What is FunnyPizzaLand?

FunnyPizzaLand is an independant adventure game developed in 2001 and released on the 31st of December back in 2002 by german illustrator 'Roman'. It was built on the 3D GameStudio engine with minimal resources beyond a game manual and was designed to be a "playable painting".

The game follows main character "Pedro", a pizza restraunt owner and descendant of the Pedro family — all of them also having been pizza chefs. Suffering financial hardship, he embarks on a journey to collect a bounty on the GLOBALMEDIAMONSTER, a TV on legs who waged war on FunnyPizzaLand years ago and reduced it to it's gloomy, wartorn state.

Why do you like FunnyPizzaLand?

It's no secret that i really dig old stuff. This comes less from the notion of "old good, modern bad" and more from the fact i grew up around a lot of tech at the time. Recently i pried around the attic and found a disk copy of Half Life. That said, i have a soft spot for the games of old. The real muddy look of them is something i'm most fond of. So when one fateful day in a discord server one of my friends was trying to get somebody else into the game out of believing that it aligned with THEIR interests more, it somehow ricocheted onto me, and now i've dedicated way too much to this janky little overpriced game.
It's horrible. Functionally speaking, it's far from ideal. arrow keys are to move, WASD is for the camera, the map is unusable, the game is absurdly difficult to record - the whole game was likely designed to be played with exclusively the right side of your keyboard, because the jump button? The Home Key on your NUMPAD that you have never so much as considered intentionally pressing. It's the makings for a catastrophic gaming experience. Getting the game to even boot tends to be a gamble, even after having to go through the hurdles in the game files
But, despite this, I'm obsessed with the visual style. I don't think many other games tap into such a nostalgic feeling the harsh shadows and ugly highlights gives me. It has such a specific look to it that no recreation of 90s graphics has EVER come close to. It's a product of it's time, certainly, but the poor 3D work of the game tugs at the vaguest memories of my more formative years, and for that, i appreciate it.

I love Pedro. He intrigues me greatly even with how LITTLE he has to him. Through a modern-day lens, he looks absolutely HORRIFIC, but i think that adds a layer of hilarity to him when you pair it with the fact that he's just some guy who makes pizza. He's got that 'screaming in white-hot agony' look to him.
Without a shred of irony I think that the GLOBALMEDIAMONSTER is one of my favorite villains at the minute. I typically really don't like character designs where the TV is a face but i think what saves it for me is the fact that GLOBALMEDIAMONSTER is just a TV on a HUGE set of metal legs. It's an awfully direct representation of the introduction of technology and social media and how an unplugged life is almost feasibly impossible (moreso nowadays). It's as interesting as it is an incredibly funny design to me.
Even with how short yet sloggish the game is, i still enjoy it tons. Whether intended or not, a lot of the visuals in the first game get a good laugh out of me, and i have to lend it to FunnyPizzaLand for getting me out of artblock several times.

Also, i can flex and say that Roman acknowledged and complimented my Morak Mum model (and previous models). This caused me to pace around my room like a lunatic for five minutes straight. Heart emoji!