What made it a neat fit for Orchard Toys?
Heather Yates, Designer & Illustrator, Orchard Toys: Bluey is a great brand! It’s the same target audience as we have for Orchard Toys so we get it – and the Bluey characters all have a huge appeal to both children and parents. There are so many important themes and relatable moments in Bluey, which families identify with. It’s all done with a sense of humour too. We spent a lot of time making sure we were up to date with the Bluey episodes and really enjoyed doing so. It’s a big treat to be working with such an engaging set of characters.

Let’s dig into the range. There’s a Bluey reimagining of Orchard’s classic Shopping List game. Can you talk me through some of the ways in which you tweaked this to suit the Bluey brand?
Alice Morely, Designer & Illustrator, Orchard Toys: Shopping List is our all-time best seller and a great hit with young children, particularly the collecting element and roleplay of a ‘for real life’ everyday activity. The episode ‘Kids’ brings a lot of humour into the experience of children and their parents going to a supermarket, which I’m sure is very relatable.

I made sure to look at the episode in detail and find food items that you would be able to spot. A few of the character’s favourite foods are in there too, which I hope big fans of the show will be able to recognise. Eagle eyed gamers will notice that Bingo’s name has been changed on her shopping list to Snowdrop, reflecting the persona she adopted in the episode.

Looks great. The Grannies episode gets its own game here too. How does it play?
Rowena: This episode is a family favourite of ours, with my two children regularly quoting “Oops I’ve slipped on my beans!” I’d challenge anyone to watch Bluey and Bingo assuming their roles as Rita and Janet not to laugh out loud at some point during this episode! I chose to incorporate key items such as Janet’s granny glasses and the comical ride-in car the sisters travel in, as a nod to the episodes drawn upon. The idea being that players pick items from the ‘sandbox’ to progress towards the finish and get flossing!

Another golden moment from the Grannies episode features Janet having a “nana nap” – for those who don’t know this is an almost instantaneous micro nap an old person may have! I wanted to use this card to make the player pretend to fall asleep snoring mid game and miss a turn. For added fun, players are encouraged to say: “Just having a nana nap!” in a funny voice, capturing the spirit of the episode and the characters. What better way to make players miss a go?!

Absolutely, I’m sold! Fancy Restaurant is the final game in the line-up. Can you talk us through the process behind ‘game-ifying’ this episode of the show?
Heather: This is a great episode to work with and it perfectly lends itself to a game! I love the idea of kids trying to create something yummy for their parents and ending up with a huge pile of inedible food! Then the parents have to pretend it’s delicious. I’ve certainly been that parent, trying to keep a straight face as the food gets weirder – I can imagine my son doing this when he was little!

I wanted to replicate the way Bluey keeps appearing at the table with more and more food, so included a 3D table for the various plates to be piled onto. We also decided to have stand up characters of Chilli and Bandit who sit at the table awaiting their meals. These 3D elements mean the whole thing works as a playset as well as a game, for lots of added fun!

Children love food and matching and yucky combinations, so the game was an ideal way to combine all three. Half the food cards have Bingo on the back, who works as the chef. The cards pair with the other half of the cards, with Bluey on the back as the waiter, just like in the episode. Kids love playing out their favourite TV episodes in real life, so they will love delivering the plates to the table and watching them pile up high! I can imagine parents playing the game with their children, and pretending to find combinations like strawberries and sardines the most delicious thing ever!

We’ve spoken about Grannies and Fancy Restaurant informing these games. What helped steer the episodes and moments you decided to build games around?
Heather: We look for key themes or stand out moments that would perfectly merge with the kind of gameplay that we know kids love. We look for times in the episodes that children will remember or relate to, humorous moments or strong visual images. When a key moment in one of the shows matches up with a fun gameplay, it’s a really satisfying moment!

For these games, there were clear themes – like funny food combinations delivered to parents and good times with grandparents. These are both perfect examples of themes or situations that our core audience would relate to. We used our expertise to translate these into engaging gameplays to make fun and friendly end products.

Does the process of designing a licensed game inspire any thoughts around your core non-licensed ranges?
Heather: It certainly makes us think a little differently. With the characters in licensed products, we need to stick to using a more defined artwork style, and make sure any games we create are in keeping with the story and background of those characters. Sometimes we will be brainstorming an idea for licensed games, but realise the idea we’ve had isn’t quite the right fit, but could work with a different set of characters in our own range. So the licensed products are often a springboard for creating further games for our core lines.

Rowena: Yes, in tailoring the games to specific episodes, I was thinking about new game mechanics and how to use them. As with any brief there are numerous ideas presented in the early stages as part of the brainstorming process. I am sure some of these ideas will be developed further down the line and used in our own range in the future.

Alice: Sometimes we’ll have lots of other ideas that didn’t progress further or maybe didn’t quite work, but we can look back on them and see game mechanics that might work for our core range. Quite often, it’s more the opposite and I’ll make note of what’s done well in our core range and see if any gameplay or specific elements would fit or would enhance an initial idea for a licensed product.

Finally, what fuels your creativity?
Rowena: My children, just watching them giggle and acting out parts from the shows instantly cherry picks those golden moments for me!

Heather: We’re always on the look out for ideas, from all parts of everyday life – films, books, TV or things we see online. Sometimes a funny title will trigger an idea – such as Llamas in Pyjamas, or Smelly Wellies. Or maybe a theme that’s popular with children… Food is always a hit, so things like Crazy Chefs or Tummy Ache.

We also try to make sure we’re covering key educational elements, so will try to do that while making the game appealing and interesting to play – and of course fun! Sometimes ideas pop up at unexpected moments (in the shower or on the train) so we all make sure to keep a notepad handy wherever we are!

Alice: For me, it’s a combination of things. It could be seeing an existing game and thinking how we could do something similar but put our educational spin on it. Sometimes it develops from a name or researching what the latest toy trend or popular animal is. Often it’s designing something with my interests in mind and thinking about how I can adapt this to a younger audience. Ideas also seem to randomly come up the most when I’m not at my desk – like on a walk for example.

Thanks again guys. And congrats on the line-up. As a card-carrying Bluey fan I’m looking forward to giving them a go!

The post Orchard Toys’ Heather Yates, Rowena Isotta-Day and Alice Morley discuss development of their new Bluey games appeared first on Brands Untapped.

The new range spans the Grannies Game, Shopping List Game and Fancy Restaurant Game.

The Grannies Game sees players race to collect granny gear, call Nana and kick off a flossing party, while Orchard’s popular Shopping List game gets a Bluey makeover. The Bluey Fancy Restaurant Game talks players with helping Bandit prepare a romantic dinner for his and Chilli’s date night.

“This collection is a must-have for Bluey fans and retailers,” said Simon Prest, Sales Director at Orchard Toys.

“With Bluey currently ranking as the number two property in preschool toys, our new games are the perfect addition to any toy range. Combining the beloved Bluey brand with Orchard Toys educational and fun interactive play, that children and parents love, is sure to be a winner”.

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The new deal means Orchard’s The World of Peter Rabbit range will be available in 20 markets across Europe, the Mediterranean, SE Asia, South Africa and Australia.

“The launch response from the UK trade and consumers to our first licensed collaboration has been brilliant,” said Josh Beevor, Director at Orchard Toys.

“To have such an appetite and enthusiasm for the Peter Rabbit range from our international customers too is fantastic, and an enormous sales opportunity. It really is a great way to consolidate our partnership with Penguin Ventures.”

David Sprei, Commercial Director Penguin Ventures, added: “The global demand for The World of Peter Rabbit Collection is testament to the wonderful job Orchard Toys and Penguin Ventures have done in evolving the narrative of Beatrix Potter’s original Tale of Peter Rabbit, and blending these two iconic brands. The Tale of Peter Rabbit has been translated into 50 languages, since it was first published in 1902, so it’s fitting to see the new games taking to the global stage too.”

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Wow! Some maternity cover! And you’re not alone in being with the company for an impressive amount of time… Why do people stay at Orchard Toys?
It’s a lovely job. You come in, draw all day and play games – it’s the dream, isn’t it? And everyone’s lovely to work with; the design department is a close-knit team. I’m very lucky. I never get that dread on a Monday morning going to work.

To the naked eye, the art style seems quite uniformed across the Orchard Toys portfolio. Did mastering that take time?
When I started, I saw it as a challenge. I needed to make it my own while being sympathetic to the other designers’ work. It was a fun challenge and the designs have evolved over time, while still looking cohesive. The key has been working really closely with the team. Everyone that joins brings something slightly new to the table, which helps to evolve the brand.

Your games are grounded in fun and education, but what does that early stage of development look like on an Orchard Toys product? Which aspect comes first?
It depends really. Often a theme emerges first, or it could be an educational element, like ‘How can we make times tables fun?’ When we were designing Match and Spell, it came about from experiencing how my own kids were starting to learn how to read. We wanted to strip it down to the real basics of first letter sounds… It comes from different places each time.

Do trends guide the process at all?
We don’t jump on themes just because they’re current. The range is always looked at as a whole. If we already have a lot of jungle or farm-based games, we won’t want to introduce another and over-saturate that. It has to be balanced.

Makes sense. How do you get the balance between a game being fun and it also being effective education-wise?
We’ll scrutinise concepts at an early stage to see how effective they are when it comes to our learning goals. When we’re ready to test a game, we get our design team to have a go first and if it passes that test, then we’ll invite other people from the company to try it. We’ll also take games into nurseries and schools to see how children engage with it. You can see very quickly if they identify with it.

You mentioned Match and Spell earlier, but what was the first game you designed at Orchard Toys?
It was called Spooky Steps. It was set in a witch’s house with a 3D board. You played as little frogs moving through the house to the witch’s potion in a bid to transform yourself back into a human.

Sounds right up my street! And has your approach to design changed much from then to now?
It has – and I think that’s due to having kids. You learn so much from watching them play. And having been here for so long now, I feel more confident about starting the process of creating a game than I did back then.

Fantastic. Now, let’s dive into your new range – and it’s a bit of a milestone for the company! Orchard Toys’ first-ever licensed line in the form of a Peter Rabbit collection. Why did this brand feel like a nice fit for Orchard?
Both brands are well-loved and appeal to the same age group, so it felt like a really exciting opportunity to be a part of… Especially to be able to blend our unique creative style, engaging gameplay and educational values, with the iconic characters from one of the world’s most beloved brands.

Yes, no pressure!
Ha! It was a little bit daunting, but I also felt tremendously lucky to be able to do it. I wanted to keep the charming quality of Beatrix Potter’s characters, so I used a more muted, softer colour palette than we normally use for our general range. The line work is also slightly different; I used a softer pencil line work where we usually use black line work. It was more sympathetic to the original designs, while also keeping the fun lively energy of Orchard Toys. That was the aim!

I think mission accomplished!
The collection is developed under licence from Penguin Ventures, on behalf of Frederick Warne & Co – Beatrix Potter’s publisher and owner of The World of Peter Rabbit – and that team has been brilliant to work with. They’ve been like an extension to our team.

Lovely! The range is a mix of brand-new games as well as some Peter Rabbit twists on your popular titles. For example, there’s a Lotto game – but in Veg Patch Lotto, Mr. McGregor can actually win if you accidentally uncover too many scarecrow tiles. Why was it important add these authentic gameplay twists, rather than simply bringing Peter Rabbit artwork to existing games?
When I started this project, Penguin kindly sent us the books and I sat and read my girls Peter Rabbit and all of the other tales. What I really wanted to do with each of the games is give nods to different stories. With Veg Patch Lotto, I wanted to use the timer element – the scarecrow – to be a nod to the moment when Mr. McGregor hangs up his jacket and shoes as a warning to the rabbits. It also makes Mr. McGregor a character in the game – and he might win before you collect all your veggies!

And it’s a genuinely sophisticated mechanic, especially for a game for young kids. And leads to some real tension!
Thanks! And kids don’t see Mr. McGregor as a timer – they see him as a character that’s in with a chance of winning!

Absolutely – it adds pace without turning it into a race. Now, another game that has great table presence is Don’t Wake Mr. McGregor! Can you talk me through the design of this one?
With that one, I wanted to immerse children into the vegetable garden. The idea is that you don’t want to wake Mr. McGregor, and there are stepping stones along the path – some with a watering can symbol. If you land on one of those, you wake up Mr. McGregor. In the story, when Peter Rabbit is running away from him, he tries to hide in the watering can but gets a cold and sneezes, so Mr. McGregor knows where he is.

I wanted to bring that into a game so kids have to say “Atishoo!” if they land on one of those spaces and that wakes him up. If he’s awake when you get to the end of the path, your rabbit is startled and you have to go back to the beginning. But if he’s asleep, you can steal some veggies from him.

Great stuff. And what do you find helps you have game ideas?
I keep a notepad by my bed, and I have woken up in the night with a brilliant idea – whether I think they’re still brilliant when I look at my notes in the morning is another thing! Often I’ll also have the headspace to explore creative possibilities on my commute home. Peaceful calm moments are key to having ideas for me.

Before we wrap up, I also wanted to ask two last questions! First is, what’s the best game you’ve created at Orchard?
There’s one that I personally love called Veg Patch Match. It’s more of a family game and I love it because the board that you’re matching to is constantly evolving. And the little vegetables had faces and looked very sweet. In the summer, I’m always in the garden and we grow lots of veggies, so it was very much my cup of tea!

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Great pick! My second question is, what’s Orchard Toys’ most underrated game?
Tummy Ache has been in the range for years and years, but I feel that doesn’t get enough credit. My family absolutely loves playing that one and we’ve actually got a few versions of it, from the one I had when I was young to a version that I actually helped revamp from a few years back. It’s brilliant – and kids just love trying to make the grossest meal they can!

Rowena, this has been great. Huge thanks again – and congrats on the Peter Rabbit range.

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