How cool is this… my pet project Zoikz has made it onto the football pitch on the shirts of the London team, the Greenford Gaints. Yes that red splodge on their shirts is the Zoikz Logo. Interestingly, they were supposed to be called the Greenford Giants but there was a typo on the entry form and it was too late to change it. That’s also how Google got its name… it was supposed to be Googol, but I digress.

The Zoikz are an idea I had a few years back and developed in conjunction with RDF Rights and Digital Outlook Studios. It was then made in to a game on Miniclip called Zoikz Defender, had a 6 episode, double-page spread in Toxic Magazine and then a follow-up game on Miniclip called Zoik and Destroy.

Now I’ve left Digital Outlook, Zoikz is out of my hands so not quite sure where we’ll see them next. Lets hope the Greenford Gaints make it to the Premiership and put the Zoikz on TV. If not, I’m more then happy they’re helping a local team with the cost of their kit. What a great thing to be involved in. If you’re near Greenford, you know what to do…

Tuesday was a big day for me. About a year ago I doodled a concept on a notepad and took it into Digital Outlook. For those that don’t know, the agency I work for is also passionate about developing new characters and concepts from the ground up.

My scribbled idea started with the notion of “where do computer viruses eat and drink in such a harsh digital world?”. A quick look around the room later… bubblejet printer ink! I loved the idea that these devices act as savana-style watering holes for online lifeforms. What if you could tell when a critter was visiting your house and could do battle with it? What if you beat it and it fell under the printer’s rollers and out popped a printed sheet complete with squashed critter.

As they say… Zoikz was born (after the usual URL check!)

Then comes the Digital Outlook magic. With the idea whipped into shape with Angus Fletcher, RDF, Miniclip and Egmont all wanted in. For our part, launching it was simple. Zoikz was mainly targetted at 8-12yr old boys so a game on Miniclip would be a fantastic launch strategy to start building awareness. Egmont are the worlds largest publisher and also publish Toxic magazine targetted at 6-12yr old boys. Wouldn’t it be amazing if they ran a full page add on the same day as Miniclip launched a Zoikz game? Wouldn’t it be even more awesome if they ran a full page for the first 6 weeks then published a proper Zoikz cartoon? Well, that’s exactly why Tuesday was a big day… as that’s what happened!

I’m currently away from my PC and only have a restricted iPhone browser (insert rant about Apple / Flash here) so I haven’t actually seen it. Very annoying but very cool at the same time.

PLAY IT on Miniclip here.
Print out your cheat sheet then visit the minisite to see a Zoik in Augmented Reality 3D on Zoikz.com.
VISIT the microsite here.

Check out the article in NMA for a bit of name-checking.

Please DO let me know what you think. It’s really at its initial phase and although we have ideas, I would love to hear where you would like it to go.