Gaming: Bad Taste Bears

Everything that’s popular and nice in Britain seems to be counterbalanced with a brutal, often sadistic and bastardized version of itself.

An anti-culture movement, that’s deliberately works to unmake the tapestry of the country’s fun and frolics.

Monty Python, The Office, Viz comic book, Father Ted, The Young Ones, Alan Partridge, Brass Eye and, now in full revival, The Bad Taste Bears.

The latter is a collectible phenomenon that’s been delighting the English underclass for over 15 years. Designed by illustrator Pete Underhill in a moment of perverse inspiration, these ornamental figurines depict cute, once-loveable teddy bears in acts of hilarious depravity. And now there’s a Bad Taste Bears smartphone game in the works.

“You have to stroke fluffy pink kittens and feed cuddly puppies,” Pete Underhill laughs when we ask what the game is all about, demonstrating the savage sense of humour that brought the Bad Taste Bears into existence in the first place.

A Kickstarter campaign is underway that aims to create the first iteration of these massively popular and abusive creatures in a medium other than collectable figures. Something that Underhill has wanted to experiment with for a long time.

“I think about games a lot,” he says. “My son, Lewis, has just graduated in video game design and before I became insanely busy I used to be an avid gamer. I like to write stories, and some would lend themselves to games. I see the stuff Lewis creates and I’m itching to have a go. I often think of games and apps that I’d like to develop.”

During the 15-year lifespan of the Bad Taste Bears, Underhill has produced more than 400 different designs. It’s a franchise that’s given birth to a voracious, underground cult of collectors, as each new model is only produced once, and in limited quantities. When it’s sold out, it’s gone from the store shelves of Britain for good.

Bad Taste fanatics are everywhere, which means the new game has to be very protective of its existing fan base, even if those fans arrived from a very different medium. “For me, the brand name carries with it a certain responsibility and one that needs to be satisfied to avoid disappointment in the end user,” Underhill continues. “Over the years I’ve been encouraged by fans of the brand to push the boundaries of bad taste, taking concepts beyond that which I’d have originally shied away from. Obviously, to create something which is not near the knuckle, but beyond the knuckle and past the wrist, heading for the elbow, is possible but would shoot itself in the digital foot because no distributor would touch it.”

The Kickstarter video explains the approach that Underhill and his partners in the project -- publisher Clubit New Media and developer FormerDroid in creating a mini-game compendium that brings to life some of the most popular Bad Taste Bears, while cutting as close to the bone as a cautious distributor like Apple would allow.

It demonstrates some beautifully smooth cartoon animation that will bring the Bad Taste Bears to life for the first time since their conception, and Pete tells us what a revelation it’s been to finally see his creations moving around.

“I’m excited. Interestingly, when I came up with the idea for the Bad Taste Bears all those years ago, my only experience was in two dimensional representation. I figured they’d work well on cards, T-shirts, stationery and so forth. I had no idea that they would be such a success in three dimensions. Therefore, for the Bad Taste Bears to move into the non-dimensional format of digital media is a logical extension of the concept. There’s probably a trendy phrase for the progression,” he smirks. “If not, let’s come up with one. How does ‘media creep’ sound?”

Underhill, and the company behind the Bad Taste Bears production, OddCo, have big plans to help the Bad Taste Bears franchise keep moving -- or creeping, as he prefers to think of it -- into the digital age. The crowdfunded game is only the first step. “For the time being, with well over 400 characters to choose from, we’ve worked with our existing stable,” he explains. “The follow-up may require bespoke characters, but there’s a fair chance that we already have them waiting to leap into action.”

And it’s not just games that he’d like to see his Bad Taste Bears appear in. Underhill sees a future for his creations in animated web series and reaching deeper into the tasteless realms of merchandising and global infestation.

“We’re going to invade Mars and build a base from which we’ll take over the universe!” he laughs. And looking at the epic range of Bad Taste Bears that line the showcase cabinets of Britain’s anti-cultured collectors, we believe he might just do that.

Check out the Kickstarter campaign for the Bad Taste Bears game, which runs until November 4.

What are Bad Taste Bears?

Bad Taste Bears are highly collectable hand painted figurines loved by tens of thousands of fans worldwide. Some are cute, others are naughty and some are just totally totally wrong! All in all Bad Taste Bears are awesome!! To date there are over 400 different Bad Taste Bear characters that have been made into figurines as part of an ever increasing collection.

They need your help! A Kickstarter campaign has been started to raise the necessary funds to make what looks to be a fantastic game. The Kickstarter has some amazing rewards to suit all price points and budgets, from digital rewards to limited edition figurines and even lunch with the artist Pete Underhill, which is sure to be a hit.

You can simply show your support from as little as £1 and they will keep you posted on all future news and updates regarding the games developments.

You can see what it is all about here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1500916193/bad-taste-bears-the-video-game

Oddco, the producer of the collectables together with Tas Hadjisavva of Clubit New Media and award winning game developers Formerdroid LTD come together to make a fun and naughty game based on the Bad Taste Bears. Will it be rude and will it be crude? Best have a look for yourself!

BAD TASTE BEARS GAME will be a causal, fun, fast and furious game, incorporating collecting in a new and exciting way. Aimed at teens+, casual to medium game players, this title really is going to be fun and of course a little bit bad. The game will be released and playable on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 mobile platforms. They estimate that the game will be released in March 2015 on all platforms.