Focus Magazine of SWFL Hot Summer Looks | Página 104

We decided to take advantage of that momentum, and have Al’s
oversleeping be the drama in the game. Only you, the user, can
awaken him, and you do it by flicking quirky characters, called
“Rokies,” at matching icons in Al’s dream, and, in doing so, clear
a path to his alarm clock and strike it, waking Al up. At the same
time, the weather icons used in the game are all based on the
what’s happening in the player’s local weather forecast (those
icons also act as Al’s mascots). The game has two different
gameplay worlds, each of which has 10 levels and unique bonus
rounds. After we came up with the plot, the drawing, storytelling
and programming could begin. I even got to add some of my own
fun elements. I do some of the voices and have named two of
the characters after my minion niece and nephew, who were beta
testers. Ruby Cloudette and Jack Froski. It was a fun, educational
and all-consuming process, for everyone involved. Now that it’s
hit shelves, we can’t wait to hear what you have to say about all
of our hard work.

Photography by Katie Linendoll, Karla Ticas & Eric Lacour

Which brings us to this year. Over the last 12 months, I’ve had
the opportunity to tackle one of my most challenging tech project,
to date: Working alongside America’s favorite weatherman, Al
Roker, to conceive, create and launch his first app. “Al’s Weather
Rokies” just hit App store shelves, and I’m on pins and needles
waiting to see how it’s received. Collaborating with one of my best
friends and favorite interactive designer, Steve Lunny, we’ve come
up with a product that all of us are crazy about, and it’s been an
incredible labor of love to get to this point. It’s funny to be so
obsessed with my own app, because today, the notion of creating
an app almost feels like a cliché. It’s kind of like coming up with
the idea for the next great blockbuster: everybody seems to have
one, but that doesn't mean it’s going to ever hit the theaters.
Or, in our case, smart phones. Conceiving of an app—especially
a complex one—is one thing. Seeing it through conception to
production to distribution is a whole different story. It’s a laborious process, and I’m not sure people realize how much work and
patience it entails!

Now that that hard work is behind us, I can’t stress enough how
wonderful it was to work alongside Al in this endeavor, and to be
a creative force in the game. Al was super involved with the process. He actually drew two of the mascots for the game, gave us
quite a bit of creative direction and assisted with the voiceovers.
After all, what’s an Al Roker app without his signature line: “Here’s
what’s happening in your neck of the woods.”
The creation of “Al’s Weather Rokies” was an intimidating prospect
from the get-go. First, I’ve been a huge fan of Al’s since I started
as a tech contributor on TODAY years ago. So creating something
like this came with a built-in pressure valve. On top of that, I’m a
perfectionist when it comes to my own work, and even more so if
I’m working on someone else’s behalf.
Second, there are more than 1 million apps in the app store.
That’s a lot of noise to break through! I knew we would have to
create a product that was unique enough to really stand out. It
had to be both fun, and useful, incorporating an exciting game
with value added, real-time weather information, customized to
the player’s location. And it had to be funny. Al Roker is a funny
guy, and his game should reflect that.
Third, Al had a tall order. You might not know this about him, but
he’s actually a huge fan of cartoons, and a cartoonist, himself.
His office is practically wallpapered with custom pieces—HannaBarbera, Animaniacs, and even an autographed work by Adam
West (aka Batman) that says, “You stole Penguin’s umbrella!” So
we knew art expectations were high. Plus, Al had his reputation
to keep up. He told us, “If I don’t nail this, my kids will say, ‘Oh,
Dad, you’re just as lame as your app.” No pressure there!
The first step, before creating any of the art, writing the code or
devising the text: we needed a narrative. That plot revealed itself
fairly easily. Last year, Al’s alarm clock didn’t go off, and for the
first time in his four-decade career, Al Roker overslept. Obviously,
it was a huge deal, and became something of a pop culture gaffe.

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04 FOCUS of SWFL 2014

One of the things I love best about my job is that it’s constantly
changing, and I awaken to something new and different every
day, whether I’m designing an app for Al Roker, traveling to Costa
Rica, Bermuda or Africa to research future stories, scoring the
Guinness World Record for the most high fives in 60 seconds,
putting myself through “digital detox” for a story, traveling to a
college or corporation to speak about technology and the list goes
on. Some mornings, I wake up to a phone call saying I’m needed
on live television within hours. Other times, I’m secretly multitasking months on end to develop a concept, like “Al’s Weather
Rokies,” that people around the world can play, any time they
want. And with technology constantly changing, I feel pretty secure and grateful for my job, for the foreseeable future. Until next
time, stay tuned!