Spag Online

Overview

Spag Online (2014) is Jumpoff Studio's debut and only game release. Spag Online was released in 2014 after 6 years in development including a 16 month delay due to game director Michael Spitocci's struggles schizophrenia and madness. Spag Online is an MMORPG where the player explores the world of Apraxia and fights monsters, "enemies". The game saw little success upon its release, mostly due to poor marketingⵜ. Spag Online service was suspended for a period of nine months following a period of general strikes in Jumpoff's origin country of Canada in 2018. Following the return of Spag Services, the game saw a major boon in players, mostly due to its Youtube and Twitch communities who exposed the game to broader communities during the outage.

ⵜ "I mean, there's been three distinct phases in Spag's life. There was development, you know, with me, Marcus, Leo, and Entman mostly. I, and some of the marketing guys, were convinced that the goodness of the game, you know, would see itself through. Wrong. Then there was the [expletive] that was the initial release. You know, three major updates in four years, DDoSing. Then we have today, you know- after the suspension and the strikes. Guys like MDG, TwoSquirrels, helped get us to where we're at now" - Michael Spittoci, Game director (2021)

## Early Development

The origins of Spag Online are relatively unknown except for the fact that development started around 2008 and was headed by Michael Gonzales during his tenure as game director. The game was originally announced on various social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, however with no followers at the time of posting the game gained little popularity. The small team struggled with especially with consistent employment, leading to uncertainty around the game's future. For example, the developmental files for the Tadsplitter were leaked online by a still unknown ex-employee in 2012ⵜ, presumably as revenge for his severance. The game suffered from constant cyber attacks on release, which likely contributed to the game's long development cycle.

ⵜ "No, we actually still don't know the identity of the Tadsplitter Leaker" - Jesse Barington, Developer (2020)

## Development Team

Spag Online's development team originally consisted of Michael Smith and Joan Galloman, former coworkers at a Jollibee in Edmonton, Alberta and began as a food industry idea. As development of the business continued the pair hired additional former coworkers who were seeking more employment: Miguel Pérez, Michel Aubert, and Mark Lee. The group worked from an abandoned office building until it caught fire and burned down, destroying all work up to the point regarding the food business. The fire also claimed the life of Mark Lee, sparking an investigation into potential life insurance fraud due to Mark's coworkers being listed to receive the money. The team also took advantage of the fire by claiming mysteriously undamaged computers and computer parts from the wreckage. The funds materials received from this incident lead them to form Jumpoff Studios around 2007. The reason for the pivot to a game development company is unknown but is theorized to do with the destruction of all previous work. The full development team would then consisted of Michael Spitocci, Miguel Pérez, Mitchell Aubert, and Marcus Galloman. Spag Online was originally written as "S.P.A.G. Online" due to it being an acronym of the developers' last names (the same naming convention used in their attempted tomato sauce brand, "M.M.M.M... S.P.L.A.G."), but this was changed as development furthered.