Carl Sommer, a Purdue University graduate, using his knowledge in computer graphics and interest in board games is launching ZORP Game, an exciting video board game that is drawing the interest of local video games retailers.

The product is being introduced by Wonky Rhino Games, the company that Sommer founded with the help of Purdue Foundry, a start-up centre for Purdue-affiliated entrepreneurs. Sommer started designing ZORP Game while taking up his Masters Degree at Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

The ZORP Game stands for Zombie Oblivion Response Game which features two to four players fighting for survival against invasive zombies.

One person plays the Zombie Master that leads and controls the movement of the zombies while the other players play humans that manoeuvre to free themselves of the menacing creatures, using weapons and other gadgets provided in the video game.

While developing ZORP Game, Sommers noted that students were excited and enjoyed playing the prototype versions so he decided to make plans to market the product.

At the Annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco which he attended, he realized the difficulties that new products undergo to break into the games market. His eventual stint at Purdue Foundry Launch Box program helped him formulate the marketing plans for the product.

 "The Purdue Foundry has been a tremendous help. The LaunchBox program helped me structure my thoughts and prioritize when to focus on different aspects of the business," Sommer explained

Sommers has brought the ZORP Game to conventions he attended, displaying the product, letting people use the game and getting direct feedbacks from the users. This way, he has compiled data and more information on how the ZORP Game can be improved.

When asked for reasons why he designed the game, Sommer's had this to say: "I wanted to make a board game because it's fun."

The "fun" that ZORP Game brings may lead the way to success in the video games market.