Snow Day – Letter to Parents

• School is closed, your friends have all arrived, and the snow is sparkling: let the Sago Mini Snow Day begin!*

Dear Parent,

Every few months, we all get together and do an ‘idea jam’ – where all sorts of roles at Sago Mini (from office managers, to artists, to animators and marketers) get together and brainstorm new app ideas, later pitching them to the broader team.

The session was inspirational, but the task daunting! I’m far from a developer – what could I seriously pitch? Tapping into my marketing experience, my first thought was to our fans – what would they love to see in a Sago Mini app? Sifting through the parent comments on our social properties, and found that ‘winter’ came up time and time again as a suggestion.

I started thinking about the brutal but beautiful winters in my hometown of Edmonton, and all of the fun activities we used to do in the snow. (One of which included waiting until the snow got high enough to climb onto the roof! Sorry, mom.) After drafting up a mood board chock full of fun snowy activities, the idea stuck and it was off to the developers and artists to make it a reality.

Teena Saur, Director of Brand & Marketing

For kids, snow days can be some of the most exciting days of winter. What’s not to love about a day off, where you can play in the snow with friends? With Snow Day, we wanted to recreate that feeling – where fresh snow has made a familiar scene a bit more magical.

Going sledding with the rest of the neighbourhood kids in our small town was something I’d look forward to every winter. We would go down that hill over and over again until it was dark, and then we would do it some more. The thrill of speeding down what felt like a mountain, and controlling my sled all by myself was a feeling I’ll never forget. With Snow Day, we wanted to give kids the same thrill and independence of going sledding, without all the necessary bundling up first. The snow feels realistic when you sled through it, and the original sound effects add a special magic to the scene.

Together with the Sago Mini friends you can blast down hills, check out all the fun decorations around the town, and even catch a glimpse of Remy the Yeti. Go forwards, backwards, even fly through the air - it’s up to you! Speed through town as fast as you can, or take a break to decorate a snowman – the open-ended nature of play means there is something for everyone. Best of all, once you reach the bottom, you can get back on your sled and do it all over again.

Nik Aggarwal, Developer

How to Play

Choose a sled and some friends to ride with – will you pick a classic toboggan, a slick speed racer, a bouncy hot dog or cute unicorn inflatable? Drag your finger to the right to start your ride – you can stop by removing your finger, go backwards by dragging your sled to the left. You’ll pick up speed and even gain some air as you whiz down the snowy hills – don’t forget to wave hi to Yeti, or take a big bite of the giant ice cream cone! There’s so much to explore in this snowy village – take a break to decorate a tree with Larry the Log, build a big snowman with Astrid or warm up your mitts at Dennis’ Hot Chocolate stand! When you see one of these characters, just tap their snowy cabins to play the mini games.

To Talk About

Snow Day is the perfect backdrop for creating your own snowy stories. Observe your child at play, and ask where their Sago Mini friends are off to – are they meeting a friend to build a snowman before the snow melts? Or maybe they’re off to go ice cave exploring! (Secret tip: try tapping the icicles to play a tune!) Ask what their favourite part of a snow day is – the thrill of sledding down a giant hill? Or the delicious hot chocolate that comes afterwards?

Settings

To access the settings, open the Settings app on your device and scroll down to Snow Day. Here you’ll find options to hide the “Sago News” and “For Parents” buttons on the title screen.

Credits

Nik Agarwal, Developer

Elaine Hsu, Lead Artist

Vanessa Logan, Project Manager

Richard Hilmer, Developer

Danny Simmons, Sound Design

Mike Pereira, Production Artist

Manuel Afonso, Developer

Lisa Armstrong, Play Designer

Tracy Mon, Technical Artist

Aaron Leighton, Art Director

Ryan Fairley, QA