The voice and face behind legendary painting show The Joy of Painting will continue to teach his craft through a whole new medium: Revolution and DS games in the works.

We suspected mightily that the recent announcement of official Bob Ross painting games might have been made with... shall we say... humourous intentions. However, April Fools (curse it) has come and gone and AGFRAG Entertainment remains adamant that the project is no joke - they merely announced the title on that date to gain plenty of press coverage. A bit guiltily then, we now share AGFRAG's official press release:

Bob Ross Inc. has announced in March 2006 that they have filed a letter of intent to license to Joseph Hatcher's AGFRAG Entertainment Group to develop exclusively worldwide video/computer games based on Bob Ross' creative, unique and easy to learn painting techniques and TV show properties.

The Bob Ross video game, currently untitled, is planned to be developed for PC, the Nintendo DS handheld & on Nintendo's next-gen system coming later this year, code named Revolution. Release date was not announced. AGFRAG is currently seeking a publisher.

AGFRAG's Director of Development, Joseph Hatcher, has this to say about the announcement:

"I grew up watching Bob Ross on PBS and was always in awe of how quickly and smoothly he made these beautiful paintings, which helped inspire my creativity. There are generations that know Bob Ross and his painting techniques, and I want to share his talent with future generations in a new medium."

"The Bob Ross game will utilize the unique inputs that the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Revolution have that can truly immerse the players while they learn to paint like Bob Ross and can play the addictive and fun games that we have planned for the title. I believe that Bob Ross Inc's and AGFRAG Entertainment Group's similar beliefs in independence, creativity, and teaching others will benefit how the game is developed and how the players of all ages will be able to enjoy this game."

"I want the community to share with us their favorite Bob Ross shows, painting techniques, and what they'd like to see in the NDS and Revolution games. We want to keep the brush going."

The Joy of Painting is seen on nearly 300 public television stations throughout the United States, and is broadcast in Japan, Mexico, The Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Turkey, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Costa Rica, Canada, Colombia, Iran, Greece and others.

Further comment comes from IGN, in speaking with AGFRAG head Joseph Hatcher:

Hatcher himself admits to being a big Ross fan, which is partly why he wants to make games based on his work. "I personally loved watching Bob Ross growing up and I enjoyed watching how easily he created his paintings. We want to translate that same feeling of watching the TV show into playing a Bob Ross game," he said. "Whether you are an eight-year-old child, or a 65-year-old grandma, we want anyone to be able to pick up the game to create and play to your heart's content."

This is a great idea, thoroughly from left field, but great nontheless. The recent popularity of games specifically targeted out of the hardcore gamer space has been well documented with the advent of Nintendogs and Brain Training - there is a burgeoning market for fun, creative software that many traditional gamers will themselves avoid. Some wistful gamers will remember the joy Mario Paint brought to their creative experiences and this game, executed successfully, can achieve the same positive response all while reaching a far greater span of people. Afterall, the world loved Bob Ross.

Lets hope that May's E3 will bring more information on this intriguing project.