PopCap & Square-Enix Team-Up Started As A Joke

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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PopCap & Square-Enix Team-Up Started As A Joke

Last week, PopCap Games and Square-Enix announced their joint venture, puzzle-RPG Gyromancer, piquing the interest of Puzzle Quest fans worldwide. But would you believe that the entire thing started out as a joke?


Speaking with Wired [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/09/popcap-collaboration-with-square-enix-started-as-joke/], PopCap co-founder and chief creative officer Jason Kapalka said that his initial pitch to Square-Enix for a game that combined the JRPG studio's Final Fantasy aesthetic with the casual-game behemoth's fiendishly addictive Bejeweled Twist was initially something of a joke.

Many people have noted the similarity between the recently-announced Gyromancer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94988-Square-Enix-and-PopCap-Games-Announce-Gyromancer] and Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, and that's apparently no coincidence. There were more than a few fans of Puzzle Quest in the PopCap offices, and during initial brainstorming, the team felt it would be "karmically neutral" to try their hand - but perhaps the developers didn't take the idea as seriously as they might have.

[blockquote]Kapalka told Wired.com that he brought up the hybrid idea as a goof while meeting with Square Enix, which publishes some of PopCap game's in Japan. But once he mentioned "Final Fantasy Bejeweled," the idea began to gather momentum: Yuichi Murasawa, designer of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Tactics A2, got wind of the Gyromancer concept and jumped on board.

"Suddenly it was a real project over at Square," Kapalka said.[/blockquote]

After doing the preliminary design - and basing the game around the more "strategic, hard-core" Bejeweled Twist - PopCap handed the project off to Square-Enix, tagging them into the ring.

So, from what I'm reading here, this is the image I'm getting:

PopCap: "So, uh. We have a bunch of silly little ideas here. Some guys in the office came up with this idea in between raiding in WoW, and they've been joking about making a Final Fantasy: Bejeweled ever since, lol!"

Squeenix: "Uh..." *looking amongst themselves* "...we're up for it if you guys are."

And that's how we got Gyromancer. I'm tempted to imagine that's how we got Kingdom Hearts, too - though PopCap's pitch probably involved fewer chainsaws [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93033-Kingdom-Hearts-Originally-Had-Chainsaws].

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VonVirgo

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Mar 25, 2009
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"Started as a joke" that's not surprising; that's how Kingdom Hearts started, remember?
 

Sephiwind

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Aug 12, 2009
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It actually looks a lot better then Puzzle Quest... not that that is hard to do. Too bad it looks like M$ forked over even more money for exclusivity again...
 

Blanks

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Mar 17, 2009
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Puppet M. said:
"Started as a joke" that's not surprising; that's how Kingdom Hearts started, remember?

Actually Kingdom Hearts was conceived when a Disney executive and a Square executive walked into an elevator together
 

VeX1le

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Aug 26, 2008
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well it looks sorta like puzzle quest so i might get it. kingdom hearts was good and well they all metioned it that is was a joke too. so why not.
 

101194

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Nov 11, 2008
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Looks good, Great, Acually might check is out...But...I don't know...I like jokes...
 

JakobBloch

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Blanks said:
Puppet M. said:
"Started as a joke" that's not surprising; that's how Kingdom Hearts started, remember?

Actually Kingdom Hearts was conceived when a Disney executive and a Square executive walked into an elevator together
Hurray for blind luck. I wonder what other awesome colaborations might be out there just waiting to happen?
 

Darenus

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Apr 10, 2008
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Owch.. I fear the worst for my career...
Onmi said:
Kojima crossed over Boktai with Megaman cause his son thought it would be cool.
Hopefully better ideas than what the comic readers have to keep up with... I certainly don't want a lame concept of Superman 64 meeting Terminator
 

Darenus

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Apr 10, 2008
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Arassar said:
Bejeweled the RPG? *sigh*
Technically there is already a Bejeweled RPG out there, called Puzzle Quest (predecessor to Puzzle Quest: Galactrix as there is a review of it here on the Escapist.)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/reviews/682-Puzzle-Quest-Galactrix-Review-Supplement

But for all the FF gamers out there with little less time than earlier this will be a hard hook to miss.
 

UberMore

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Blanks said:
Puppet M. said:
"Started as a joke" that's not surprising; that's how Kingdom Hearts started, remember?

Actually Kingdom Hearts was conceived when a Disney executive and a Square executive walked into an elevator together
Awesome!

This game, on the other hand, looks freakin' sweet! I'd buy it.
 

Robert632

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JakobBloch said:
Blanks said:
Puppet M. said:
"Started as a joke" that's not surprising; that's how Kingdom Hearts started, remember?

Actually Kingdom Hearts was conceived when a Disney executive and a Square executive walked into an elevator together
Hurray for blind luck. I wonder what other awesome colaborations might be out there just waiting to happen?

god of war and Pokemon.

who wouldn't ant that.
 

LeonLethality

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Mar 10, 2009
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I'd play it in all honesty I play a few pop cap games myself and I'm all for puzzle games so all in all it should be money well spent
 

Erana

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Feb 28, 2008
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CantFaketheFunk said:
Last week, PopCap Games and Square-Enix announced their joint venture, puzzle-RPG Gyromancer, piquing the interest of Puzzle Quest fans worldwide. But would you believe that the entire thing started out as a joke?
... Wait, there are Puzzle Quest fans worldwide?
I just thought I bought some cheap game on my phone by accident; I didn't realise it had a fanbase.