Big Fish featured in Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI)

The Museum of History and Industry has been a hidden gem of Seattle, but after a move into the Naval Reserve Armory in South Lake Union, it has an even brighter future. MOHAI offers a fresh take on the traditional history museum, weaving in current issues to create a unique and engaging experience that highlights the uniqueness of the Northwest.

Big Fish is honored to participate in the launch of the new MOHAI as one of the examples of Seattle’s success in innovation and technology. In the museum, Big Fish introduces guests to the game industry, focusing on how games are made. Attendees walk through the creative process. In this phase of game development, anything goes. Once an idea surfaces that everyone seems really excited for, the refinement stage begins. Refinement of the original idea continues through the development stage of the game. Artists, animators, and programmers come together to build the game. When a working model is available, a team of testers work with the developers to finesse the game. To the delight of many MOHAI guests, people can actually play some of the early working models of the game to see what an unfinished game in development is like for game testers.

Although the Big Fish game catalog has a number of beloved games, we chose to use a brand new title, Fetch, as the example in the exhibit. Fetch is the latest opus from the team behind the award-winning Drawn series. Fetch is a charming interactive story about a boy and his dog Bear. When Bear is mysteriously nabbed by a fire hydrant, the boy goes on a wild adventure to find his best friend. Everyone we’ve shown Fetch to has remarked on how much the game looks and feels like you’re playing a Pixar or Dreamworks movie.

Fetch is a totally new take on the classic adventure game. It was designed to utilize touch screen mobile device technology. “We needed more than gimmicks to carry the emotion through the story,” said Chris Campbell, Fetch’s Game Director. There are tons of interactive items on ever screen. Even the cut scenes offer players the ability to make things move, squawk, light up, or do something else that adds to the surprise of the moment. Every tap could lead to a new achievement or a collectable, or it could give you points to help improve your standing on the leaderboards. Unlike traditional adventure games, where you figure out the sequence of items in order to progress through the story, Fetch has a wide variety of addictive and challenging arcade mini-games. You must win each arcade game to get the prize item you need to progress through the storyline. Once unlocked, you can play any of the arcade games from the main menu.

With its myriad of cultural references and its old school arcades, Fetch speaks to adults and children alike. The team is creating a whole world around our memories and experiences with childhood. The game is filled with nostalgia even down to its retro-futuristic art style.

“We designed Fetch from the ground up for the touch screen and we’ve been told it feels more like an interactive animated movie than a game.  Much of that is due to the story having a timelessness that I think bridges generational gaps. As a father of two little ones, it is so cool to see equal joy in the faces of parents and children when they play the game.” ~Brian Thompson, Art Director for Fetch

In an interview with All Things D, Brian Thompson and Ann Farrington, MOHAI’s Creative Director, discuss adding a mobile game that hasn’t been released yet to a history museum. “MOHAI wanted to put history in the present.,” said Ann. Brian added, “What’s more contemporary than a game that hasn’t launched yet?”

For those of you in the Seattle area, or those who will be visiting Seattle in the next few months, we highly suggest that you check out MOHAI!

For more information and updates on Fetch, please visit http://www.bigfishgames.com/daily/fetch/

Follow Fetch on Facebook and Twitter!  Facebook.com/fetchthegame  Twitter.com/EmbarkInc

For more information on MOHAI, visit mohai.org

Melissa is the Social Media Manager for Big Fish Studios in Seattle, WA. She loves connecting with people who have a share her passion for LEGOs, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and, most importantly, games! Follow her on Twitter as @SustainableMBA and @melissadingmon!

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