Trilobyte's RUMI Project

The Poetry of

Jalaluddin Rumi

An appBooktm

from

Trilobyte Games, LLC

Introduction

September 30 is the anniversary of the birth of Rumi, one of the great spiritual poets of all history and the best selling poet in the United States. Born in what is modern-day Afghanistan, Rumi fled through Persia to Turkey ahead of the Mongol hoards that later conquered all of Central Asia. Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is credited as being the greatist dervish of all.

Sufi dervishes use sacred dance and meditation to connect with and to channel the love of God.

 

Recently, Turkey and Central Asia, where Dervishes continue to whirl in meditative dance to the sacred music of the region, declared 2007 the "Year of Rumi." (image: Rumi's Tomb, Turkey) But most of us know Rumi from his poems, which often focus on love and always reflect insight and an appreciation for great beauty.  This proposed appBook from Trilobyte Games will be our homage to the great poet, to nature, and to love itself. 

go my friend
bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen?

Ghazal 838

appBook design notes....

Since Rumi is the best selling poet in the US market virtually every year, there is no shortage of print volumes of his work. Thus, this iDevice appBook will enhance the user experience by combining stunning design; rich media including audio, video & animation; and, technology-driven tools like bookmarks, narration on demand, search and annotation as indicated and appropriate.  For a look at what we have in mind, check out this demo of the "Annotated Alice in Wonderland" that our team developed for W. W. Norton Publishing.

Popular Persian (based in Toronto) band, Niyaz, has agreed to compose original music for the appBook. Fronted by the educated, young & multilingual Azam Ali, Niyaz is very popular on the “worldbeat” scene, as well as with key target audiences for this title/product.  As with many poets (Scottish bard Bobby Burns comes to mind), Rumi’s work has been used as song lyrics for centuries. The addition of Niyaz (Wikipedia) to the equation will make this appBook really pop. It will be a real differentiator, and will drive sales on its own merit.

Other “enhancements” include the presentation of representative pieces of historic, “silk road” artists....some of which are depicted in this document. There is a wealth of fabulous, public domain art available to producers in that regard.

We are currently reaching out to two, highly credentialed academics who specialize in the poetry of Rumi. One in the USA, one in Turkey. We intend to evaluate the value added by collaborating with these recognized experts, and the potential to have them narrate and interpret the material for our users. Both are capable of narrating in at least two languages.

 

You who are not kept anxiously awake for love's sake, sleep on.
 

In restless search for that river, we hurry along;
  you whose heart such anxiety has not disturbed, sleep on.
 

Love's place is out beyond the many separate sects;
  since you love choosing and excluding, sleep on.
 

Love's dawn cup is our sunrise, his dusk our supper;
  you whose longing is for sweets and whose passion
 is for supper, sleep on.
 

In search of the philosopher's stone, we are melting like copper;
  you whose philosopher's stone is cushion and pillow, sleep on.
 

I have abandoned hope for my brain and head; you who wish for
  a clear head and fresh brain, sleep on.
 

I have torn speech like a tattered robe and let words go;
  you who are still dressed in your clothes, sleep on.     

Ghazal 314
Translated by Jack Marshall

Coffeehouse Press, October 1986

If I was not so pitifully in love

                       

I wouldn't then be standing at your door.

                       

Don't say, "Go away, don't stand at my door!"

                       

I wouldn't exist, my dear, if I didn't stand here.

#1923

God forbid I'd compare the moon to your face

                       

Or the tall cypress to your stature and grace.

                       

Where in the moon are ruby sweet lips to be found?

                       

What cypress sways with the luminous grace of your ways?

#1845

Ah, what was there in the light-giving candle that it set fire to the heart; and snatched the heart away?

You who have set fire to my heart, I am consumed, O friend; come quickly, quickly!

The form of the heart is not a created form, for the beauty of God manifested itself from the cheek of the heart.

I have no succour save in his  sugar, I have no profit save in his lips.

Remember him who one dawn released the heart of mine from the chain of your trees.

My soul, the first time I saw you my soul heard something from your soul.

When my heart drank water from your fountain it drowned in you, and the torrent snatched me away.

Start Up Challenges & The Road to Menlo Park

As many of my readers know, I am a co-founder and the C.O.O. of Trilobyte Games, LLC. Trilobyte develops and publishes digital, entertainment software (games, movies & appBooks) for Apple's hand-held mobile devices. With over 500 million iPhones, iPod Touch devices and iPads in the market, there is no shortage of potential customers. That's why we're there. But I can tell you that operating in Apple's eco-system is a challenge, and starting up as a bootstrapped, self-funded venture is even more challenging. 

In 1992, Trilobyte introduced one of the first two PC games that pioneered full-motion-video: "The 7th Guest." 2 million copies sold at $79.95, grossing approximately  $150 million. After that launch, which drove CD-ROM hardware sales, Trilobyte introduced a sequel: the "11th Hour."The company was dissolved by the two co-founders to pursue other projects. 

Co-founder Rob Landeros went on to produce the industry's first interactive film, Tender Loving Care (TLC) starring John Hurt, with Aftermath Media in 1995.

Last year, Landeros invited me and my colleague John Fricker to join him and re-organize Trilobyte Games, LLC; to bring "The 7th Guest" (T7G), the 11th Hour and other properties to hand-held devices. He proposed we build the content development/production studio of the future.

We self-funded and launched T7G in Dec. 2010, followed-up by the launch of "The 7th Guest: Infection," built from the ground-up for iOS, this Spring. Now we're ready to develop and release "The 7th Guest III: The Collector," a 13-episode prequel that ties the story of Stauf, the mansion and our brand all together. It will feature video, audio, an original score and a stunning environment, along with the mind-bending puzzles we're known for.

We've learned a few things since our Dec. launch. Like how to survive in the Apple eco-system. We've also discovered that we have a strong brand and a loyal fan-base who are anxious for us to succeed. We've updated our web site; built a Facebook page with over 1,000 likes; a branded YouTube channel; and, we've got five Twitter accounts. With resources and networks in place, we're ready to scale our venture up to execute our ambitious content development and market penetration plans.

We've also learned that entertainment software is about more than games; it's about interactive, multimedia content designed to play across the entire spectrum of available devices.  In that regard, we've inked an agreement with Aftermath to port TLC to the iPad and other tablets; and we've got more interactive movies in our queue. We're also talking to a variety of authors, including graphic novel creators, about co-developing what we're calling appBookstm - literature & entertainment 2.0.  Our intent is to offer a comprehensive product line featuring titles in each of these categories: digital games, interactive movies and books.

We are looking to raise $1.5 million to fund our vision.  That figure covers the development of our new games, the port of TLC to the iPad and our first few appBook offerings.  So we're on our way to Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, the home of Silicon Valley's largest cluster of Venture Capitalists, Angels and investment bankers.  I'll be posting progress notes here from time-to-time.

Celestial Teapot: First Reported Here

I am pleased to be the first to report that erstwhile game-guru, graphic artist and amateur political commentator, Rob Landeros (DonRoberto) has launched a new blog: Celestial Teapot. Check it out. But be forewarned, he's not happy with the Jr. Senator from NY and her re-position on Iraq.

Rob co-founded Trilobyte and was largely responsible for early blockbuster games including The 7th Guest and Eleventh Hour. Prior to that gig, he was art director at Virgin Games. Nuff said. He's da bomb. Like lots of folks, Rob finds himself frustrated by the current state of the earth, country and politics in general - so naturally, he's taken to blogging. That's when he's not designing web pages, creating works of digital art, or playing golf. Did I mention he plays a lot of golf?