The new vessel the MV Veteran has been out of service longer than it has been in service since it arrived in December. Weather has also played havoc in ferry schedule delays.
The game is all about hopping ice pans — rather than taking a ferry — to get to your destination.
"You have to jump on the pans in the right spot. It's not easy right away, but as you get the knack, it's a laugh. It's a game, so it is not easy, but I can only imagine that real pan-hopping is a challenge, too," said SassyTuna owner, Julie Lewis.
While Lewis has never experienced hopping ice pans, she did hear all about it from a classmate back in the 1980’s. Shelley Penton from Joe Batt’s Arm on Fogo Island attended Grade Five in St. John’s. Both she and Lewis were in the same class at Pius X School.
“Shelley did a little drawing of what Fogo Island looked like in my agenda. I was like ‘Wow! I hope I can go visit Fogo Island one day!’” Lewis recalled.
“Shelley had a pair of jumpers underneath her uniform and to me she was like bucking the trend,” she chuckled.
Lewis lost track of her childhood friend. However, when she and her husband James Lewis visited Fogo Island a few years ago, they saw Landwash Lodging in Joe Batt’s Arm with Madonna Penton’s name on it.
Lewis had no idea Madonna Penton was Shelley Penton’s mom.
“We called while we were at the Café trying to figure out where to stay. I said, ‘I don’t suppose you know Shelley Penton?’ She said, ‘Yes, that’s my daughter.’”
Madonna and her husband Leo Penton welcomed Lewis and her husband to their bed and breakfast. The family now stay there on their visits to Fogo Island.
Inspiration
Lewis got the idea for the game while taking a helicopter ride on her most recent trip to Fogo Island - April 6-10.
“We drove from (St. John’s) got out there at 3 o’clock. The (ferry) was broke down and we were in the lineup until nine o’clock that night,” she said. “We had to make a decision if we would stay in the lineup or go back to Gander.”
The couple decided to return to Gander. They headed back to the ferry terminal lineup the next morning.
“Around noon a gentleman came down who was bringing the helicopter across and said he would be heading out soon if anyone was interested. They offered me a lift.”
Lewis took the man up on his offer while her husband stayed in the lineup in the truck.
During her time in the sky, Lewis took video of the ice pans below, while reflecting on the wait-time spent in the ferry lineup.
Before long, she decided it would be neat to create a video game where players hop ice pans to get to where they are headed.
Madonna Penton’s welcome mat starts the game and Mona Brown’s quilt pattern is at the end when the player successfully crosses the pans. (Brown is also from Joe Batt’s Arm).
“Add Joe Emberley’s (another well known Fogo Islander from Joe Batt’s Arm) accordion music, recorded via speakerphone and, in quick order, SassyTuna cooked up the free custom game (Fogo Island Run),” Lewis said.
“As you’re going through the realm of jumping from ice piece to piece to ice piece, the music makes it lively.”
Lewis credits her creative team (John and Heather Canning) for helping her turn her ideas into a video game – a project that took only a week to complete.
Lewis is delighted that the talents of Joe Batt’s Arm artists – both a musician as well as those who create handcrafted products — are featured in the game.
“Playing the mobile game with a ditty is the perfect way to pass the time while waiting in a ferry lineup,” Lewis said.
The video game can found at sassytuna.com/fogoislandrun or via SassyTuna on Facebook.
The game will soon be released free on the app store as well.
The new vessel the MV Veteran has been out of service longer than it has been in service since it arrived in December. Weather has also played havoc in ferry schedule delays.
The game is all about hopping ice pans — rather than taking a ferry — to get to your destination.
"You have to jump on the pans in the right spot. It's not easy right away, but as you get the knack, it's a laugh. It's a game, so it is not easy, but I can only imagine that real pan-hopping is a challenge, too," said SassyTuna owner, Julie Lewis.
While Lewis has never experienced hopping ice pans, she did hear all about it from a classmate back in the 1980’s. Shelley Penton from Joe Batt’s Arm on Fogo Island attended Grade Five in St. John’s. Both she and Lewis were in the same class at Pius X School.
“Shelley did a little drawing of what Fogo Island looked like in my agenda. I was like ‘Wow! I hope I can go visit Fogo Island one day!’” Lewis recalled.
“Shelley had a pair of jumpers underneath her uniform and to me she was like bucking the trend,” she chuckled.
Lewis lost track of her childhood friend. However, when she and her husband James Lewis visited Fogo Island a few years ago, they saw Landwash Lodging in Joe Batt’s Arm with Madonna Penton’s name on it.
Lewis had no idea Madonna Penton was Shelley Penton’s mom.
“We called while we were at the Café trying to figure out where to stay. I said, ‘I don’t suppose you know Shelley Penton?’ She said, ‘Yes, that’s my daughter.’”
Madonna and her husband Leo Penton welcomed Lewis and her husband to their bed and breakfast. The family now stay there on their visits to Fogo Island.
Inspiration
Lewis got the idea for the game while taking a helicopter ride on her most recent trip to Fogo Island - April 6-10.
“We drove from (St. John’s) got out there at 3 o’clock. The (ferry) was broke down and we were in the lineup until nine o’clock that night,” she said. “We had to make a decision if we would stay in the lineup or go back to Gander.”
The couple decided to return to Gander. They headed back to the ferry terminal lineup the next morning.
“Around noon a gentleman came down who was bringing the helicopter across and said he would be heading out soon if anyone was interested. They offered me a lift.”
Lewis took the man up on his offer while her husband stayed in the lineup in the truck.
During her time in the sky, Lewis took video of the ice pans below, while reflecting on the wait-time spent in the ferry lineup.
Before long, she decided it would be neat to create a video game where players hop ice pans to get to where they are headed.
Madonna Penton’s welcome mat starts the game and Mona Brown’s quilt pattern is at the end when the player successfully crosses the pans. (Brown is also from Joe Batt’s Arm).
“Add Joe Emberley’s (another well known Fogo Islander from Joe Batt’s Arm) accordion music, recorded via speakerphone and, in quick order, SassyTuna cooked up the free custom game (Fogo Island Run),” Lewis said.
“As you’re going through the realm of jumping from ice piece to piece to ice piece, the music makes it lively.”
Lewis credits her creative team (John and Heather Canning) for helping her turn her ideas into a video game – a project that took only a week to complete.
Lewis is delighted that the talents of Joe Batt’s Arm artists – both a musician as well as those who create handcrafted products — are featured in the game.
“Playing the mobile game with a ditty is the perfect way to pass the time while waiting in a ferry lineup,” Lewis said.
The video game can found at sassytuna.com/fogoislandrun or via SassyTuna on Facebook.
The game will soon be released free on the app store as well.