Gamezebo Cribs: Social Game Universe edition

Social Game Universe may have only released a handful of Facebook games so far, including the recently launched Dirty Dancing, but the company has been around for quite some time, though under a different name. Originally founded as Bitcasters back in 1996, the company not only made games, but also music videos, albums, and even books. Now SGU is focused on social games, and we decided to head on over to their downtown Toronto offices to check out where those games get made in the latest edition of Gamezebo Cribs.

After climbing up five flights of stairs, this snazzy sign helped ensure we were in the right place.

Immediately inside the door we came across an ancient TV adorned with numerous awards, including several MuchMusic video awards (the Canadian version of MTV). In front you can see a poster for igapi, SGU’s own social game promotion tool, and a number of Storm Hawks action figures. SGU developed an online game for the animated TV series. And in behind is a wall that showcases SGU’s history as Bitcasters, showing off some of the many projects the company created.

Also just inside the entrance we found posters more recent SGU games, like Dirty Dancing, Grow Ops, and Avastar.

SGU’s office is located in a large, open loft space. There’s an upper level that’s perfect for storage, and even better for perching on with a camera to snap some pictures of SGUers hard at work.

The high ceilings also make a great art gallery. These four pieces are just a sample of what’s on display at the office, and each one was created by the company’s former art director.

Stay tuned to Gamezebo for our interview with the folks at SGU about the launch of Dirty Dancing and the studio’s future plans.

News
September 9, 2011
Gamezebo Cribs: Gamezebo edition, part two
By Andrew Webster
Yesterday you saw one half of the Gamezebo virtual office, and now it's time for the rest. In this edition of Gamezebo Cribs we're taking a look at the offices of PC and Mac downloads editor Erin Bell, as well as president and founder Joel Brodie. This is the end of our two-week long behind the scenes look at the casual games industry, but don't worry! We'll be continuing the Cribs series with one-off stories in the future. In the meantime, let's check out the rest of Team Gamezebo's office space.
News
September 8, 2011
Gamezebo Cribs: Gamezebo edition, part one
By Andrew Webster
During our two-week adventure known as Gamezebo Cribs. we've shown you inside the offices of eight different leaders in the realm of casual gaming. And now that you've seen where some of your favorite games are made, it's time to see where your favorite gaming site gets made. That's right, today we're heading into the offices of Gamezebo itself. In fact, since our crack editorial team works remotely in home offices across North America, we'll be splitting this edition in to two. Today, we're checking out where our mobile games editor Jim Squires gets his work done, as well as our social and online games editor, Andrew Webster (that's me!).