Prioritizing Play

If we had a nickel for every time a visitor to CloudKid’s HQ mentioned the amazing amount of toys we have… well, we’d have a lot of nickels.  While we love seeing the excitement on people’s faces as they marvel at the sheer volume of gizmos and gadgets around our office, our toys are for much more than show.  Despite being an office full of “adults,” we think it is vitally important to take time out to play each and every day.  Whether it’s subtly swapping Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s parts or jamming together as an inner-office “Rock Band” during lunch, we prioritize play in our company culture.

While we’re all for playing to “unwind” and “stay young at heart,” we also realize the benefits of play go beyond fun cliches.  We recently came across this article on the power of play, which alludes to a plethora of research that supports the importance of incorporating play into everyday lives — even for adults.  In fact, according to the work of Dr. Stuart Brown,  “playfulness amplifies our capacity to innovate and to adapt to changing circumstances.”  We highly recommend checking out some of this research, and more importantly, to start incorporating play into your own workday.  Warning: you may start to enjoy being at work more than being at home!

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CloudKid: A Year in Review 2011

Last January, CloudKid recapped our first full year with a dandy list of highlights. And while 2010 was a killer year, 2011 was doubly amazing. Some highlights include:

  • Finished Fizzy’s Lunch Lab season 2 production
  • Developed & started production on a project with Scholastic Education
  • Nominated for our 2nd Emmy for Fizzy’s Lunch Lab
  • Nominated for our 3rd Emmy for the Pictureka show opener
  • Green-lit for a 3rd season of Fizzy’s Lunch Lab
  • Produced a website and games for the upcoming show, Peg+Cat
  • Hired our first Harvard graduate
  • Moved into a new headquarters in Boston, MA
  • Launched our PBS /US Dept. of Ed. transmedia project, Escape
  • Held our first CloudKid open house
  • Awarded 2nd year PBS /US Dept. of Ed. transmedia grant
  • Landed our first gig with Sesame Workshop
  • Revamped the Lunch Lab website
  • Started production on our 1st original iPad app property
  • The CloudKid team grew to twelve full-timers

2011 was filled with hard work and a lot of fun, but next year is going to be even better. We have big things planned for 2012, and we’re not going to let the Mayans stand in our way.

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S is for Sesame Street!

It’s official!  CloudKid is going to produce a Sesame Street interactive game (and Android app version down the road).  The animation-heavy experience will feature a well-known character who doesn’t have a single game on the Sesame Street site – we like to think we’re breaking some cool ground. Everyone at CloudKid has been huge fans since we were in diapers, so needless to say we’re ecstatic!

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A Look Inside CloudKid

A few weeks ago, our friends at PBS Kids visited the CloudKid HQ with a camera crew. As partners in the 2012 National Stem Video Game Challenge, PBS decided to give kids a sneak peek at what it is like to work for a game design company.  We were honored when they asked us to be a part of this initiative, along with WGBH and Sesame Workshop.

Check out the finished video here and please help spread the word about the challenge.  We’re so excited to see what kids come up with!

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CloudKid Open HQ!

Last Friday night, CloudKid opened its doors to family and friends. Over a hundred guests packed into our penthouse headquarters for some old fashioned merriment (aka vittles and spirits).  Some of the star-studded guests included the likes of Fish McGill, John Holland, Tofu Squirrel, Bob Flynn, Joe Gaudet, Renee Kurilla, Scott Nash…and most of our parents.  A good time was had by all!

Check out the photos on the CloudKid Facebook page and follow us to learn about our next shindig later this fall.

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CloudKid Workspace

Last spring, photographer Jorg Meyer stopped by the CloudKid Headquarters to photograph our workspace for MassArt’s annual admissions guidebook. This year, it’ll feature a small article about Dave, Matt, and CloudKid. The photos are also featured on a new website that gives a sneak peek into the creative spaces of MassArt students and alumni.  You can check out some of the photographs from the shoot here.

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TGIF

Since the dawn of man, Friday has been revered and celebrated as the best day of the week.  Fossilized remains of party cups have been found all over the globe, and though Wikipedia will insist otherwise, Loverboy’s Working for the Weekend is actually a cover of an ancient Aboriginal chant that dates back thousands of years.

In keeping with this ancient tradition, we like to make Fridays a little special here at CloudKid.  Each week, everyone at the studio gathers together to eat lunch, share what we’ve been working on, and discuss new projects that are floating on the horizon.  The coveted MVP Award is given out to the deserving CloudKid of the week, and we usually end things by watching a little entertainment.  Sometimes a theme is suggested: present the worst piece of artwork you’ve ever created; show us an animation or video that particularly inspired you this week … you get the idea.

Here’s a little taste of what we did last Friday.  To celebrate our Escape from GreasyWorld game — what else?  An ice cream sundae party!

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Making Moves…Again

Less than a year ago, CloudKid made the move from its humble beginnings in Watertown, MA to the mean streets of Brighton.  It was our goal to create a colorful and fun environment where CloudKid could live for a couple of years. The good news is that the new studio has been better than we imagined – it has enabled us to expand our team, have a conference room for brainstorms and meetings, and foster a truly collaborative environment. The bad news is that we have already outgrown the space.

The amazing news is that we found an even better new office just three buildings down the street! While no one likes moving, we’re pretty excited about it. The space has been fully renovated, artists Brian Butler and Fish McGill have painted a series of epic murals, and three thousand pounds of Ikea furniture was assembled yesterday. The next week is going to be a whirlwind, but we should be ready to rock by the middle of August. We’re confident the new new CloudKid HQ will create a truly inspirational environment for all CloudKids.

Yeah, we can’t wait.

 

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The Boat

It has been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That may be true, but here at CloudKid, we go pretty nuts for lunch. And when it comes to our favorite place to get some lunchtime noms, there’s no doubt about it: it’s the BoatHouse Deli in Brighton, MA … otherwise known as “The Boat”.

At first glance, The Boat is slightly suspect. After all, it is a deli hidden deep inside a nondescript gas station. The term “gas station sandwich” conjures up all sorts of horrifying images — slimy pre-made subs tightly wrapped in plastic, sitting for days next to a greasy rotating hot dog warmer. Happily, the BoatHouse Deli is nothing like that terrifying vision. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Once inside The Boat, you are greeted by a veritable cornucopia of delicatessen deliciousness — freshly baked breads, crispy veggies, tasty meats and cheeses, warm soups, toasty slices of pizza, and a great selection of sandwiches made to order. The friendly staff expertly crafts every sandwich with an extra helping of TLC (and if you’re lucky, special sauce). A testament to their patience and friendliness, the ladies of The Boat have even humored a certain member of CloudKid who wanted to create and name his own custom sandwich. It’s called The Dinghy … order it at your own risk.

So if you happen to be on this side of the Charles River and are jonesing for a sandwich, sammy, san-doozle, or Adam Sandler, check out The Boat. Deli-cious!

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Whistle While You Work

Whether you’re struggling to hit a deadline, fending off burrito coma after lunch, or just plain ready to rock, the perfect mix of songs is sometimes all you need to power through the day. That’s why, here at CloudKid, we love to make awesome iTunes playlists for the whole studio to enjoy.

We usually start off with a theme: Saxy Time (sultry songs featuring the saxophone); our Inspiration Mix (songs guaranteed to get your blood pumping). Everyone at the studio sends in their favorite songs within the theme, and the rest is smooth sailing. Or sometimes just Sailing, by Christopher Cross.

CloudKid’s latest mix is the brainchild of our animation director, Mike Annear. It’s called Whistle Trax, and is comprised of songs that feature whistling (naturally). Here are a few whistlin’ ditties that really tickle our fancy.

Patience — Guns N’ Roses
Walk Like An Egyptian — The Bangles
(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay — Otis Redding
Jealous Guy — John Lennon
There It Go (The Whistle Song) — Juelz Santana

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