Please note, I was traveling with my wife and 5-year-old daughter, so most of the pictures have a pretty wholesome bent. If you were hoping for some exciting photos of Disco Zombie living it up in Roppongi or Ginza or one of the more unsavory neighborhoods I will not name here… you’re on the Internet, I’m sure you can find it.

Like in the States, it is becoming harder to find a payphone. Unlike in the States, when you find one, it doesn’t look like it will give you hepatitis.

I don’t know for sure (and I’m not going to look it up because this post is already late), but I think Japan has one of the largest vending-machine-based economies in the developed world.

Riding the Marunouchi Line from Akasaka-Mitsuke to Ogikubo. Say that five times fast. Or at all.

Postal employees get pretty rad scooters to ride. Disco Zombie tags along.

We did not know what to do to cross the street during the day.

Ran into a friend who showed Disco Zombie the way.

Got out of Tokyo and spent a couple of days in the mountains. It was a good chance for Disco Zombie to work on his audition piece for The Walking Dead.

We spent a day at Tokyo Disney Sea. If you know who “Duffy” is, this picture is HILARIOUS!

Disco Zombie loves aquariums. I know it’s “aquaria” but who says that?

The only thing better than the fake food in Tokyo, is the real food. Behold the wax-and-photographic presentation of my favorite food ever: tonkatsu. They did not have brainkatsu on the menu so we did not eat here.

So there’s Disco Zombie’s little travelogue of Tokyo and surrounding areas. We hope you enjoyed it. Next time we’ll visit Tokyo Sky Tree but the lines were way too long this time.

We recently found this awesome animated YouTube video depicting the opposite scenario — where plants are the zombie-hungry aggressors and zombies are corralled and imprisoned by a Squash sheriff. I actually have some sympathy for these zombies. Check out this video made by the Jilin Animation Institute and let us know what you think!

To moms everywhere, Happy Mother’s Day!

Helo. Zombie know you need advice for life. Now you want garden tipz too? What you wanting next, appendectomy?

Good for you, I have had a green thumb. (Have you seen my green thumb? I lost it in the pool.) Anyway. Alive peeples tell me sun is shining, time to make plants bloom and doom. Ugh. Hear are tips to let your garden grow go.

• Gardens need compost. Get large compost recep repcet bin, dig up plantz, stuff them inside.
• Use only organic fertilizers like vinegar and gasoline.
• Don’t be afraid to fill field with pretty things like uranium geraniums copper.
• Visit nayborhood nursery. Tell us when you go and we’ll eat meet you there.
• Give all crops plenty of water: for best resultz, cover garden with swimming pool.
• Tune up garden tools. Be sure edges of spade are sharp, and change oil in jackhammer.

Good luck with your garden. Yule need it.

Love,

Zombie

Take a look at all of the cards below and click on each link to download and print!

Mother’s Day cards for Bejeweled Blitz and Bejeweled.

Mother’s Day cards for Plants vs. Zombies and Solitaire Blitz.

Mother’s Day cards for Zuma Blitz and Lucky Gem Casino.

Or thank her for making your life fun, with a PopCap Mother’s Day card.

Folding instructions: fold in half, then fold in half again. Don’t forget to sign it!

It never ends between these two.

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.

We could bore you with all sorts of long, whiny, self-pitying details as to why it took us so long to record another episode, but, hey, that would kind of be like lying. The real reason is that we’re just lazy! And the weather’s been nice! Why record a podcast — or really, why work at all, when you can be outside, enjoying the sun, consuming beverages with your friends? Indeed, one could reasonably ask why you should even listen to this podcast, when you could and probably should be doing the same? And we don’t have a good answer for that! What’s the point of anything, really? Why should we do anything, given the brevity of life and the fact that one giant meteor could end it all in a split second? Quit your job!* Drop out of school!* Be with your loved ones! Bake bread! And, sure, go ahead, listen to our podcast now that you have all this new free time! It’s not like you have anything better going on anymore anyway! Yay!

And with that, please welcome PopCap artists Matt Holmberg and Rich Werner to The PopCast! They are awesome artists, and awesome podcast guests as well!

The PopCast Episode 7 – Artistes Assemble!

*Don’t really do this kids. Keep your job and stay in school. Otherwise you’ll end up with a job like this one.

Hi, folks! I’m all a-tremble with anticipation at the moment, as I’m about to pop over into your world to help out with one of your human “elections.” How exciting!

- – -

I am, of course, for security reasons forbidden from detailing exactly where this election is taking place or to whom I will be lending my support. Suffice it to say my preferred candidate represents everything that is good, kind and unicorn-positive in the face of the foul and degrading policies advanced by her opponents!

This should be an immensely educational experience, not just for the humans who get to spend some time in my presence, but also for me! I’ve always been curious about how your human election processes differ from ours, and now I finally get to observe one firsthoof!

Apparently my duties will involve “tele-phoning” various humans, after which I will read a prepared script and ask in unsubtle terms for whom they intend to vote. If they say anyone other than my candidate, I’m instructed to hang up immediately. If they support my human, however, then we’re to carefully bank their opinion such that we may bother the living hell out of them on Election Day until we can confirm they’ve voted. Sounds like fun!

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

This image is property of Marvel.com. Go there and bliss out over the downloadable goodies like this wallpaper! You know you weren't going to think about anything else today anyway.

Because PopCap is the greatest place on earth, we’re all taking off a little early tomorrow to go enjoy this cinematic masterpiece (I don’t indulge in hyperbole or conjecture — it’s the Avengers, and it’s by Joss Whedon. QED: Masterpiece).  Tonight will be a little like Christmas Eve used to be when I was a kid. How many times in our adult lives do we get to be this excited? It’s a glorious year to be a geek.

If you’re as jazzed as I am, comment with favorite moments from the Marvel movies that have led up to the Avengers! I’ll start: Thor calling Agent Coulson “Son of Coul.”  Classic.

Enjoy the movie, everyone!