United Lemur Announces $30,000 Puzzllotto Prize
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CUPERTINO - United Lemur, Inc. today announced a cash prize of up to $30,000 for the first person to solve their upcoming Puzzllotto game for iPhone and iPod touch.
"The problem with games like Zork and Myst is it's too tempting to Google the answer and spoil the fun," CEO Mike Lee explained. "By offering a cash prize, we're hoping to create a real challenge for people."
Puzzllotto, like Zork and Myst, is an exploration puzzle game, where the object of the game is to deduce the object of the game. The $4.99 title was announced at the company's debut event earlier this month.
The company, an engineering and design collective centered around Cupertino, California, has a progressive business model built on the idea of altruistic capitalism. The idea is summed up in United Lemur's mission statement: "Ship beautiful products to make a better world."
The most obvious example is the company's pledge to donate 10% of App Store revenue to charity. Puzzllotto will benefit the Madagascar Fauna Group, which protects the animals featured in the game.
But United Lemur's altruism goes beyond simply giving money. Even though Puzzllotto represents a significant investment of engineering and legal resources, the company refuses to apply for patents on any invention.
Instead, the company hopes to share its investment with other developers through its fundware.info site, while the company's ten employees hope Puzzllotto will raise enough money to capitalize bigger dreams.
Aside from setting legal precedents, the game represents a shot across the bow to other App Store players. Lee has been an outspoken critic of the overall quality of many current offerings. He recruited some industrial strength help to back up his words.
The game's graphics were designed by artist David Lanham, and the games sounds were recorded in Madagascar by Dr. Douglas Quin, the noted sound designer who worked on Electronic Arts' Spore. Lee, himself an Apple Design Award-winning engineer, wrote the code.
The company has been distributing a "quality demo" to bloggers and members of the press, to show off the game's over-the-top production value, without giving away too many secrets.
The application was uploaded to iTunes and approved for sale last week, Lee said, but the game's debut was delayed until the final draft of the official rules was completed by the company's promotions attorneys.
Official rules are available at puzzllotto.com, but the promotion basically breaks down like this:
- Puzzllotto will appear on the App Store on Wednesday, October 22. The Puzzllotto Prize starts as a trophy, a metaphorical empty cup.
- Each day at noon (Pacific Time), the company will announce via Twitter (twitter.com/unitedlemur) whether the puzzle has been solved.
- If the puzzle has not been solved, the jackpot will increase by $1,000.
- This promotion will run for 31 days, with the maximum jackpot being $30,000.
- If nobody wins the $30,000 jackpot after 24 hours, it will be donated to charity.
The promotion is open to United States citizens, excluding those in Maryland, North Dakota, and Vermont.
"The unprecedented nature of this promotion makes legal fees a serious development cost," Lee said. "We're going to try to make Puzzllotto II worldwide."
A side effect of the promotion is the game will be limited to the US iTunes store until the promotion is concluded, a move designed to prevent consumer confusion, Lee said.
"If that sounds overly careful, it is," Lee said. "We've got the best promotions attorneys on the planet helping us design this, and a professional promotions company to run it. We want people to know our hype is backed by a solid commitment to quality. There's steak behind the sizzle."
Press Contacts
Mike Lee
206 427 1624
Ash Ponders
480 277 2426