Finally, at the 9,999th ramen shop that he visited today, Nibblee spotted shredded menus on the floor! He followed the pieces and found a blue guy with peg legs dicing up his favorite meal!

This blue guy is Prinny from the Disgaea series. He told Nibblee that Queen Etna was getting upset that he wasn’t practicing Japanese, so he had to slice a billion Japanese menus. Nibblee found it hard to believe that anyone can learn Japanese by cutting up menus. Nibblee, desperate to save ramen menus to eat later on, offered to go to the Netherworld to tutor Prinny.

Prinny is studying really hard.

Nibblee, proud of Prinny’s progress, took a break to snack on a ramen menu. “Mmmm…. curry ramen, tomato ramen, 800 yen,” a satiated Nibblee said. “Hey Prinny, where did you get this idea?” “Dood,” Prinny chirped. “This is what Lord Laharl does and you just can’t go wrong by following the lord.”

And that’s how Disgaea characters got into Character Chowdown.

Character Chowdown: Disgaea version will be available in Spring 2013! Who knows what other guests from the Netherworld will be there…

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Howard Marks, one co-founders of Activision, created StartEngine to equips startups (like us!) with essential resources and mentors to build a solid foundation for success.

As game developers, we can’t wait to learn more from Howard. Nommons, it’s time to get to work! Are you ready? Start engine, get set, and go!

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Captain Redrigo the III and Wubblee saw Nibblee tagging along and thought there might be good food in South Korea, that’s why they hopped into another suitcase. Here they are, in our booth, busy snacking on candy…

The Korea Serious Game Festival is an international conference where video game publishers discuss educational games. We met with publishers in Korea to talk to them about Character Chowdown and another game currently in development. We met lots of nice people on the trip and Wubblee ate so much Korean barbeque that he got a stomachache.

Maybe we will be able to make a Korean version of Character Chowdown one day.

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I got fleece and polyester fiber for the stuffing. I started by tracing our concept artwork on pieces of fleece for the outline. Then I cut those out and started sewing. It took me a couple days to sew them together since I’m kind of rusty, but now I have these cuddly little guys in my hands, and I can hug them all I want.

You guys are just adorable!

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Hey, it’s our first game! Character Chowdown came from the idea of designing a game that “levels players up” as they got better at it. Last December, I created a prototype of Character Chowdown on my own. It was just a few levels, but I think I captured the heart of the game. We worked with the rad coders at Twisted Oak Studios and our friends at NIS America to make the scrumptious version coming out for free on iOS devices.

Character Chowdown teaches players how to read katakana, a Japanese character set most often used for foreign words. Each character represents a different vowel or consonant/vowel combination. For example, ケ is “ke,” ー means extend the last sound, and キ is “ki.” When you put it together you get something like kē-ki. Try saying that out loud! Now say it faster! Does it sound kind of like “cake?” That’s what ケーキ means.

A hiragana language pack to teach players the character set for native Japanese words will also be available for just $0.99 and we have four kanji packs with English equivalents for 100 basic kanji characters in each pack also for $0.99 cents per pack.

Character Chowdown puts you in control of Nibblee, a friendly, but finicky writer from the New Fork Times. While you’re feasting on Japanese characters, other Nommons will walk on the screen and try to eat them before Nibblee can. Nommons like Wubblee and Captain Redrigo the Third aren’t just troublemakers, they are also teachers. Character Chowdown has a progressive learning system that keeps track of a player’s progress and Nommons replace characters they eat with a Japanese character the player may have forgotten.

We also added a silly feature called “Postcards,” which lets you decorate the Nommons with stamps and write a custom message. Postcards with pictures of flying sharks or ducks playing drums can be uploaded to a Facebook account. More stamps are included as a bonus with each Character Chowdown kanji pack.

Yummy Yummy Tummy developed Character Chowdown in collaboration with NIS America, the folks that localize the Disgaea series. A few guests from the Netherworld will show up in Character Chowdown as playable characters. Do you have a favorite Disgaea or NIS America character you want to see in the game? Tell us via e-mail! There’s a handy dandy form on the right you can fill out with suggestions, comments, and/or anecdotes.

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Character Chowdown will have Disgaea cameo characters! Prinny will be in the game and he can teach you how to read katakana, hiragana, and kanji…. as long as you don’t throw him. You know how volatile Prinny can be. We will be able to announce more about the Disgaea version at a later date.

Before the panel started, we saw the long line of fans eagerly waiting to hear about the latest news from NIS America. Character Chowdown was sure to be a surprise since we kept the title a secret.

The room was fully packed and Spencer started to get nervous since this was his first time speaking to such a large crowd. After revealing Character Chowdown, Spencer asked the audience what other Disgaea characters they wanted to see in the game and there was a roar of support for Prism Red. We’re going to talk to NIS America to see if we can get him into the game too!

Is there anyone you want to see in Character Chowdown? Send us an e-mail by using the e-mail form on the right. We hope to hear from you soon!

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Nibblee

Our spunky hero with a perceptive palate! Back on his home planet, he writes a column in the New Fork Times and is looking for his latest “scoop” on Earth. Being a food writer, Nibblee is pretty finicky. You help guide Nibblee to find what he wants to eat in Character Chowdown! I hear he’s hooked on Japanese characters because he ate a ramen shop menu.

Wubblee

Wubblee’s favorite food is… everything. Wubblee is often seen hanging out at all you can eat buffets with a plate stacked sky high. His motto is, “Edere ergo sum” or “I eat therefore I am,” which Wubblee learned after scarfing down philosophy books when visiting a college coffee shop. In Character Chowdown, Wubblee will race to eat characters before Nibblee does. You can stop Wubblee by flicking him off the screen.

Captain Redrigo the Third

A self proclaimed “pizzaficionado,” Captain Redrigo the Third bellowed “I come in pizza” when he landed on Earth. He learned how to fly a spaceship by watching sci-fi reruns and brought the Nommons here. You know, when he was a kid he thought the Enterprise was a giant pizza cutter and the eye patch is just for show. Captain Redrigo thinks it makes him look tough because he’s really a gentle giant.

Mintee

Mintee loves eating sweets. Luckily, he uses a magical fluoride rinse so his two teeth are cavity-proof. Mintee thinks that his extra layer of enamel is his superhero ability. After gorging on a feast of ice cream cake sandwiches, Mintee got a tummyache from overeating. Since Mintee is home sick watching Netflix we will have to wait until the next version of Character Chowdown to see him.

Dreamee (better known as Deepest Blu)

I hear she’s the most popular Nommon in the universe and because of her schedule she was too busy to appear in Character Chowdown. Her agent says she is shooting a movie in Alpha Centauri called “Rashoyum” and she might be able to stop by during her Milky Way tour, “From sea to shining Cygnus.”

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