For a developer of smartphone and tablet-computer games to compete directly with the runaway hit “Angry Birds” might seem foolhardy — but a Minneapolis company has set out to do precisely that.
Ham in the Fridge has released an iPhone and iPad game called “Bumpin’ Uglies” that, like “Angry Birds,” uses slingshot-style mechanics to fling a cartoon character through a series of game screens replete with obstacles and challenges.
But the developers say they’ve imbued “Bumpin’ Uglies” with unique elements, including the whimsical goal of getting a pair of rounded characters bumping up against each other to produce gaggles of “bumplings.”
If this seems vaguely sexual in a G-rated sense, that is no accident. Some will recognize the phrase “bumpin’ uglies” as slang for sexual intercourse.
Ham in the Fridge founder and creative director Bret Hummel said he got the idea for the bumping action two years ago when he learned about an app that allowed an exchange of information between two handsets that were bumped together.
Hummel, who said he and his team “are always coming up with crazy ideas,” then remembered the “bumpin’ uglies” phrase (which he jokingly likens to “horizontal mambo”) and decided it would be the name for a general-interest game without overt sexual references.
That was the easy part.
What followed was a grueling 16 months of development with many a low point, including a failed Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. That got the game a great deal of attention but delayed its release as the developers scrambled to line up private funding.
“With any project that goes on like that, there are ups and downs,” Hummel said. The staffers had demoralizing moments, but “pushed through it and got to the finish line.”
“Bumpin’ Uglies” isn’t the first video game for Ham in the Fridge, which has churned out scads of mobile and browser games for entertainment-industry clients like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
But “Bumpin’ Uglies” is the first the company has set out to develop all on its own, without a client footing the bill and setting a deadline.
“It’s our own little baby,” Hummel said. “We were able to inject a lot more creativity into it because we did not have those kinds of time constraints.”
The game, customized for the larger iPad screen as well as the smaller screens on the iPhone and iPod Touch, offers 15 levels at no charge. Additional sets of levels and other bits are available as in-app purchases.
If the game is successful, Ham in the Fridge intends to create sequels.
