Humongous’ co-president talks about the game developer – past, present and future
By Michael Lafferty

“Our vision for Humongous is to evolve the entertainment experience of our brands beyond video games.”

Back in the 1990s, a children’s game developer named Humongous was on top of the world. It had a beloved sports series featuring a group of kids that became more than simple cartoons in a game environment, they were friends. Even the commentators of the games were bright, fresh and fun.

But that was merely the tip of the iceberg. Humongous also had a number of adventure titles, geared for children that involved both puzzle solving and rich entertaining experiences. The stars were Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Spy Fox and Putt Putt.

Infogrames, which goes under the banner of Atari, bought out Humongous in 1999, but things were less than wonderful. In June of 2001 the Bothell, Wash., developer laid off more than 40 percent of its staff, and the focus went to the Backyard series. According to stories on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the layoffs were not only done in a manner that was ill received and were, as one artist stated, “hideous.” 

This was all during a time when the market for children’s games was slumping. Humongous was hit and hit hard. It has been a lean time for the company, but this is not an unhappy story. Though the years have been lean, there has continued to be a pulse in the lifeblood that was Humongous, a pulse that has gotten a bit stronger – to the point where the developer has actually turned a profit recently.

What does this portend? Does that mean we may see a return to the good old days, with fresh adventures for that loveable cast of characters?

GameZone.com got to chat with Lauren Schechtman Allen, co-president of Humongous, Inc. about Humongous and what may lay ahead for the company.

Question: Humongous was a respected and renowned name in children's games, spawning not only the popular Backyard Sports series, but other popular children's adventure games like Freddie Fish, Putt-Putt and Pajama Sam. Scale-backs resulted in other brands, aside from the Backyard titles, falling by the wayside. Was that a hard decision to make, and how did you arrive at keeping the sports franchises going but not the adventure games? 

Lauren: The decision to focus initially on the strength of the Backyard Sports brand is part of Humongous’ vision to capitalize on existing assets in order to build a strong foundation for long-term growth.

The Backyard Sports brand has an incredible amount of equity and a huge following of loyal fans. In fact, nearly 25% of 9- and 10-year old boys own at least one Backyard game making the Backyard Sports brand the #1 sports video game series for kids. Another huge advantage is our relationships with the sports leagues. (Backyard Sports is the only game brand to hold licenses with all major U.S. sports leagues.) Maintaining and improving those relationships are a key priority for Humongous. The sports leagues give us an extraordinary amount of support, credibility, and audience reach. In return, we are helping the leagues capture their next generation of fans.

Q: During the four or so years since Humongous has only been working on Backyard titles, how hard has it been to reinvent the games to keep them lively and fresh?

Lauren: It’s hard to believe but the Backyard Sports brand was created nearly 10 years ago. Over that decade, the look and style of the games had been modified only slightly. It’s been in the past year that we’ve really updated all aspects of the brand to keep up with the attitudes and interests of our audience. Today’s kids have been playing sports and video games for years so their expectations when it comes to design, environments, game physics, and effects are extraordinarily high.

From a graphic perspective, we found that the sugary sweet, silly style of Backyard kids needed a major overhaul in order to be successful with 6- to 12-year-old consumers whose entertainment tastes have evolved into an older, edgier style.  As for gameplay, we broadened the scope to make sure the barrier to entry is low enough so young fans can jump into the game. Yet we kept the game absolutely true to the sport with the stats, depth, and realism to challenge the older child who knows sports and knows gaming. We also found that kids prefer to play sports games on platforms like PS2 and GBA rather than on the PC, which had been our main platform.  

The result, which you can see in the recently released Backyard Baseball 2007, is a gaming experience that fills the fantasy of every young sports fan: characters (including professional superstars) are more mature, more believable as athletes; environments are interactive, rich and detailed; gameplay is fun and rewarding at many skill levels; and there are tons of surprises and humorous scenarios appropriate for kids.   

Q: What have been the biggest changes to not only the game titles, but the company over the course of the past several years?

Lauren: The biggest change to Humongous is that now we are an independent business unit, with its own decision process and publishing committee, reporting to our parent company, rather than a division of a larger entity. The new Humongous consists of a small core team of senior level producers, designers, and managers who have a strong feeling of appropriation of the business and of its results. We’ve streamlined operations and outsource many functions that used to be handled internally like development, creative services, advertising, and PR. This gives us the freedom to seek out and embrace fresh, creative ideas, the newest technology, and latest marketing trends to make a better product. Yes, it’s harder to manage—and believe me the challenges are many—but the end result is dramatic.

Q: To what do you attribute the fact that for the first time in several years Humongous is turning a profit? It seems to me that prior to acquisition of the company (by Infogrames), Humongous was doing fairly well, and then when linked with the Infogrames/Atari brand, the company fell on leaner times. What caused that?

Lauren: The fact that we’re profitable for the first time in four years is a direct reflection on the team (which includes original Humongous employees) who is more committed than ever before to the success of the brand and to making Humongous one of the top kids’ entertainment companies.

We’re also, for the first time in many years, in tune with our audience. We’re constantly working with kids and parents--testing, studying, asking, and evaluating — so we can give them what they want, what they can’t find anywhere else.

Q: Is the children's game market basically the same as it was when Humongous was turning out the adventure titles or has the market changed? If the latter, how is Humongous positioning itself to keep pace with the market and target audience?

Lauren: The kids’ game market is very different now than when Putt Putt hit the scene in the early nineties. At that time great titles like Reader Rabbit, Carmen San Diego, and Jump Start along with the Humongous Adventures dominated retail software shelves. Now, those games have been replaced by licensed properties from TV and movies, with sales success being a reflection of popularity of the characters rather than quality of the game.

For Humongous, we are committed to delivering an entertainment experience to children that is of value and quality — we say entertainment with a purpose. The Backyard Sports brand is a great example. Yes, these are fun, exciting, often hilarious games, yet kids can actually learn the rules and strategies of the sport by playing them. They’ll learn when to steal a base or how to set up for the screen pass. We want our young audience to get something worthwhile out of every Humongous game they play.

Q: Is there a chance we might see one of those great old adventure characters making a return? What would it take for that to happen?

Lauren: We definitely haven’t forgotten the wonderful adventure games that put Humongous on the map and are currently working on different strategies to bring those games back to life. Putt Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, and Spy Fox are undoubtedly some of the highest quality kids games ever published and there is a whole generation of kids who would fall in love with them.

In the early ‘90s the Humongous Adventures were consistently at the top of the kids gaming sales charts. However, things changed with the proliferation of games featuring high-profile licensed brands from Disney and Nickelodeon. We know that naturally kids and moms are drawn to their favorite characters from TV and movies. What that means to us, is that we have to build the equity and recognition of Humongous characters before they can be successful as games.

Q: If that were to happen, without citing what focus groups or market studies might tell you, what would be your personal favorite to bring back and why?

Lauren: I love Freddi Fish — when my daughter was little, she and I used to play that game together again and again. I feel like Freddi and Luther are old friends.

Q: Would you target the same target age group?

Lauren: The beauty of the Humongous character games is that each franchise (from Putt Putt to Spy Fox) targets a different age and/or skill level. The plan is to bring these games back under one umbrella brand, an adventure series that appeals to and grows with a child through all their stages and ages.

Just like kids of the nineties, we want the next generation to grow up with the Humongous characters. The vision is for a child to begin with Putt Putt at four-year old, move on to Freddi Fish at seven, Pajama Sam at ten and finally Spy Fox at 12.

Q: Where do you see Humongous, as a company, in 1-5 years?

Lauren: Our vision for Humongous is to evolve the entertainment experience of our brands beyond video games. We are currently evaluating opportunities in film, publishing, and online.  But we’re taking it slowly. Expansion into new territory is a long-term proposition, and we’re in it for the long haul. We just have to keep on track, stay true to our vision, and constantly stay tuned into our audience.

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