SOMERSET-based Bertish and Company Ltd, the creator and owner of Taunton created children’s character brand Zuma the Dog, is launching its new augmented reality mobile gaming apparel range for kids.

And company founder and director Samantha Bertish will be at the the county town's University Centre Somerset on Monday, November 14, presenting a gaming development project to the students.

They'll have an opportunity to work with Bertish and Company to create a Zuma the Dog branded game within the Roblox gaming platform.

The project will cross over various courses to include graphic design, game development, marketing and business.

At the end of the project, one game will be chosen to be created and released in real world and work as long-term licensing partners with those students.  

The game named Zuma Likes to Dig is the first edition from The Zumaverse’s AR mobile games and shares its title with the first pre-school book written by Samantha Bertish, which kicked off the brands journey back in 2009.

This new game brings Bertish and Company’s character Zuma the Dog up to date as a 3D animation, where the user can access the game through a scannable logo on their specially designed apparel collection.

The game is designed without the need for heavy downloads onto devices or email logins, keeping it light, easy, and fun to enjoy.

Once scanned the user is taken to a colourful loading page and invited to Launch Zumaverse.

Game play includes cute little Zuma sniffing around for treasures which the user must help him find.

In true Zuma the Dog form, this game can be played by children of all ages, including preschoolers with some help from their parents. There’s even teen appeal for older kids.

It gives the user a complete immersive experience with Zuma, including the opportunity to be photographed with him and share to their social media.

“It’s so cool seeing Zuma come to life in 3D animation,” said Samantha Bertish, brand creator.

“Our partners at XRGoods really understood the brief and captured the movements and personality of Zuma perfectly. We just can’t stop playing with him.”

As Bertish and Company continue to push Zuma the Dog’s message of tolerance, anti-bullying, and diversity education into the world, this cutting-edge balance between fashion and technology can help the brand cross over into the gaming world and spread their message in exciting ways that relate directly to their core audience.

T-Shirts and hoodies will be available to buy at www.zumathedog.com in time for Christmas and Bertishand Company is taking orders from retailers for spring 2023.

If you want to stock this range of children’s clothes, email Samantha Bertish at sam@zumathedog.com and for licensees who want to collaborate with Zuma the Dog on new projects contact brand manager Sarah Camp at sarah@contagiousmediagroup.com