Bunny Popper: An Addictive iOS game by former Infinity Ward, current Respawn artists

With its cute, vibrant and colorful landscape and characters, Bunny Popper (universal iOS app, 99 cents) definitely looks the part of a “kiddie” title. And with simple, addictive gameplay that calls for multiple taps on your iOS device’s screen to literally pop tiny rabbits as they hop toward you, it’s also a game that’s friendly to those not ready for more complex mechanics.

But go figure: Bunny Popper is the creation of Christopher Cherubini, a former Infinity Ward artist who worked on several Call of Duty titles before taking his talents to Respawn Entertainment, and David Chiapperino, who worked for Sony, EA and Disney before joining Respawn in 2010 as a character artist.

Needless to say, Bunny Popper isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a duo that helped bring games like Modern Warfare, SOCOM II and Fight Club (yes, that Fight Club, which they actually worked on together) to the world, not to mention whatever Respawn Entertainment is working on for its debut title. (I’d be shocked if it weren’t a shooter.) But after years of helping bring countless scenes of violence to life, Bunny Popper is what Cherubini and Chiapperino had to get out of their systems.

“Every artist is very narcissistic. They all just really want to work on what they want to work on,” said Cherubini in an interview with Gamertag Radio. “It was just the time to see what I could do on my own… And that’s what I’m doing now.”

He left Respawn to do it too, after being with the studio for about a year and being one of its first eight employees after the Infinity Ward fallout in 2010. Of course, it was no easy decision for him. He raved about the talent in that studio, calling it “the best in the biz.” Chiapperino, meanwhile, stayed with Respawn, saying he was fortunate to be with Respawn, a studio that was “cool” with the idea of him working on another project, something he wouldn’t have been able to do while with Disney. The duo formed their own studio, Jupiter Moon, in 2011, and went straight to work on Bunny Popper.

Bunny Popper in action.

Of course, for two artists not very familiar with programming, they had to start small and simple.

“Neither one of us have ever coded anything before. I mean, we’ve done some scripting, but nothing as heavy as this,” said Chiapperino. “We needed to do something simple with our first project, because we had to teach ourselves how to program games… We’re still learning the code side of it. People don’t really understand how hard it is to make something even so simple.”

This also meant their platform of choice would be crucial. They ultimately chose iOS for its accessibility — and price.

“I didn’t feel like spending the tens of thousands of dollars for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox licenses,” said Cherubini. “We needed to hone our skills first. And iOS is just a really young, emerging mobile OS.”

Added Chiapperino: “ There are more risks you can take with iOS. You can experiment and try different things.”

For a two-man studio just starting out, it was also a convenience to be able to go anywhere and not only strike up a conversation on what they were working on, but be able to show it off right then and there. It also made play-testing a bit easier, as neighbors, family members and even “people at the bar” were able to check out the game and immediately give their input.

The continuous learning, coding and testing process would, of course, become exhaustive. Both Chiapperino and Cherubini are very quick to point out that being an independent developer is — obviously — nothing like being part of a several hundred employee team. The duo worked tirelessly for about a year on the game, sometimes all throughout the night and into the wee hours of the morning. Chiapperino would often do so before heading to work at Respawn and after working his usual eight-hour day. And he didn’t mind, he said; he loved doint it. As for Cherubini, a father and husband, it meant making his family feel like they were “married to Bunny Popper.”

So it’s an unfair statement to say the two didn’t do Bunny Popper, or start up Jupiter Moon, for the love of games, like they noticed some comments on an IGN.com article about Jupiter Moon’s launch suggested.

“[They said], ‘man those guys must hate making games.’ … But making a game on your own is just so rewarding. There’s just something about the challenge; it’s very rewarding,” said Chiapperino. “And it’s really not anti-industry or anything. It’s just that, sometimes, you want your own form of expression.”

Said Cherubini: “There’s something about setting out to do something on your own that is inspiring. And it’s inspired other people too. It’s infectious.”

Chris Cherubini (left) and David Chiapperino (right) founded Jupiter Moon in 2011. They released Bunny Popper on iOS in early 2012.

For now, the Jupiter Moon fellows are focused on continuing to improve Bunny Popper. The game received its first major update yesterday, when it launched on the iPhone. (It initially launched on the iPad on Jan. 5 of this year.) As for their next project: Who knows? They’ve been talking about it, but nothing is set in stone.

“We’ll probably do something a little more sophisticated graphically,” said Cherubini. “And, unless someone comes to us with a million dollars, I would say iOS is pretty safe.”

Whatever it is, they both find the thought of the future, and where Jupiter Moon can go, exciting.

“I think everyone kind of has a dream. And I would love if things took off and we could just focus on this thing,” said Chiapperino.

Of course, for now it’s Bunny Popper for Jupiter Moon, as well as whatever the heck Chiapperino and Respawn is working on, which of course he wouldn’t hint at.

Though, he did laugh at the notion that some people thought it was Lach Ness Monster-related.

For more information on Bunny Popper and Jupiter Moon, check out the studio’s website.