????可能你已經(jīng)見過圍繞《憤怒的小鳥》（Angry Birds）開發(fā)的各種小玩意——T恤、帽衫、毛絨玩具、鑰匙鏈、背包、iPhone手機套，甚至還有人字拖?，F(xiàn)在，《割繩子》（Cut the Rope）游戲（排名第四的付費iPhone應用程序）的開發(fā)商希望也能如法炮制，開發(fā)游戲中的綠色小怪物Om Nom所具有的商業(yè)價值。

????《割繩子》這款游戲在所有平臺上的付費和免費版本所取得的下載次數(shù)在2月份達到了1億次。它的玩法是設法割斷繩子，讓糖果落入Om Nom張開的嘴里。Om Nom已經(jīng)是YouTube 上的常客，其母公司ZeptoLab去年首推了一系列官方漫畫?，F(xiàn)在，這家俄羅斯公司計劃借助與美泰（Mattel）的一筆交易，使Om Nom 再上一層樓?！耙磺袣w根結底都在于設計，” ZeptoLab公司首席執(zhí)行官米莎?利亞林說。“如果人們喜歡某樣東西的設計和外觀，就可以把它的形象運用到各種各樣的東西上?！?/p>

????與美泰交易的第一項成果是一款互動桌面游戲，類似美泰售價20美元的“敲木頭”（Knock on Wood）游戲，該游戲依托于《憤怒的小鳥》的特許經(jīng)營權?！舅趤嗰R遜網(wǎng)站（Amazon.com）上在桌面游戲中排名第一?！縕eptoLab與美泰公司合作的另一項成果就是推出了擁有三個觸點的Om Nom小雕像，可以放在iPad顯示屏上，增強游戲體驗。它通過美泰所謂的Apptivity技術來實現(xiàn)，能夠讓實體玩具在屏幕上挪來挪去，實現(xiàn)游戲內的目標。美泰對《水果忍者》（Fruit Ninja）等其他流行應用游戲中的角色也如法炮制。

????問及ZeptoLab介入游戲衍生品開發(fā)的做法時，利亞林表示自己基本不會干涉此事。他坐在椅子上，微笑著回答：“我讓大家做自己想做的事，什么都行。他們可以去關注到底賣出了多少玩具，有哪些客戶值得關注。我要做得事是關注游戲，它的玩法不是夠酷，用戶體驗是否一如既往的出色。”

????ZeptoLab還與另一家大名鼎鼎的玩具制造商孩之寶（Hasbro）達成了協(xié)議，綠色小怪獸Om Nom將登陸后者的經(jīng)典桌上游戲四子棋（Connect Four）。當然，ZeptoLab還在行動，它將為A/V jacks開發(fā)一款用于電視的內置游戲。而游戲制作商JAKKS Pacific將制作一款獨立的“割繩子”牌手柄。JAKKS Pacific曾為不少大牌公司制作過類似產(chǎn)品，迪士尼（Disney）旗下的皮克斯（Pixar）工作室就是其中之一。

????當然，ZeptoLab仍在不停對游戲進行升級換代?！陡罾K子》最近發(fā)布了新版本——《割繩子試驗：洗澡澡》。他們還會不斷發(fā)布新的版本，就和《憤怒的小鳥季節(jié)版》一樣。不過，利亞林認為，ZeptoLab必須適當控制新版本的發(fā)布頻率以及附屬產(chǎn)品，比如iPad的附加小雕像等。他說：“當游戲定價為99美分時，意味著差不多要賣到人手一份才行。一個可行的方案是，千萬不要分化客戶，不要添加一些讓某些人摸不著頭腦的新功能?！?/p>

????小鳥漫天亂飛，豬頭四處逃竄，為了讓Om Nom能擁有前者那樣的知名度，ZeptoLab打算將其形象擴展到服裝領域。它已經(jīng)與服裝公司LF USA達成協(xié)議，合作的產(chǎn)品將于2012年晚些時候上市。

????You've likely seen Angry Birds schwag -- t-shirts, hoodies, stuffed animals, key chains, backpacks, iPhone cases, even flip-flops. Now the makers of Cut the Rope, the fourth most popular paid iPhone app, are looking to do the same with Om Nom, their game's little green monster mascot.

????The game hit 100 million downloads in February, including both paid and free version of the title, across all platforms. Its gameplay involves strategically cutting a rope so as to land a piece of candy into Om Nom's open maw. Om Nom is already a fixture on YouTube, where his parent company, ZeptoLab, debuted a series of official cartoons last year. Now, the Russian firm plans to take Om Nom to the next level, in part through a deal with Mattel (MAT). "All of this stuff comes down to design," says Misha Lyalin, CEO of ZeptoLab. "If people love the design and look of something, you can make it into all kinds of stuff."

????The first result of the Mattel deal is an interactive board game similar to Mattel's $20 "Knock on Wood" game, which is based on the Angry Birds franchise. (That item is ranked number one in board games on Amazon.com (AMZN).) Another result of ZeptoLab's Mattel partnership is the creation of an Om Nom figurine with three touch points that mounts to an iPad for enhanced gameplay. That's done through what Mattel calls "Apptivity," which lets physical toys be moved around on the screen to achieve goals within a game. Mattel has made the same figures out of characters from other popular app games such as Fruit Ninja.

????In terms of ZeptoLab's actual involvement with the creation of these spin-off products, Lyalin says it's minimal: "I let the game companies do what they want to do," he says, lounging back in his chair with a smile. "They can worry about how many toys they sell and who they'll sell to. What I want to worry about is whether my gameplay is cool, whether the experience is stellar."

????The company has also closed a deal with a second big-name toy maker. It co-branded the Om Nom character with Hasbro, which will use the green guy in its classic board games like Connect Four. And through yet another partnership, ZeptoLab will create a plug-in game that can connect to the A/V jacks on a television. The game-maker, JAKKS Pacific, will develop a standalone Cut the Rope branded controller. That firm has made similar products for major brands like Disney's (DIS) Pixar studio.

????Plus, the company is still putting out new iterations of the game itself. Cut the Rope just recently released an update, for its Cut the Rope: Experiments game, called Bath Time. They will continue to offer up new editions -- much like Angry Birds "Seasons" -- but Lyalin knows there has to be a balance in terms of rolling out new versions or extra features like the iPad-attachable figurine. "When you sell a game for 99 cents you basically have to hit everybody," he says. "The way to do that is make sure you don't cut huge chunks of your audience out by adding some new feature that doesn't make sense to them."

????In its quest to make Om Nom as recognizable as those spherical birds and fat green pigs, ZeptoLab will also be putting its franchise character on clothing. That deal has been signed with the apparel company LF USA and will bear fruit later in 2012.