Cartoon Network Turns to iOS App Maker Pixel Press For Draw-Your-Own-Game – The Mac Observer

Pixel Press is partnering with the Cartoon Network to create Adventure Time: Game Wizard. This game will present an Adventure Time-themed story arc where players draw their own levels and share them with each other, making it both a game and a creative environment.

Pixel Press began as a Kickstarter project, and the company released Pixel Press Floors, its iOS app, earlier this year. Pixel Press Floors allows anyone to create a level of a “platformer” style game (like Super Mario Bros) by drawing it, then snapping a picture of it. The symbols on the page get translated into the landscape of the game. That level can then be played, and shared with other people.

Ryan Harwell, Cartoon Network Digital Partnership Manager, discovered Pixel Press through the Kickstarter campaign. He liked the idea of a game that encouraged kids to step away from a screen, and reached out to Pixel Press to discuss teaming up.

Gameplay image of Adventure Time: Game Wizard

Adventure Time characters Finn and Jake are the primary characters in Adventure Time: Game Wizard, through a storyline where they find a magical book and start drawing themselves into it, then inviting players to also become part of the book by drawing for themselves.

Different levels will unlock different characters, and different abilities: Jake’s stretching and Beemo’s smaller size allow for access to different parts of the game, making it more interesting to replay levels. Themes for various levels will include worlds from the show like the Ice Kingdom and the Candy Kingdom. This also means objects adjust accordingly, so in the Candy Kingdom a jump pad is a s’more.

A familiar looking hat and backpack on someone creating a level at gaming convention PAX.

Adventure Time: Game Wizard will still very much be a Pixel Press experience, drawing levels and hazards and sharing those levels with others. Even without spending a long time learning complex code, this still teaches some game design and good gameplay concepts like making levels challenging but not impossible. One of the biggest new features in the Cartoon Network’s title will be multi-sheet design, allowing players to use up to 50 sheets of paper to create a level.

While an early build of Adventure Time: Game Wizard made its debut at gaming expo PAX Prime over the weekend, the game will not be available until later this year, but it will be released for iOS, Android, and Kindle devices.