Oingo Boingo...?

Since its digital debut back in January 2009, Bolt Creative's omnipotent god simulation Pocket God has gone on to the the rarest of things - a perennial best-selling and critically-acclaimed release in the iTunes App Store that's enchanted most, offended others, and managed to gather a massive fan base of Justin Bieber-like proportions.  Millions have downloaded and enjoyed the most perverse - and hilarious - game of guiding a never-ending supply of cartoon Pygmies and often making their disposable lives a living hell.

Actually, interviewing Dave was so nice we've done it twice - this time making time for the easily excitable and always entertaining programming maestro to plug his company's latest project, the official Pocket God comic book from iVerse Media (through Ape Entertainment), which brings the adventures of the once-anonymous Pygmie island population to life with vivid characters and wacky situations ripped from the App itself.  You want sharks with laser beams strapped to their heads?  You've got 'em, and a whole lot more.

Lest we upset the gods, let's get down to business with One Quick-Minute with Bolt Creative's Dave Castelnuovo!

Will the comic follow the daily dalliances of the island inhabitants? Are you hoping to turn Pocket God into more of a phenomenon than a simple easy-to-play mobile phenomenon?

Yes and Yes. The comic will follow the adventures of these 6 characters and how they deal with being killed on a daily (or sometimes hourly) basis. As far as our long term plans for Pocket God, I see it as a potential franchise. One of the main things that people respond to with Pocket God is the humor and art. As long as we have the same kind of senseless violence and inappropriate humor, we can take the Pocket God world and apply it to many different kinds of games and platforms.

It’s interesting that Pocket God is going digital first and print second. Was there a lead (e-reader) platform you guys had in mind when designing the comic itself?

The primary platform was always going to be [Apple's] iOS, because we have millions of fans on those devices, but the pages were designed in a traditional comic book format. When we first started talking to Ape Entertainment I wanted to make sure that this story came out in print, I’ve always been a huge comic book fan and it really means a lot to me to have a physical book in my hands. I also think it’s cool that our comic could be responsible for getting a new generation of fans into their local comic shop. Although I love reading comics on my iPad, there is nothing like being able to browse through a ton of comics in one place and being able to flip through them when looking for something new to read.

I love how bright and colorful the art style is for the comic. Will there be black-and-white versions available for e-readers like the Kindle, Nook, etc.?

Thanks! Rolo Malada did an amazing job, we were completely blown away by his art as each page came in for our review. We are currently working on the art for issue #2 and he is exploring different colors and settings for their adventure. The color to issue #3, which we use for the landing page in the app, is one of my favorite pieces that he drew.

In regards to the Kindle, we probably won’t do a black and white version for either the Kindle or Nook. There are other color platforms that we would explore first but even so, I think a black and white version would ruin the comic.

Will the story perhaps shed a little light on why the poor villagers are stuck on this island for the eternal enjoyment of their unseen deity? Will we see any personalities or unique characters emerge from the anonymous masses?

Absolutely, the story starts off with the typical day to day antics of the tribe and how each individual Pygmy deals with having an unseen force continually subject them to random acts of death. Some pygmies seek to worship and please the gods while Ooga, the main character, thinks it’s all a waste of time so he just sits back and makes fun of his other tribe mates. The first arc deals with Ooga’s evolution and how he eventually steps up and gains the respect of his other tribe members. We wanted to create the characters in a way that people could relate to them and along the way we want each character to evolve and learn to look at their world differently.

Now that you’ve got a best-selling App and comic book under your wing, are there any plans for the future of the Pocket God franchise? What about an animated feature or television series? Chipmunk-style musical remixes? Or even (dare I dream) a Prime-Time Christmas Holiday Special, perhaps…?

Yes, we are teaming with the company that made all those old school Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas specials and we’re producing “A Very Pocket God Christm-ass”. The Pocket God-God mistakes Santa’s Elves for Pygmies and starts sacrificing them left and right. But alas, elves are not immortal like our Pygmies so the Pygmies have to step in and save Christmas by making toys for all those little boys and girls. And hilarity ensues. [editor's note: he's totally kidding folks...sadly]

Seriously though, we have an iPad game in the works, Pocket God plushies and figures that will be available soon, and Pocket God games for two other platforms that we have yet to announce. Things have been pretty good for Pocket God this last year and a half.

I was lucky to get a preview of the very first (digital) issue of the Pocket God comic to (digitally) leaf through, and I'm happy to say that if the rest of the four-part series is as good as the first, it's not just rabid Pocket God fans (are there any other kind?) that are in for a treat.  The artwork is rendered in glorious color and detailed to perfection and disturbingly hilarious.  So much of what makes the Pocket God experience unique is here, including speared Pygmies, sharks with laser beams, and the most adorable death scenes you've ever seen.

Even better, the digital version is a self-contained App, meaning it's fully compatible on all iOS platforms (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), with special rendering to take full advantage of the smaller screens on the iPhone/Touch versions.  Another fun addition is the 'Comic Book Store' locator, which helps you find local comic books stores that will (presumably) sell the printed version of the Pocket God comic that's set to make its retail debut soon.

To check out (and possibly purchase) the full Pocket God digital comic for yourselves, head on over to the official iTunes App Store and see if your life could use a little ooga booga HERE!