Chatham's 1st Video Game Company Debuts At Fishawack Festival

CHATHAM, NJ — A Chatham-based independent video game company made its public debut at the Fishawack Festival last weekend, launching its first game alongside a community-wide interactive adventure.

Shameless Product Placement LLC, founded by Chatham resident Charles Conlan, released Apeoleon Goes Ape Ship at the festival Saturday. To mark the launch, the company created the Go Bananas Spy Network — a scavenger hunt-style event that sent participants across downtown Chatham to complete missions, scan QR codes, follow clues, and interact with local businesses while engaging with characters from the game. Players collected rewards and worked toward a final boss battle.

The event was designed to introduce families to the game and recruit testers to help shape future versions.

"We wanted to create something fun that connected gaming, local businesses, and the community," said Conlan, founder and creative director of Shameless Product Placement. "This was our first pilot event, and we learned a tremendous amount that will help us build even better experiences in the future."

Participating businesses included Scoops, Chatham Convenience Store, Arminio's, iCode Chatham, Chatham Bagels, Fleur de Sel, Jabberwocky, and AT&T.

The company plans to continue developing Apeoleon Goes Ape Ship, expand its player and tester community, and explore future opportunities to bring interactive gaming events to the local community.

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