The kind folk over at Buildbox asked for a little information about their user base, but all I talked about was Wiggly Loaf. I sorta went off on a tangent, but I wanted to share what I wrote because I sometimes forget that most of the world doesn’t already know Wiggly Loaf yet. So this is a bit of the back story right from the heart.
Jay Moores here. I am an arts and crafts counselor at a summer camp in Maine. I draw goofy comics with chalk on the chalkboard. Wiggly Loaf is our art studio mascot who is most often on our chalkboard saying things like, “Please wash your brushes!”
I’ve been teaching in the same arts and crafts room since 1986. Over the years Wiggly Loaf and I have seen a lot change. Attention span has changed. The staff I work with and the kids are all looking at their phone, or talking about a meme they saw on their phone.
Adults are always telling kids they are doing the wrong thing, but I try to not do that. I want them to know they can be themselves in the art room. I thought getting Wiggly Loaf on their phones would be a nice gesture. A way to reach out, meet them half way, and join them.
Buildbox allowed me to get Wiggly Loaf from the art room chalkboard onto iOS and Android without knowing any code. That act alone created a lot of inspiration from those who know me. The game looks like our chalkboard, and I left shout outs to my art room kids in the early version of the game. They were blown away, and then they provided me with more shout outs to publish on the game’s chalkboard to surprise their friends. It was awesome.
My job is not teaching arts and crafts. My job is to teach self esteem using art materials. Many of my students love the art room because they feel safe here. Their ideas are heard, and supported. If they mess something up, I always let them know they matter more than any wasted materials, and we move on.
Adults often forget and rant about how much stuff costs when they don’t see the value in the process of getting through failures. It’s that we move on and apply what we’ve learned from each mistake that is the process of success. In my art room Wiggly Loaf is part of that, because, “we don’t get weird, we get Wiggly”, and the kids love to be able to take a bit of this place with them.
If you were a kid who loved the art room at your school, church group, or camp, Wiggly Loaf is here for you. He’s so simple any one can draw him. He makes others feel like they can do it too. Wiggly Loaf frees them into believing they can make art because he is not intimidating. If he was complex and something no one else could draw, he’d lose all his appeal. Wiggly Loaf follows the keep it simple rule, and invites you to believe in yourself even if you’re not perfect. So much from so little! But that’s why it was so important to make Wiggly Loaf into a game.
If Wiggly Loaf can make it from the chalkboard to your iPhone, pretty much anything is possible.
It makes Wiggly Loaf real to the smart phone generation, it makes Wiggly Loaf, a thing. And now anyone in the free world who can hold a phone will no longer need to get weird, because now they can get Wiggly any time they want 24/7 night or day because BuildBox made it all possible.
Since the Wiggly Loaf game I have been making a series based on my knowledge of art history. I love the good stuff. Things like: Egypt, 15th century witchcraft woodcuts, Garden of Delights, Hindu Gods…
So far I self published 13 games total to Android and to iOS and there’s still a couple months left of being a first year newbie Boxer. I am now working on getting the games onto Amazon. It’s been an amazing learning experience, and it all feels like a miracle to be going from ideas and concept to finished game in such a short amount of time. I love being alive during the computer age. So empowering.
J.E.Moores ~ JEMoores.com
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