Get your skates out and charge your psy-sticks. Zealot Hockey hits the ice hard with simple, addictive, fast-paced fun. Zealot Hockey is a simplified version of Hockey, with a dash of StarCraft flavor. Each team has four players, including the goaltender. The rules in Zealot Hockey are simple: shoot the puck past the goaltender to score, and the team with the highest score at the end of four quarters wins. Check back to see the full highlight on Monday.

Zealot Hockey is a blast to play, so jump into StarCraft II Arcade and get out on the ice. If you don’t own StarCraft II, no problem! Anyone can access every game on the Arcade for free using the Starter Edition.

Check out our full interview with the creator, “Leeroy.”

Traysent: Please introduce yourself!

Leeroy: I go by “Leeroy.” I live in Denver, Colorado where I am a student and part-time worker. In my free time I love to make games and music on my computer.

T : How did you get started in game design?

L : I mostly made custom 'arcade' maps for Starcraft: Brood War for about five years. I only recently had started making maps for Starcraft II, as Zealot Hockey is only my second project attempted. The learning curve was much steeper than the simplicity of the Brood War editor, but a tiny bit of experience with C++ and Java programming helps a lot.

T : What made you want to make games with the StarCraft II editor?

L : I like making games for people to play and it is even more fun for me to play my own games with other people. The appeal with that StarCraft II editor is that there are far fewer limitations than there used to be in Starcraft: Brood War.

T : What inspired you to make Zealot Hockey specifically?

L : I am a longtime fan of “The Star Strikers” a custom map on the Starcraft II Arcade. I was definitely inspired by that map, but at the same time, I also tried to make my game simple and as close to the regular game of hockey as possible.

T : How long did it take to complete Zealot Hockey? How many people worked on it and what roles did they have?

L : The original map took about a week to complete. Since then, I have gotten help impoving my map from a few people, known by their Arcade names as “reputed” and “the_music.” Reputed has done a lot of work streamlining the triggers in the map and improving the gameplay. The_music, who also made the map “Makeshift Combat,” is helping by creating new UI for the map that will hopefully be implemented soon.

T : Do you have any funny stories about the design process?

L : The map has actually been improved quite a bit from its original state, thanks to the help of many. I suppose the funniest thing about the design process would be when the map used to have an audience that would cheer and dance in the background when a goal was scored. They had since been removed to optimize performance but they were entertaining while they were there.

T : What was the most challenging part in the development process? How did you overcome it?

L : There are still many challenges that we have yet to overcome, but are working very hard to tackle. For example we’d like to make an oval rink instead of rectangular. Each step has been very challenging but it has been made possible by splitting up the work with others.

T : What do you feel makes your game compelling?

L : I think its simplicity and fun arcade-like feel is what makes it enjoyable. The game's controls are simple, but the game is based around the tried and true game of hockey which introduces plenty of complexity and strategy on its own.

T : Besides keeping things small and simple, what advice would you give to someone who is interested in using the StarCraft II editor to make their own game?

L : I have found a lot of help learning about the editor through sites like staredit.net and sc2mapster.com as well as plain Google searches about map-making topics. I think that with the help of these resources and some inspiration to make a game, the editor makes it fairly easy to make a map. Besides using the internet for research, having one or two (or more) people help you throughout the process can be extremely valuable, and can make a big project more realistic.

T : How did you get people to notice your game once it was released?

L : I had shown the game to people who played the Arcade game “The Star Strikers”, and quite a few people enjoyed it. I was lucky to have a giant community of arcade sports map players already available to show my map to, as it was a great kick-start to get my map recognized.

T : Do you have any plans for other games or future goals as a game designer?

L : I am always thinking of a next project as far as game design, but as of now there are no real plans.

T : What’s the best way people can follow you and your work (Twitter, Facebook, Website, etc.)?

L : The best way people can follow my game is on www.zealothockey.net, where we discuss the game and upcoming tournaments.

T : Do you have any favorite games on the StarCraft II Arcade?

L : My favorite games are The Star Strikers, Mafia, CTF Pure, Nexus Wars