Editing Planet Moon Studios

{{Infobox/Company|boxcolor=#f02222
 |name         = Planet Moon Studios
 |image        = <tabber>
  |-|Main      = [[File:PMS.png|center|100px]]
  |-|Alternate = [[File:Planet_Moon_Studios_Logo_AAD.jpg|center|200px]]
 </tabber>
 |headquarters = San Francisco, California, USA 🇺🇸
 |founded      = 1997
 |type         = Developer
 |games        = {{Icon|Wii}}
 |site         = [https://web.archive.org/web/20110704225153/http://www.planetmoon.com/ 2011 Website]
 |current      = Closed
}}

'''Planet Moon Studios''' was a video game developer founded in 1997, best known for developing [[:wikipedia:Giants:_Citizen_Kabuto|Giants: Citizen Kabuto]] and [[:wikipedia:Armed and Dangerous (video game)|Armed and Dangerous]]. They were the developer of a single ''Drawn to Life'' game, ''[[Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii)]]''. It ended up being one of the last games they would develop, as in January 2011 they closed their doors after failing to be acquired by [[:wikipedia:Bigpoint|Bigpoint GmbH]].

=={{Icon|Book}} History==
===Early game development===
Upon leaving [[wikipedia:Shiny Entertainment|Shiny Entertainment]] following the release of their third-person shooter [[wikipedia:MDK|MDK]], Nick Bruty and Bob Stevenson forme their own game development studio. Although an official name had not been confirmed yet, they struck a publishing deal with Shiny's parent company, Interplay Entertainment, for their first game. This title, [[:wikipedia:Giants:_Citizen_Kabuto|Giants: Citizen Kabuto]], would see release in 2000 to critical acclaim, particularly for it's gameplay and humor, as did their next title, [[:wikipedia:Armed and Dangerous (video game)|Armed and Dangerous]].

From that point forward, Planet Moon mainly developed casual family games, most notably the [[:wikipedia:Electronic Arts|Electronic Arts]]-published [[:wikipedia:Smarty Pants|Smarty Pants]] and [[THQ]]-published [[:wikipedia:Battle of the Bands (video game)|Battle of the Bands]].

===Development of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii)===
Jeremiah Slaczka rejected the idea of [[5th Cell]] developing a Wii entry in the Drawn to Life series, not believing it can be done in a good scale.<ref>[https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/fountain-of-scribbles-5th-cell-s-jeremiah-slaczka-speaks Fountain of Scribbles: 5th Cell's Jeremiah Slaczka Speaks, GameSpot]</ref> He did, however, give his blessing for another team to tackle the entry, leading to THQ handing it off to Planet Moon. The game, which would be given the same exact title as it's [[Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter|canon DS counterpart]], was produced within 17 milestones, much more than previous games. According to production notes given out by Ken Capelli, production started with the first milestone build in February 2008 and concluded in August 2009, resulting in a total development time of just over 18 months, and had a final budget of $4,465,147. 

Much like other entries in the series, the game was affected heavily by development crunch, particularly after the project was put to the studio's B-team once the main team began production on the cancelled Xbox 360 title My Amazing Story. THQ was adamant on a simultaneous release between both versions of The Next Chapter, so the A-team had to step in and assist in production to get this version out on time after development on their other project was winding down.

{{Quote|text=DTL was supposed to be a simple "safety" production that allowed other studio creative leads to focus on a big 1st-party project for Microsoft Game Studio. When the MGS project wound down and we put eyes back on DTL, we saw that the product was a shockingly scattered mess, barely playable/ parts on the floor, nowhere near being able to produce the expected alpha/ beta/ gold dates - it became an all-hands-on-deck emergency...My senior Art Lead and UI Art Director came into it with me, sleeves rolled up, to focus on lining up each area of the game (characters/ props/ cinematics, levels, user interface/ drawing tool). It was only as we were in the midst of alpha that I was able to offer visual feedback to help pull it all together with polish (TBH most of the individual assets developed by the team looked great, really cute and clean).|character=Ken Capelli}}

Planet Moon would eventually finish the game on time, and both versions would be announced on May 26th, 2009 and release on October 8th. Reception of the Wii version was mixed, with many praising the visual style, gameplay mechanics and expansion of the [[Draw Mode (Wii)|Draw Mode]] but criticizing the storyline structure and controls, particularly the Wiimote pointer controls for drawing. While the DS version was more acclaimed, the Wii version would ultimately be the better-selling of the two. It was also considered canon by 5th Cell around the time, only for this to be backtracked by both Slaczka and series producer Joseph Tringali in 2020.

===Aftermath and closure===
After realizing the drawing controls of the game weren't ideal due to reduced tactile feedback with the Wiimote, THQ got the idea to develop more games in the series with a specialized tablet accessory. This would ultimately result in the [[:wikipedia:uDraw GameTablet|uDraw GameTablet]]<ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6777678150928359424/ Scott Rogers' LinkedIn]</ref>, released in 2010 for the Wii with no Drawn to Life branding at all. The tablet was initially a success, only for it's expanded re-release on other consoles to result in a $100M loss for THQ, contributing to their closure in 2012.

Planet Moon would only produce one more game in their lifetime, the movie tie-in game for [[:wikipedia:Tangled: The Video Game|Disney's Tangled]], which reused aspects of My Amazing Story. In January 2011, Bigpoint GmbH acquired the company staff but not the company itself. According to CEO Aaron Loeb, investors pulling their money played a huge role in the studio's financial troubles, resulting in an unnamed project going into default and Planet Moon threatening legal action to recover lost funds.<ref>[https://mcvuk.com/development-news/planet-moon-owed-substantial-money/ Planet Moon ‘owed substantial money’, MVC/DEVELOP]</ref> It was ultimately My Amazing Story's cancellation that signaled the end, with the studio closing it's doors shortly after the team was moved to BigPoint's San Francisco offices.

=={{Icon|Button}} Notable Games==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100% float:left">
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<br>
<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Game !! Publisher !! System !! Release Date
|-
| [[file:GiantsCitizensKabuto.png|125px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giants:_Citizen_Kabuto]] || [[File:InterplayEntertainment.png|100px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplay_Entertainment]] || <center>[[File:Microsoft Windows Logo.png|125px]] / [[file:ps2logo.png|100px]]</center> || Dec. 7, 2000
|-
| [[file:ArmedandDangerous.png|150px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_and_Dangerous_(video_game)]] || [[file:LucasArts.png|75px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucasfilm_Games]] || <center>[[File:Microsoft Windows Logo.png|125px]] / [[file:ogxboxlogo.png|100px]]</center>|| Dec. 2, 2003
|-
| [[file:Smartypantswii.png|75px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarty_Pants]] || [[file:EAlogoblue.png|75px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts]] || [[file:Nintendo_Wii_Logo.png|75px|center|link=Wii]] || Nov. 17, 2007
|-
| [[file:BattleOfTheBands.png|125px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bands_(video_game)]] || [[File:THQ_logo_2000.png|center|100px|link=THQ]] || [[file:Nintendo_Wii_Logo.png|75px|center|link=Wii]] || Apr. 21, 2008
|- 
|[[file:MyAmazingStory.png|100px|center|link=https://kencapelli.com/portfolioMyAMAZINGStory.shtml]] || [[file:MicrosoftGameStudios.png|center|100px|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_Game_Studios]] || [[file:xbox360logo.png|center|100px|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360]] || Cancelled
|- 
|[[File:TNCLogoHQ.png|150px|center|link=Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii)]] || [[File:THQ_logo_2000.png|center|100px|link=THQ]] || [[file:Nintendo_Wii_Logo.png|75px|center|link=Wii]] || Oct. 8, 2009
|- 
|[[file:Tangled.png|center|125px|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangled:_The_Video_Game]] || [[File:disneyinteractivelogo.png|100px|center|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Interactive_Studios]] || <center>[[file:Nintendo_Wii_Logo.png|75px|link=Wii]]/ [[File:Nintendo_DS_Logo.png|100px|link=Nintendo DS]]<br>[[File:Microsoft Windows Logo.png|center|125px]]</center> || Nov. 23, 2010
|}
</center>
{{ReadMore|:wikipedia:Planet Moon Studios#Games}}
</div></div>

== {{IconSVG|Trivia}} Trivia ==
* The uDraw was also intended for more licensed [[Drawn to Life series]] games in the vein of ''[[Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition]]'', but no other games in that caliber were ever developed.
* Many higher-ups would either join or found their own game studios after their time at Planet Moon, including Nick Bruty and Richard Sun's Rocket Games in 2011, Bob Stevenson's mgmoco in 2008 and Loeb joining Playfish's San Francisco branch in 2011.

=={{Icon|Painting}} Media==
<center>
<tabber>
|-|Website=
{{#tag:tabber|
{{!}}-{{!}}Pages=
<gallery widths="310" captionsize="medium" captiontextcolor="#8e8e8e" bordersize="none" bordercolor="transparent" captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center">
PMSPage.png|The front page of Planet Moon Studios' website.
PMSTNC.png|The studio's web page for [[Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii)]].
</gallery>
{{!}}-{{!}}Screenshots=
<gallery widths="310" captionsize="medium" captiontextcolor="#8e8e8e" bordersize="none" bordercolor="transparent" captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center">
PMSH1.jpg|Website screenshot
PMSH2.jpg|Website screenshot
PMSH3.jpg|Website screenshot
PMSH4.jpg|Website screenshot
PMSH5.jpg|Website screenshot
PMSH6.jpg|Website screenshot
</gallery>
}}
</tabber>
</center>

{{Navbox/Studios|Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii)|Planet Moon Studios|boxcolor=#f02222}}

== {{Icon|Note}} References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Developers]]