GAMES

The Fast Forward Skate Center at Verona Road and the Beltline has been the home to the Mad Rollin’ Dolls roller derby league for five years now. There the Dairyland Dolls take on a visiting squad from Baltimore in hardcore derby action this weekend, the latest in a summer of bouts culminating in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Eastern Regionals in Madison this October. But who said you shouldn’t be able to play along at home?

Frozen Codebase, a development team in Green Bay, announced a partnership in May with the Women's Flat Track Derby Association to develop a video game based on the sport. Lead designer Norb Rozek says the game is one of the first ideas they ever had for the company since it was founded in July 2006.

"The original concept was that we would just invent a bunch of fictitious teams, and have 'em playing each other," recalls Rozek. "But it didn't look like it was going anywhere -- there was no interest in a derby game two years ago."

Rozek and Frozen Codebase founder Ben Geisler remained convinced that this game concept was viable, though, and finally abandoned the fictional teams concept in favor of going after an official license from the Women’s Fast Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

"The WFTDA was reasonably receptive to our idea, so we traveled down to Austin, Texas for nationals last September and met about a dozen WFTDA high priestesses at 9 a.m. on the outdoor patio of a Mexican restaurant,” explains Rozek, “where, Coronas in one hand and laptops in the other, we pitched them our game proposal."

"We approached them,” Rozek emphasized. “And they did not mace us."

More than simply an adaptation of the sport, Frozen Codebase has a full license from the WFTDA, which means real teams and real skaters will be available for play, just like the latest Madden football or FIFA soccer titles from EA Sports. The company is still in the early stages of development though, and only five teams are in the current version. Many more are promised for the final product.

Rozek himself is more than just a video game designer; he's also an announcer for the Fox City Foxz derby league in Appleton. From his perspective as “Rev. Norb,” he promises that the game will have the authenticity and personality you might expect from a night at the rink. Ben Geisler is a veteran of the industry, meanwhile, having spent several years at Radical Entertainment and Raven Software working on such high profile titles as Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, Soldier Of Fortune 2, Quake 4, and X-Men Legends. Frozen Codebase has also sponsored both the Mad Rollin’ Dolls in Madison as well as the Brewcity Bruisers in Milwaukee.

Frozen Codebase hope to have the still-untitled game out by next year in theory, though a platform has yet to be announced. Rozek notes that Frozen Codebase is a licensed developer for Wii and Playstation 3, in addition to the Xbox 360 for which their first two games Screwjumper and Elements of Destruction have already been released. They are planning on increasing staff in anticipation of ramping up production of the derby game production.

The Mad Rollin’ Dolls are co-sponsoring the compilation album The Roller Derby Music Project Volume 1: The Midwest Family Album, which will be celebrated with a release party at The Frequency starting at 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 17 with performances by The Skintones, Zebras, and Those Poor Bastards.

Then the Dairyland Dolls return home following four bouts on the road for a face-off against the Charm City Roller Girls from Baltimore on Saturday, July 19 at Fast Forward Skate Center, 4649 Verona Rd., Madison, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the bout starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 dos, and can be purchased online and at Freedom/Knuckleheads, Capitol City Tattoo, Cha Cha Beauty Parlor, the High Noon Saloon, Lakeside Press and Fast Forward Skate Center. The fun will continue with an afterparty at the High Noon Saloon with performances by Kickback, Forth Year Freshman, and The Wanderers. A portion of the bout proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Badger Chapter.