. I’ve been thinking recently about how the creative process for games compares to the creative process for music and found the similarities to be pretty interesting.

At PopCap, there are established roles that people are interviewed for, hired for, and expected to execute against: designers, software developers, artists, project managers, marketers, and the like. Each person has a role to play, and there’s a reporting structure in place so it’s clear who’s tracking the status of everything, and schedules in place so everyone can tell if the team is on track to complete their shared goals.

This is analogous to being in a band and playing a show. Everyone has their own role – or instrument – with a part they’ve practiced. It’s clear who’s supposed to do what. However, there’s lots of exciting ambiguity behind the scenes. Who creates the music? Who writes each part for each instrument and comes up with the lyrics? Who has the final say in whether that note really should be played an octave up or whether those couple of strums should be palm-muted? There’s no music designer who’s been vetted and hired to answer these questions, and there’s no band manager who’s been put in place to have the final say.

This can be a tricky problem to solve, and I think is one of the biggest differences between creating games for a company and creating music with friends. Friends… Yeah. That turns out to be the answer we came up with to address that issue of ownership. Our band, Out Like Pluto, doesn’t have a monarch in charge of making final decisions and telling people “no.” Instead, we’ve landed on a collaborative process where everyone contributes ideas. Sometimes yours will win, but sometimes they won’t and when that happens it’s because there’s been a discussion about it and there are good reasons for going in a different direction. Keeping those personal relationships strong makes it much easier to collaborate and end up creating something awesome.

So, maybe it’s not so different from making games at PopCap after all…

You can find more info about the band at OutLikePluto.com or facebook.com/outlikepluto

Here’s the video for the first single on the new album, ‘Bridge’:

Lastly, for you Seattle readers, we’re having an album release party on Friday, January 13^th at the King Cat Theatre. (Sorry kiddos, this one is 21+… hang in there!)

Ben Ahroni
Producer, PopCap Games
Guitarist, Out Like Pluto

Ben Ahroni has been a producer in PopCap’s Seattle studio for 3.5 years. He’s received credits across a number of games and platforms including Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone and Peggle for Xbox LIVE Arcade. He can be found on Twitter at @ahroni.