Heavens Blessings Tiny Zoo

You can do big things!

The concept behind the Kickstarter program is for a lot of people to contribute a little bit to make great things happen.  Artists, musician, writers, explorers, even game developers all find a warm welcome in this community of aspiring creative minds. This is your opportunity to help with the final push to get Visions to open beta!  We just launched our very own Kickstarter page today.  Check it out!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1799801709/visions-a-christian-mmorpg

Thank you for supporting us!

2 chances to help us win!

Still have 2 contests in the running. And people can vote once a day.

This one at startup nation is for a publicity package:
http://www.startupnation.com/homebased100/contestant/7272/index.php

This one at Idea Cafe is for a small business grant:
http://digg.com/d31788K

(Remember to Click the DIGG button!)

Both would be helpful to our efforts. We’re really close on the Startupnation contest, I have no idea how we’re doing on the Idea Cafe contest. Thank you for voting for us!

Laurene answers Q&A for Idea Cafe

Laurene answered some questions about Visions and our company, Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo, presented by Idea Cafe in relation to the Small Business Grant contest that we are participating in.  They have published my responses on their blog. You can read them here:

http://blog.ideacafe.com/semi-finalist-qa-heavens-blessings-tiny-zoo

Please be sure to vote for us!  You can vote once a day.

Tiny Zoo in the top 40 and still climbing!

That’s right!  We made it to the top 40 out of 1000 applicants!

Thanks for voting for Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo!

Now we have to win the contest!

http://blog.ideacafe.com/and-semi-finalists-eighth-idea-cafe-small-business-grant-are#33

Even if we don’t win, thank you very much  for voting for us! Every vote counts!

Visions on Mt Dew Cans!!! Make it happen!

My contest entry was accepted to the DEWmocracy competition.  Please vote for me!

http://apps.facebook.com/dewdesigngallery/?ref=nf

Look for this image on the cans when voting!  I used a screenshot from Visions as the backdrop for my design. A vote for me is a vote for Visions!

http://apps.facebook.com/dewdesigngallery/?ref=nf

I made the design by myself, this was not a team effort.  But it was my hope that if I won the $10,000 grand prize, I could use some of the funds to buy some development software, specifically Ecstasy Motion for 3D art and animation, (as well as pay for braces for my son, and get Dentist and Eye Dr. appointments for the whole family).  I am thrilled about the recognition we’re getting and hope you all will vote for me!

Thank you!

-Laurene Wells

EDIT: Here’s a screenshot from the voting page.  Wouldn’t it be cool to hold a can like this in your hand?

Small business grant? Vote YES!

We made it to the Semi Finalists on Idea Cafe!

This is a competition for a small business grant which will be used to benefit the production of Visions.

Please vote for Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo!

http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/small_business_grants/grant_vote.php

If you would like to read the publicized application of our contest submission, you can find it on this page.

http://blog.ideacafe.com/and-semi-finalists-eighth-idea-cafe-small-business-grant-are#33

Thank you for voting for Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo! We really appreciate it!

God bless you,

-Laurene

Skate boards and neck ties and t-shirts! Oh my!

Tons of new stuff available to fans on our new Zazzle store! The usual t-shirts, buttons and stickers can be found, plus a variety of unusual items as well, such as skateboards, coffee mugs, beer steins, and neck ties. There is even a pair of Chariots specific Keds brand shoes!

http://www.zazzle.com/tinyzoo*

Get your game gear! Sure to be something to please everyone! All purchases from the tinyzoo* store go to benefit our volunteer game development team. Thank you for your support!

And God said, “let there be trees”…

New screenshots from Visions development. Can’t see the forest for all of the trees!

Would you like to get in on the action? Help us make Visions! We are working to grow our development team and we need Manager level leaders as well as dedicated developers in Programming, Art, Quest team, Marketing, Research, Administration, Music, and Worldbuilding. If you’re interested in volunteering as a game developer put in your application online today!

http://www.visionsdev.com/adminforms/Volunteer-Application.htm

We are developing a Christian MMORPG. Make the dream come true! Many said it could not be done, but “with God, all things are possible!”

Free applied Programming classes online!

We have new programming classes!  George Garman, a Visions team Senior Programmer, has offered to serve on our team as a Programming Instructor for our new developers who are learning, or need to brush up on their skills.  He will be developing a series of courses to teach specific programming concepts in C++ and Torque Script.

Membership on the development team is required for participation in the class as many class projects will be directly related to our game development projects.  Currently there is no fee for joining George’s classes, but assignments will need to be turned in on time and in completion to stay in the class. We will be working on delivery methods as technology becomes available. Currently emails, IRC, Teamspeak and videos are anticipated to be the primary delivery methods of information, as all classes are online. Live instruction will be recorded and used for future classes as well.  George will be working closely with the Director of Programming, Mark Dynna, to coordinate his class instruction to the needs of the game.  Class Assignments will be geared toward needs of the development project whenever possible, thus meaning that students will be working directly with actual game code much of the time.  As students attain a level of proficiency that they can engage in self-directed learning, they will be given more independant task assignments on the game project to work with. It is expected that the students will ask questions about issues they have with their project assignments to advance their knowledge.

A minimum of a 1 year commitment is required for this programming internship/apprenticeship opportunity. If you are wanting to join George’s programming classes, please send in an online volunteer application to officially confirm your interest and note on the application that you are interested in the Programming Apprenticeship classes. Apply online here:

http://www.visionsdev.com/adminforms/Volunteer-Application.htm

Thank you for your interest in our game development projects!  If you would like to learn more about our company before applying you can visit our company website here http://tinyzoo.com.
-Laurene

HBTZ converts to LLC structure

On September 11, 2009 Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo converted the business structure from sole proprietor to LLC. This is yet another step in taking action to build a larger stronger team, and preparing for bigger things to come in the near future. This conversion to LLC was made for legal purposes, and has no effect on the actual work that we are doing at Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo, which is making great family friendly games for Christ! Thank you for your support.

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Laurene Wells is the owner of Heaven’s Blessings Tiny Zoo and the Producer of both Chariots and Visions. To learn more about her company and the games they make please visit the website www.tinyzoo.com