Review Fix Exclusive: Karl Dunkelman Talks ‘Santa’s Journey’

Review Fix chats with ‘Santa’s Journey’ Executive Producer and Game Creator: Karl Dunkelman, who discusses the game and why its one you can enjoy throughout the year.

Review Fix: How was this game born?

Karl Dunkelman: Originally, I planned on writing a book about Santa Claus but one day it came to me that a retro-inspired video game app would be a fun approach to my Santa creation.

Review Fix: What was your role in the game?

Dunkelman: I am the Game Creator and Executive Producer which entails everything that went into the game other than the sprite designs. I worked with Jason Perry who had some existing Christmas-themed sprites and we came up with additional ones that are featured in the Santa’s Journey game. I did extensive research on Santa and Christmas, came up with the game theme and levels, learned how to compose digital music and created new versions of Christmas classics, worked with Jason’s artwork to bring it to life, developed the game testing different iterations and released it in the

Apple App Store.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in the industry?

Dunkelman: I’ve always had a passion for video games since the mid to late ’80s. I started out my career working at a digital agency and became the go-to producer for making Flash games for household brand names. I later became the lead producer for making apps for sports and entertainment companies. However, I had never made a video game app or any of this on my own without a team. This curiosity to do it myself led me down the path of creating my own game.

Review Fix: What was development like?

Dunkelman: Development was a challenge since I had never developed a game by myself before but I really enjoyed learning from it. I had worked with designers and mobile developers and been in TestFlight in the past for Beta testing but had always been in a producer role.

Review Fix: What makes this game special?

Dunkelman: The game is classic in the sense of no odd twists on Santa, just clean Christmas fun for all ages. The learning curve of the controls and gameplay are super simple so even young kids can play it. The time-based element I created leaves the user with the goal of reuniting Santa with Mrs. Claus after completing the 25 levels (for the 25 days of Christmas) by Christmas morning.

Review Fix: What games influenced this one the most?

Dunkelman: The game itself came to me on its own accord but looking back on it, the design reminds me of Nintendo’s earlier Zelda games, and since it’s a dungeon-style game that is retro gaming-inspired, there are some underlining tones there. Playing video games for 30 years is most likely the answer. A friend of mine said it reminded him of Dig Dug which is another retro video game.

Review Fix: Any fun stories or wild moments during development?

Dunkelman: I have quite the collection of books on Santa now so next Christmas will be quite fun. I would like to thank my wife for letting me work on the game on nights and weekends to make the dream of creating Santa’s Journey come true. I made it for my kids and they love Santa’s Journey so that’s the most rewarding part of the experience. I hope other kids and families enjoy it as much as we do.

Review Fix: What were the major lessons learned?

Dunkelman: I taught myself a lot during this process from design, development, composing music, it was pretty much anything you could consider when embarking on creating a video game. If I were to offer advice, it would be to not give up and keep trying.

Review Fix: Do you think preserving older gameplay mechanics in new games is important?

Dunkelman: In the case of this game it was important to preserve a retro feel while also making the game accessible to all ages. Kids can learn from the simple mechanics of this game like training wheels for other more advanced games. However, as an adult it’s a nice throwback to experience such simplicity.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite memory as a gamer?

Dunkelman: I remember waiting in line with my mother for the release of Super Mario Bros. 3. When the store opened, there was a mad rush inside and some lady even pushed me, but I got a copy. It was a proud moment as a young gamer and that game’s release felt monumental to the game industry. Nintendo had already established itself but Mario 3 was a whole new world for me.

Review Fix: How do you want this game to be remembered?

Dunkelman: I want to bring Santa to life in a way that all ages can enjoy. The game doesn’t have to just be played during the Christmas holiday season but I understand that’s when it will likely get the most play and enjoyment. I hope that children can fall in love with Santa’s Journey in a way that got me excited about video games.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Dunkelman: There are lots in store for 2020. The iOS version of the app was released in January this year so this Christmas will be the first year for iOS users to enjoy it. Santa always has other fun surprises in store. HO HO HO!

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Dunkelman: Check out www.santa.app and make sure to follow the game on Instagram and/or Facebook. Links to social media can be found at www.santa.app. Make sure to keep the Christmas spirit alive all year long!

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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