Fox’s irreverent animated TV comedy, Family Guy is starting its 15th season this year, and it seems like fans have an unending thirst for the adventures of Peter Griffin, his family, and his friends. Fortunately, Jam City gave fans another way to enjoy the show with the launch of Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff for mobile devices in 2014.
But surely, there’s more, right? Of course there is. Jam City is serving up another round by officially announcing Family Guy: Another Freakin’ Mobile Game, which will bring an all-new experience for fans as Peter works to save Quahog one drink at a time. Developed in partnership with Fox and Fuzzy Door, the free-to-play match-3 puzzle game launches in the summer, but players can pre-register today on Google Play or the game’s official website.
Jam City co-founder and president, Josh Yguado, spoke with [a]listdaily about some of the new adventures Another Freakin’ Mobile Game will bring and how it maintains the authentic, in-your-face humor of the show.
What is Family Guy: Another Freakin’ Mobile Game about?
The backstory is that Peter has been kicked out of the clan and he has come up with a harebrained scheme to start a booze truck—traveling the world to deliver booze to his friends.
How does this game differ from The Quest for Stuff?
The Quest for Stuff was a builder game with a lot of storytelling. We took a little bit of a different tack here, where it’s more of a puzzle- and progression-based title. But it also has a ton of story, jokes and dialogue. In fact, we worked with Fuzzy Door, the original writers on the show. So, it’s a great mix of story, humor, puzzle and progression.
What led Jam City to develop a new Family Guy game?
The first thing is, we absolutely love the brand. We love the rebellious, in-your-face dialogue and positioning of the show. A lot of mobile games right now are very sweet, straightforward, and vanilla. So, we wanted to take this opportunity to create a mobile game that’s much more in-your-face, loud, takes risks and is pretty crude and adult-oriented. It’s taking a risk, but we’re trying to do something very different than what you’re seeing in the market currently.
Do you think Quest for Stuff players will end up moving over to playing the new game, or will they play both at the same time?
By all means, I think Family Guy fans are going to want to play both of them. It’s very different gameplay and completely different stories. If you love the characters, you can have twice as much fun playing both!
To be clear, these two games are not duplicative at all. They’re not sequels. You’ll see that it’s a completely different experience than the original Family Guy game. You’re going to get very different things from Another Freakin’ Mobile Game.
Will there be cross-promotion between the two games?
There will be some. I think there are a lot of big Family Guy fans playing Quest for Stuff, and we’re absolutely going to let them know that there is another fantastic title available. We’re not going to force users to go to the other game or obstruct their progression in any way—but that’s one of the places where there are the most core Family Guy fans, and it would be silly not the cross-promote to them.
How will you be getting the word out about Another Freakin’ Mobile Game?
First of all, there’s a lot of grassroots interest in this game. It’s been several years since the last big Family Guy title came out, and I think fans are excited for something new.
Also, I think the fact that we’re working with the original writers and animators on the Family Guy show has gotten the core fans especially excited. Frankly, I think that if you’re a core fan, you’re doing whatever you can to find out more about Family Guy. People are already talking about and blogging about it, and there’s a lot of buzz about the game. It seems to be happening naturally, so we’re trying to get ahead of it right now by talking to the media—folks who have a megaphone to the marketplace—to let other folks know about it. Eventually, we’ll also do advertising, including television spots to air on Fox along with the show.
How are you working with Fox and Fuzzy Door to maintain the style and humor of the show?
In a couple of ways. We’re working very closely with them. As I mentioned, the original writers of the show are very much in the middle of this development. They love the game and they’ve been involved in writing all the dialogue and working on storylines. There’s a very close connection there.
We’re also working closely with the animators. There’s a very particular style and rules around how the characters can be animated, and what’s authentic to the show. Our number one priority is to make this game 100 percent true to the television show. Everything has been approved and has been worked on by the show’s animators.
What did you learn from releasing The Quest for Stuff about the discovery and promotion of mobile games, and how does it apply to the new title?
I’d say that you’ve got to be authentic to the show. If you try to promote it in a way that is like generic, typical, mobile game app advertising, the Family Guy fans will not react well. We want to do advertising that’s a little quirky, a little off-the-wall, and authentic to what’s in the game from day one, I think you’re going to see some very fun advertising campaigns and media events that are very much true to the brand.
Will there be any cross-promotional events with the show that go beyond commercials?
There are aspects of the game that link back directly to particular episodes. Later on, we’re also going to be announcing some fun collaborations, but I don’t have any details to announce right now.
Family Guy is entering its 15th season. What do you think has kept fans engaged with it for so long?
I think the core concept is amazing. There’s nothing like it on television, so when it launched, it was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. To this day, there’s nothing like it. So, that core originality—there’s nowhere else to get it. I think that’s what makes the show special, and it’s also just a high-quality, humorous show. To me, animated or not, it’s one of the funniest shows on television. That consistent quality has gotten them to where they are today.
The Quest for Stuff launched three years ago. What’s the key to keeping players engaged with a mobile game for that long?
One of the most important things about Quest for Stuff—and frankly, all of our games at Jam City—is that when we put the game out, our work has just begun. We release new content, new events, new characters and new storylines every month. That’s what keeps the game fresh. All of our games are more like television shows than films, in that you can always expect something new showing up week after week. That’s what keeps games successful over years. These are evergreen franchises.
