News
8.17.10 - JAM CITY ROLLERGIRLS GAME PREVIEW EVENT AND BOUT!
((Green Bay, WI)) - Video game developer Frozen Codebase and the Fox Cityz Foxz roller derby league are proud to announce a video game-themed roller derby event including two roller derby bouts featuring your favorite Foxz as well as skaters from several other Midwest powerhouse teams. The event is slated for Saturday, August 28, 2010.
Half-time for the event will include a preview of the soon to be launched Jam City Rollergirls
video game created for the Nintendo Wii by Frozen Codebase. Fans will get to watch Mouse
from the Mad Rollin' Dolls (Madison, WI) playing the game on the big screen against Rejected Seoul
from the Brewcity Bruisers (Milwaukee, WI): both of these superstar skaters will play as their
virtual selves against each other in what's sure to be a clone war of epic proportions. This rare
event will also feature a tournament to win a copy of Jam City Rollergirls: The Game for
your Nintendo Wii!
Jam City Rollergirls is the groundbreaking, history-making, first EVER women's flat track roller derby video game! Developed by punk rock game developer and devout modern roller derby lovers Frozen Codebase, this exciting new title will be released in late 2010 as a download for Nintendo Wii.
Click the flyer below for details:
8.4.10 - SOMEONE STOP THEM! FROZEN CODEBASE DESCENDS ON ROLLERCON
((Green Bay, WI)) - In an all-out effort to maximize employee sweat per hour, grass-roots game developers Frozen Codebase recently dispatched an emissary to sweltering Las Vegas for the purposes of demonstrating the currently-in-progress Jam City Rollergirls videogame to hordes of appreciative RollerCon attendees. "They dug it," said company sacrificial lamb Norb Rozek, between bites of a smuggled in tuna sandwich and large slurps of an unnamed sports beverage, "those skaters really get into waggling their Wiimotes in public." With a late-2010 ship date planned, Jam City Rollergirls is a downloadable game for Nintendo's WiiWare service with a predicted ten dollar price tag. Player response to the game was great during RollerCon, so sock away forty quarters for Jam City Rollergirls now!
5.4.10 - KICK-ASS IS OUT; THE ACADIANS LOVE IT ((AND I FEEL FINE))
(Green Bay)-- Praise the lord and pass the stun grenades, Frozen Codebase's hotly-awaited KICK-ASS: THE GAME beat 'em up made its way to the Playstation Network on April 29th, and our neighbors to the north, the PS3 Arcadians, are all over the game like white on rice -- like stink on bum -- like Kick on Ass!
Arcadian reviewer Graham says the camera delivers "a strong sense of motion," that the colors - er, excuse us, colours - are "bright and cartoony... exactly what you'd expect," and that the game's "animations are smooth, and they flow well together." And, hey, that's just the first paragraph! The review continues by praising our bloodied-touchscreen phone interface pause screen, our voicework by Chloe Moretz ((Hit Girl)) and Aaron Johnson ((Kick-Ass)), and even our audio, which he contends is "spot on."
Further, the Arcadians are fully aware of the majesty of our truly KICK ASS soundtrack ((featuring the Dickies, Groovie Ghoulies, Boris The Sprinkler and Jetty Boys, among other luminaries)), calling it "an absolute riot," and that " "you're never short of a beat when you're laying a beat-down in this game," which seems like the kind of wince-inducing play on words reserved for Frozen Codebase staff writers, but hey, it's true, so why hide your light under a bushel basket, ya know?
At FCB, gameplay is king, of course, and the Arcadians (who are loosely connected to our favorite Canadian subsect: The Acadians praised the game's gameplay variety, its leveling system and unlockables, and stated that, on normal difficulty, the game "isn't too hard and it isn't too easy", which sounds just about right to us! The gospel according to Arcadia is that the game is "fun" in single-player, but "a blast" in co-op - with the bottom line being that "you've got a game that's definitely worth the money." The Arcadians end the review by putting said money where their mouth is, giving the game an 82% score - which is pretty darn good in a world where smaller, downloadable titles are compared straight-up against big budget, full-retail games. So, on the off chance that you don't have KICK-ASS: THE GAME yet, get thee to a PS3 and commence KICKING ASS!
2.23.10 - FROZEN CODEBASE PREPARES TO KICK-ASS
(Green Bay)-- Stalwart game developers Frozen Codebase announced today that they are partnering with WHA Entertainment to unleash games based on the impending Lionsgate motion picture KICK-ASS upon an unsuspecting world! Developed for PSN -- Sony's downloadable platform for the PlayStation3 - the game allows you to kick ass through eight different missions as one of three heroes: Hit Girl, Big Daddy, and, of course, Kick-Ass. It's frantic 3D superhero brawler action at its finest with multiple environments, bosses, mini-bosses, and environmental finishers! Incorporating art from the original KICK-ASS comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., KICK-ASS for the PSN also features Facebook integration, multiplayer local co-op, sub-missions, mini-games, and, of course, steady doses of good ol' ASS-KICKING! So run - do not walk - to your downloadable platform of choice on April 15th, and kick some ass with KICK-ASS: THE GAME!
Supporting Frozen Codebase further are additional industry veterans hailing from companies such as Raven Software, Papaya Studios and Radical Entertainment. Long time Frozen Codebase inmates Justin Kovac, Cody Durant and Adam Larson are also involved with the title. When pressed on the matter, Animator Durant exclaimed the following: "marhhrrahh brisket dunno marhhrhr animations like totally fmmrlrlll brisket forowii flrowo fmmrahahh"
7.21.09 - Metalocalypse: The Dethgame
(Green Bay)-- Frozen Codebase is working on the most metal game to ever exist. To do so we've dug deep into our obsession with all things dark, metal and brutal. Among others, we've enlisted ex-members of Naughty Dog and Big Huge Games. FroCo art lead and twenty year veteran, Andrew Gilmour, had this to say about working on the project: "Finally after years of trying to make metal games, I get to make all the skulls, spikes and brutal weapons I can handle, and then beat people with them. Not to mention pentagrams... oh the pentagrams..." -- Andrew Gilmour 7.21.09
For more information about our work on Metalocalypse: The Dethgame, see the following article in Wall Street Journal. Or click here to see what the creators of Metalocalypse (titmouse) think of the game so far: "The videogame has many different modes, and having played an early version two months ago, and a newer version yesterday, I can safely say it is going to be a lot of fun." -- Jon Schnepp 7.3.09
7.20.09 - FRESH FRUIT FOUND IN FROZEN CODEBASE BREAKROOM : OFFICE EVACUATED
(Green Bay)-- Development on the recently-announced METALOCALYPSE video game was halted this Tuesday when foreign substances later confirmed as grapes, pears, and grapefruit were located in the Frozen Codebase lunchroom. Cunningly hidden amidst the room's normal backdrop of energy drinks, diet soda cans, half-eaten subs, microwavable Salisbury steaks, tortilla chip crumbs and Magic cards, the startling presence of the contraband fruit items sent shockwaves through the intrepid developer's office, resulting in a mass stampede for the exits until the local hazmat response team could be summoned to dispose of the intruding produce. "I knew something was wrong when that stuff didn't fit in the toaster oven" stated a visibly frazzled QA lead Kurt Henrickson. "No instructions, no UPC symbol, no nothing - it's dangerous to store that type of stuff near the Pop-Tarts" added artist Cody Durant. Durant continued with a long, rambling monologue about wanting to use the taser on the encroaching fruit, until he was informed that the taser was actually a Zoom H4 recording device, and likely incapable of fruit incapacitation. The fruit - apparently part of an ill-conceived "community nutrition" program set in motion by disgraced office assistant Erin Basten -- was eventually secured and tossed off the top of the roof into the parking lot, sort of like how they do it on the David Letterman show.
4.22.09 - SHAMBLING TOWARDS VICTORY : ZOMBIE WRANGLERS SET FOR MAY 6th RELEASE
(Green Bay)-- At long last, Frozen Codebase is pleased as zombie blood punch to announce a release date for the highly-anticipated, perennially star-crossed ZOMBIE WRANGLERS game! A madcap romp thru the undead-infested backyards of bucolic Potters Field, USA, ZOMBIE WRANGLERS wowed `em at Austin GDC last September, and is set for a May 6th debut on Microsoft's Xbox 360 Live Arcade service.
In ZOMBIE WRANGLERS, you play one of four quirky suburban tweens, charged with the onerous task of ridding your community of a mysterious zombie outbreak -- and being home for supper afterwards! Stagger (don't walk!) to your Xbox 360 on May 6th and become one of the ZOMBIE WRANGLERS, and watch this space for your opportunity to make off with priceless ZOMBIE WRANGLERS schwag! Hey, it beats a paper route!
Click here to join the ZOMBIE WRANGLERS Facebook Fanpage.
Updated:Click here to find out how to win a free copy of Zombie Wranglers.
3.18.09 - Zombie Wranglers
Stay tuned for information about the long-threatened release of Zombie Wranglers. In the meantime, shamble on over to the official XBox 360 game page. We promise you hours of undead bliss as you dispatch hordes of emo zombies, skater zombies, mailman zombies, even elusive "ren faire" zombies! We'll even kick in a playable goth girl character - you can use her icy heart to wreak havoc on the love-smitten undead while she earns cash for her next Hot Topic run!
1.5.09 - BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PICK UP ON THE BEACH, IT MIGHT LEAD TO CRABS
(Green Bay)-- Too cold for sand castles you say? Pshaw! It's always sunny on Sandy Beach! This Sunday, January 4th, Frozen Codebase deeply suggests that you peel your tongue from the frozen monkey bars, fire up your Wii, and download Sandy Beach - our company's first offering on WiiWare, Nintendo's downloadable game service! Pick up your shovel and bucket and create a dazzling mansion of sand, or follow blueprints to unlock found objects with which to trick out your burgeoning sand crib! Things aren't completely serene on Sandy Beach, however -- enter Crab Battle and defend the heart of your castle against encroaching swarms of pirate crabs! "This is the worst case of crabs I've seen in quite some time" said Producer Eric Francksen, slapping back crustacean invaders with his Wii Remote as he fortified the walls of his sand castle with cannons, "and believe you me, having lived in Madison as a young man, I've seen some pretty gnarly cases in my day." Whether the excitement of repelling legions of angry pirate arthropods or the serenity of building is what you crave, there's an adventure awaiting you on Sandy Beach!
11.25.08 - FROZEN CODEBASE FINDS ZOMBIE, SKINNY RED TIES, HAIR GEL
(Green Bay)-- Frozen Codebase has announced today that they have found a zombie living in their basement. Described to be about 6'1", lanky and wearing a skinny red tie, the Zombie was found wedged between several cartons of refrigerator magnets die-cut into the shapes of popular vegetables. Also found nearby were several Hot Water Music albums, a medium-sized jar of Bed Head brand hair gel, and a wide variety of white leather belts, many apparently tear-streaked. When asked about the fate of the Zombie, and it's potential for release into the world, Ben Geisler choose not to answer the question directly, instead simultaneously playing a sequence of random notes on a Blackberry, Palm Pilot and Magnus Chord Organ while pretending to have a cell phone conversation with someone "in a very well-known time zone."In other news, Frozen Codebase's first Wii title, Sandy Beach created for publisher Konami -- is said to be sporting a brand new coat of polish. Programmer Jason Kim is allegedly so delighted at the state of the project that he blissfully punched a hole in a nearby wall, filling it with sand in the game's honor. Given the current climate of economic hardship, the team will hold its launch party in the 10'x10' living room of Producer Norb Rozek's metal house, provided that he fixes at least three of his four pinball machines and no one steps on his comic books.
8.26.08 - FROZEN CODEBASE BRINGS DERBY LOVIN' TO AUSTIN GDC
(Green Bay)-- Frozen Codebase has announced their sponsorship of a fully-sanctioned WFTDA roller derby bout in Austin, Texas on Monday, September 15th. Billed as "Skate Invaders," the bout - pitting the hometown Texecutioners against Madison, Wisconsin's own Dairyland Dolls - will be held at the Texecutioners' home venue of Playland Skate Center, in conjunction with the first night of the 2008 Austin Game Developers Conference.Frozen Codebase have recently inked a licensing deal with the WFTDA, and will be spreading the derby gospel by making free tickets to the bout available at their GDC booth. Continuous complimentary shuttle bus service will run between the Austin Convention Center and Playland starting at 5 PM. When asked why Frozen Codebase would go through to trouble of providing convention-goers with free shuttle bus service to a roller derby bout, artist Braulio Cejudo helpfully explained "'cause I ain't going to be in any shape to drive you there."
6.17.08 - FROZEN CODEBASE ROCKS YOU LIKE A HURRICANE
(Green Bay)-- Frozen Codebase emerged today from development deep freeze (also known as listening to twelve straight hours of The Scorpions) to find that it's second game Elements of Destruction is about to be released! Tears of joy erupted from 520 N. Broadway, as Vice President Norb Rozek declared this a perfect excuse to buy another pinball machine. Lead Programmer Andrew Magyar echoed this feeling of elation at their success and future prospects: "If I ever get rich and move to Egypt, I'm living in that Sphinx head".Elements of Destruction, a game about rocking you like a hurricane, will be available on XBox Live Arcade starting tomorrow (June 18th). The crew at Frozen Codebase hopes you enjoy it as much as IGN and Team XBox have! More details here.
5.16.08 - Frozen Codebase Partners with WFTDA
(Green Bay)-- "The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), announced that it has partnered exclusively with Frozen Codebase LLC, to bring its Real. Strong. Athletic. Revolutionary. brand of modern roller derby to the world of video games. "
As a leading independent video game developer of original intellectual property, Frozen Codebase is excited to enter into an exclusive partnership with the WFTDA to bring flat track derby to life as a cutting edge video game. While further details of the video game's development are pending, Frozen Codebase invites fans to participate on its user forums (visit www.frozencodebase.com/protot2 ) and look to their hometown WFTDA leagues for a glimpse of the action that is coming soon.
For full press release click here
4.25.08 - Zombie Wranglers Coming to XBox 360 Live Arcade
(Green Bay)-- Frozen Codebase is pleased to announce the development of its third title: Zombie Wranglers. Published by Sierra Online, this title promises great success on its platform, Xbox Live Arcade. More information can be found about Zombie Wranglers in the Team XBox Preview.
4.7.08 - GLACIERS IN PARKING LOT RECEDE SOMEWHAT
In a sure sign that Old Man Winter has roared his last in the Green Bay metropolitan area, the glaciated ice mass which has covered the bulk of North Broadway's 500 block for the last several months has receded slightly, uncovering what local historians are referring to as "parking spots." Thought to date back to the time of the Fort Howard military encampment, these "parking spots" number in the low dozens, and are imagined to have provided some manner of containment area for vehicles used in the pre-dogsled era of the early 19th century. Historian and programmer Jesse Rahaikanen explained this conjecture by claiming that "soldiers in the 1800s would bring their conveyances to a halt in these spaces, tethering them between the perpendicular yellow stripes. We're not sure how exactly they got around before dogsleds and snowshoes - we assume they likely rode in to work on the backs of hyraxes, or perhaps very large foxes. Anyway, the soldiers would dismount from their hyraxes, then walk across a clean, ice-free surface likely made of asphalt, or local equivalent, until they reached the front door of the fort."
Rahaikanen's assertion that Neanderthal Wisconsinites once routinely walked from their vehicles on ice-free surfaces was met with scorn and derision by many within earshot of his nervy proclamation, including fellow programmer Andrew Magyar. "We've always had a lottery," stated Magyar, gathering rocks into a wicker weave basket, to the puzzlement of many. "If I clunked you in the head with one of these you'd understand my non sequitur literary references," Magyar continued, then quickly scurried over the tip of the receding ice mass, now a mere thirty feet tall at its peak. Not all Frozen Codebase employees were pleased with the reduced size of their parking lot glacier, however. Artist Karol David expressed concern about the residual effects that the unexpected thaw would have on her Iditarod training. "This is bunk," David explained, "if I would've known I could only train my sled dogs nine months out of the year here, I would've stayed in New Orleans." "It sucks," added programmer Jason Kim. "I wanted to eat that iceberg."
2.13.08 - Elements of Destruction
(Green Bay)-- Scheduled to be released in the spring, Frozen Codebase is pleased to announce the development of its second title: Elements of Destruction. Produced by THQ/Valusoft, this title promises great success on its platform, Xbox Live Arcade. More information can be found about Elements of Destruction in the IGN preview. Still want more? Then, by all means, fly yourself down to San Francisco and meet with us for the 2008 Game Developers Conference. You will be able to find us at the Vicious booth (booth # NH 6039). See you there!
2.13.08 - Planet 12
(Green Bay)-- Garage Games and Frozen Codebase have teamed up to produce Planet 12! Working with Garage Games' Torque engine, Frozen Codebase is pleased to be delivering this exciting new title for the PC.
11.20.07 - Screwjumper! Launch Week Comes to a Successful Close
(Green Bay) -- Screwjumper! has been invading homes, mines and alien reactor cores for a solid week. Activity from the field, namely Major Nelson points out that Screwjumper! has placed 5th in XBLA sales for the week. Meanwhile the current IGN gamer ranking is 7.8 and ZT Game Domain proclaims that Screwjumper has an "Inventive Game Mechanic" and "Multi-Player is Fun"!.
The Planet Scruto thanks you, good Sir. While you're here, play as much Screwjumper Multiplayer as you like but... please do not feed the roombas. Stay tuned for more juicy news from the planet surface; as Frozen Codebase prepares a titillating menu of post-production goodies, including (but not limited to) buttons!, developer tournaments!, stale pizza!, and Programmer Adam Larson autographed pieces of notebook paper!
9.14.07 - FROZEN CODEBASE ADMITS SCREWJUMPER!
(Green Bay) -- In a stunning defeat for Frozen Codebase's long-standing "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the plucky game developer, after untold months of secrecy, was forced to admit complicity in developing the upcoming SCREWJUMPER! game for the XBox Live Arcade platform.
"Our company is founded on certain guiding principles," president Ben Geisler stated, "and chief among them is the integral nature of never being allowed to mention the name of any project we may or may not be working on. That's absolutely critical to our core aesthetic." Geisler claims that Microsoft's bold, unprecedented move of actually making public mention of the game (Official Microsoft Screwjumper! page) has "sent shockwaves through our company culture and our Wisconsonian way of life." Programmer James Lupiani, who may or may not have worked on the title in question, claimed that "It feels dirty to have people know what game I'm working on. It's like the time I had that dream I was back at my elementary school, naked. Of course, when I woke up, I actually was back at my elementary school, naked. So, yes, it's a lot like that.:" Adam Larson, who may or may not be employed by the company as a programmer, expressed support for a grass-roots misinformation campaign. "We should do something like put 'AAAH!' in front of the title," Larson explained. "Then nobody would know it's us." Billy Sweetman, lead designer on an unnamed project which may or may not be currently in production, confidently replied "I know nothing."
See here for more information on Screwjumper! Or visit our forums, where we promise to feed your head, irrigate your soul, and flush your wallet.
8.31.07 - FROZEN CODEBASE EXPANDS NEAR BATHROOM, DESIGNER ENTERS SHAFT
(Green Bay) -- In an attempt to reverse centuries of cheesehead inbreeding, sub-mammoth game developer Frozen Codebase announced the importation of several new employees today. Hailing from such far-flung climes as Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana, Ohio and Shawano, the new hires will allow The Fro' to expand operations to include a specialized third development team. This expansion has prompted the stalwart developers to expand operations southward - moving desks, chairs, computers and humanoids out of the main office and into the olfactory no-man's-land near the bathroom. In an effort to minimize the impact that the men's room's roiling clouds of mystery vapor - most commonly described as "a fart-off in an orc slaughterhouse, if orcs were actually made of solid urine" -- have on employee health and morale, production assistant Kelly Parker has outfitted the lavatory with the latest in stench reduction items, including a fan, a thing that sits on the sink and makes additional, different smells, and several aromatic portraits of beloved world leaders Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum. Planet 12 (affetctionately known as "Pee 12" since the move) designer Greg Kellerman, whose team is the primary beneficiaries of the new expansion, took a slightly more proactive angle on stench avoidance, moving his desk into a converted freight elevator shaft. Remarked designer Justin Kovac, "Kellerman always did love the shaft." Mr. Kellerman could not be reached for comment.
6.25.07 - Devcon!
Frozen Codebase will be at the Nintendo Developer's Conference. Use the form mailer if you'd like to get ahold of us there.
6.25.07 - FROZEN CODEBASE FOUND NONCOMPLIANT WITH PRESIDENT'S "NO MOUSE LEFT BEHIND" POLICY
(Green Bay)-- After completing the move to their new corporate headquarters at 520 North Broadway in Green Bay, upstart game developers Frozen Codebase LLC were notified that, by failing to properly transfer the office rodent who inhabited their previous Larsen Road location, they had been found noncompliant with the President's "No Mouse Left Behind" policy. "We realize this is a significant violation," company president Ben Geisler was quoted as saying, "but we have games to make. Welcome to game design." Designer Norb Rozek, generally considered to be the company mouse liaison, explained that engineering the mouse's move to Broadway was unusually difficult in that no one at the company had ever seen the mouse - that it was only by the daily trail of residual fecal matter across his desk that the mouse's existence could be inferred. "I mean, you hate to see this happen to anyone in America," Rozek went on to state, "but people are going to occasionally fall through the cracks like this."
British-born programmer Andi Ireland offered a contrasting opinion: "In England, there's a little more respect for mice -- The Great Mouse Detective and all that. We're not all caught up in who's got the biggest box of Jaffa Cakes, right?" A party of volunteers, organized and led by art director Adam DeGrandis, is maintaining a somber vigil across the street at Lenny's Tap. "We had left the mouse a note," said DeGrandis, "saying we'd be at Lenny's. We can only assume he's read the note, and is on his way. We'll stay here as long as it takes."
4.25.07 - New Website!
Frozen Codebase. Welcome to the future of punk rock gaming.
2.08.07 - Signed to THQ!
Frozen Codebase is proud to announce that it is working with THQ/Valusoft on two brand spanking new XBox 360 games! We're proud to be working with one of the largest game publishers in the entire world. Let's hope they don't find this pitiful excuse for a website and change their minds.
2.05.07 - FROZEN CODEBASE COMPLETES EXTENSION CORD TRANSACTION
GREEN BAY, WI - Budding game developers Frozen Codebase announced today the finalization of a contract that would bring a new extension cord to the company's Larsen Road headquarters. President Ben Geisler, speaking on conditions of anonymity, claimed that the new extension cord would be expected to assimilate to the company culture quickly. "We thought it was a good fit," claimed Geisler, demonstrating the male-female connection with a mildly obscene hand gesture. Designer Norb Rozek, expected to be working closely with the cord, explained that "this cord will be a tremendous help in powering my second monitor, which I needed to ensure that my steady stream of illegal music downloads could be closely monitored without obfuscating my view of the level editor." To welcome the new cord into the Frozen Codebase family, a team outing to a local brewpub has been planned for 4 PM Wednesday. Admission is free.
11.09.06 - Approved XBox 360 Developers
Green Bay, WI - Frozen Codebase LLC announced it is now an approved developer for the Microsoft XBox 360 video game console. The company, led by President Ben Geisler, is creating exciting and innovative games on next generation platforms. Geisler, a veteran developer, has worked on a number of hit titles including Quake 4, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, X-Men Legends and Soldier of Fortune 2. He started the company with an initial staff of veterans from Raven Software, Radical Entertainment, GarageGames and Astral Entertainment.
"Frozen Codebase is receiving fantastic feedback on our first game and is poised for success" said Geisler. "We have a strong working relationship with Microsoft whose XBox 360 console provides an exciting game development platform. GarageGames is providing the underlying 'Torque' game engine."
Frozen Codebase is attracting experienced talent from game development strongholds to its home base in Green Bay, Wisconsin. One such talent is Jay Balakrishnan, an industry veteran with 25 years of experience, who has served as Executive Producer at Radical Entertainment, Wild Tangent and Dynamix/Sierra.
Balakrishnan, a Board Director and Executive Producer of Frozen Codebase's un-announced original game, said "I am very excited to be working with Ben and his talented team at Frozen CodeBase. They're a new breed of game developers that's revolutionizing the gaming industry, with efficient production techniques, combined with a primary focus on a innovative gameplay."