Felipe Femur is Out!

Felipe Femur is out and free to play now at felipefemur.com, or you can go directly to the Google Play Marketplace and download it to your Android device.

The interactive story book follows an introverted, selfless skeleton named Felipe Femur, and illustrates how he helps his friends, but never thinks to ask them for a thing. I wanted to have the protagonist be an introverted individual–participating in hobbies that did not require a social group–in that the real world, as we know it, is an extroverts’ one. People who recharge with alone time, play video games, watch movies, write, etc., alone, are often perceived as socially awkward, shy, and sometimes creepy. I believe this is a misconception. Most introverts crave social interaction, the same as extroverts do, simply to a lesser degree, and this is clear with the introduction of Gummy, Runny, and Sunny, Felipe’s friends. Felipe sets out when boredom overstays its welcome and seeks out his friends. So while he is an introvert, he remains a friendly, likable character.

(Image: Sunny the vampire. Felipe Femur’s good friend.)

Clearly the story has a Halloween theme to it, with characters such as a skeleton, a witch, and a werewolf, but the story remain cheery and positive, to the contrary of popular opinion that such themes should represent dreary material only. The challenge to opinion is particularly clear with the character Sunny, shown above. According to popular culture, and myth, vampires detest the sun. Typically sunlight destroys vampires, or at least, in certain stories, makes them glitter horrifically, and even then the vampires avoid the light. Not Sunny though. He loves the sun, and though somewhat sensitive to it, he enjoys its warmth. This confronts the stereotype of vampires in the same way the introvert protagonist does the notion held by many. So in the end, the story develops these anti-norm ideals, and places a small stone in the cobblestone path to acceptance for introverts in society.

On the Felipe Femur website, there are several fun activities for kids, including hangman print outs, bingo, and also word searches I create myself.  Some small, such as the one to the right, and some much larger. All of it is free to download and use, so please feel free to throw a Felipe Femur or Halloween theme party, even if it’s in July.

We, at ZebraFox Games, plan to make more extensive additions to the activities section in the future, including a “Runny’s double-the-batch,” matching game which will have colorful graphics and a computer based, interactive interface, with a boiling cauldron, and a dozen or more ingredient card that need matching. We also want to have an animated Felipe teach simple Spanish words, and provide praise while users complete computerized puzzles and hidden object pictures.

Keep an eye-socket out for updates, enjoy the game, and spread the word if you want to help Felipe Femur get noticed. Be a true Femur Friend.