Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bloom wins Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2011!

I've never been more proud of working in a team environment than I have been when working with the Bloom crew. Every step that we've taken has been to achieve the goal of ensuring environmental sustainability. Having been granted 1st place in Microsoft's Imagine Cup under the Game Design for Windows | X-Box (XNA) has been a real humbling experience. During the event, we were surrounded by such talented and inspiring people who shared their thoughts and ideas on how they could help change and shape the world.

The icing on the cake was winning the People's Choice Award. Not only were we acknowledged for having such a great and inspirational idea from the judges and Microsoft, the people of the nation supported our project as well. This year was the highest amount of votes received for the People's Choice Award, and Bloom is very happy to be taking it home.

If winning these two great awards was simply not enough, Andrew Parsons informed Bloom that we will be joining the next round of contestants in the Worldwide competition as well. I am personally elated wit the decision, and driven to continue to work on this project.

So I was asked quite a bit; what plans do I have for the future? It's always a hard thing to answer for me. I don't have plans for the future; I just want to make a difference in this world. I want to make sure that my future means something. I know the rest of the team feels the same way, and we hope that you continue to encourage us on our journey moving forward.

No matter what the future holds, Bloom is going to continue to inspire change.

- Andrew N. Zurek

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Spero gets completed!

As I posted on Facebook no more than seconds ago, Spero has been completed! It's been an amazing experience creating this game, and it's one I hope we can revisit if given the time. Being able to work with some very talented and passionate people has been a pleasure for all of us.

Throughout the project, we've always talked about the importance of passion coming through in a product, and I have to say that all of my passion is in this project. For better or worse; it doesn't matter. Our team knows that we put all of our effort into making Spero what it is as of today.

I remember when we visited Aspen Elementary's 3rd grade class and showed them one of our early iterations of the game. If smiles were currency, we'd be the richest people on earth! I can accept smiles as payment. Like I mentioned, passion is so important from our team, but to see the kids play with that same passion really ignited a spark. We knew that the involvement of community was important from the very beginning, and being able to give back has been wonderful.

We look forward to Seattle tomorrow, and want to thank everyone who made it possible for us to get to where we are! We've found our alternative energy - your support!

Thank you!

-Andrew N. Zurek