One of the great things about smaller companies launching in the MMO world is that they're up against the giants who have what seem to be unlimited budgets and promotional opportunities, requiring nothing short of incredible ingenuity and creativity from the teams. So it was great that the first game advertisement I saw at the Gen Con show was for Freaky Creatures . It was even more incredible that, after walking the area outside the exhibit hall and gaming rooms, the contest they were running for beta keys was advertised everywhere!

Watching their exhibit hall booth traffic was even more exciting as potential players lined up to take a crack at the game. Unfortunately early Thursday the beta servers were taken offline to deal with patch issues (what can you say? It's beta!) and while many walked away disappointed for the moment, judging from the lines later in the week, most folks stopped by again to give it a shot.

One of the best reactions I heard was someone talking about how excited they were to get their kids into it, and someone standing close by said "Screw your kids, me and my buddies are dying to play!" Judging from the reactions, they've not been disappointed. The most common reaction is that parents are excited to have a game that introduces their kids to playing with others, collectibles, online play, and competition all at once. And parents are excited for a fun zero barrier to entry game with rewards for participating and games that are often as quick as five minutes each.

I think it easily shows the appeal across multiple markets that this game offers. Certainly it's been difficult for the marketing team to approach both markets while alienating neither. Abandon Entertainment Interactive Vice President of Marketing Sarah Ottile recognizes this difficulty, as well as others unique for those in a smaller studio competing against more well established companies.

She mentioned that not only does it require creativity to make the most of your budget while reaching as many potential players as possible; it requires finesse in appealing to their different markets. So far, she and her talented team have succeeded. Freaky Creatures has teamed up with the Dell Extreme Gaming Tour , and they have partnerships with Logitech, and Alienware as well. Right now they're giving away a laptop, cell phones and retail gift cards to users who sign up for beta before September 1st.

These partnerships have helped to stretch visibility and outreach, and brings up another issue the team is constantly fighting against, being pigeon holed into a specific genre of game! They'd like to think their game is more of an experience, having artfully combined battle, collection, and customization, into a unique blend. Combine this mixture with art that is entertaining and creative along with a story that is easily told and you have an intellectual property (IP) that the team hopes to expand upon in the years to come.

With a monthly fee of only $5.99 the game certainly appeals to a more casual market, but the team has plans for rewarding those focused on collection as well. The process for the design of the characters was incredibly intense and the paint operations were no less so. No less than 100 spray operations are completed for each of the collectibles, and each is hand rubbed during the final phase. This ensures that no two toys have the exact same look. To encourage the collectibility, we'll see the first edition figures go through a second iteration, with a change in the dye operation, and released as a second version. The last two collectible figures for each set will also be rares, and the very last figure will be offered digitally only, once all the others have been collected.

The team is optimistic about their future, and that the game will be received well by all types of fans across the world, but they won't talk about their future plans for the IP. When I mentioned the trend to turn these types of IPs into movies, games across all platforms, and expansion to other types of games, Sarah became excited as she talked about the possibilities and how hopeful the team was for other projects in the planning stages. She was also quick to temper her excitement noting that the entire team had no other plans right now except to get through this launch with the very best product they could.

With over five thousand beta testers active in the game, and regular waves of invites being planned before the launch in the fall of this year, Freaky Creatures has plans for lots of launch excitement. Their Community Manager, Nikolah, will be hosting contests and celebrations from the get-go, and already he's doing a great job of keeping their community involved and focused on their beta tasks.

Beta began at the beginning of this month, and the collectible figures will be on shelves October 14th. Currently they're inviting waves of beta testers for load testing and to help balance the powers and parts that can be affixed to your creature.

As we wrapped up our chat, sitting on the floor of the exhibit hall not far from the Freaky Creatures booth, Sarah mentioned it was her birthday, I hope she had the best one yet! Hopefully the game will launch well and she won't have to push back her wedding yet again. The game features many ways for the entire family to enjoy, with an awesome hold on what many love best about gaming, collectibles, customizations, and fun.

Becky "Tovin" Simpson
Allakhazam.com News Editor & Staff Writer
ZAM Network