Editor’s note: This story was so great, we pinched it from Voodoo. You can find the original on their site, here. (Don’t worry, they gave the go-ahead to share it.) Slice it All! is the brand new hit game by the Serbia-based studio Tummy Games. The game hit number 1 in the iOS games charts in 35 different countries across the world, including the United States, just weeks after its release. Tummy Games teamed up with Voodoo over two years ago, and this is our second hit game together! One of our top innovation techniques is ‘change the toy, keep the rules’, and they managed to bring this to life by combining a niche hyper-casual mechanic from two years ago with a contemporary social media trend. Let’s take a look at how Slice it All! went from prototype to worldwide hit,...

In the last few years, the Hyper-casual genre has established itself as one of the fastest-growing game categories on the app stores, not only in the number of downloads but also in the quantity, variety, and originality of new products. Beginning as a subgenre of casual, Hyper-casual has consolidated as a category in its own right and started accommodating subcategories like ultra-casual, idle, mergers, and so on. Some of these subgenres have become classics, but we can see a new genre emerge in the Hyper-casual scene from time to time. Constant testing and iteration lead to permanent game upgrading and improvement, translating into new, different games and hybrid genres. This was the case for Farm Land, developed by studio LolTap: Homa Games’ latest release and member of the new Arcade Idle category. The process began in late 2020 with the...

Editors note: This article was written by the publishing team at Voodoo. You can check out the original version here.  How do you take a strategy-based, connect & conquer style game, and transform it into a successful hyper-casual hit? Game Worthy, a Vancouver-based studio composed of programmer Kaue and game artist Fred, managed to do just this with their latest game, City Takeover. Hitting outstanding KPIs and entering the top 100 iOS US immediately upon its release, this game is nonetheless very different from other games in the genre. It demands a bit more thought, concentration, and strategy… in other words, it’s more difficult than your typical hyper-casual game. Read on to find out how Game Worthy, teaming up with Voodoo, managed to transform one of their favorite childhood games into a hyper-casual hit. Ideation & inspiration Here at Voodoo, we...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Voodoo. You read the original version here.  Lumbercraft, the hit game by the studio Noor Games, is not a typical hyper-casual game. With a successful fusion of a core hyper-casual game mechanic and more casual objectives, Lumbercraft is a great example of innovating in the hyper-casual sphere and exploring the possibilities when thinking of the up-and-coming hybrid-casual space. Let’s take a look at the studio behind the game, the game mechanics, and some key takeaways from the development process. Noor Games are a 5-person studio from Armenia and have been working with Voodoo for over a year, regularly tuning in to our live streams and keeping up to date with our resources for studios looking to create hit hyper-casual games. Thanks to their hard work and commitment in the hyper-casual sphere, their prototypes have...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Om Tandon, Innovation & UX Design Manager at Eaton. You can read the original version here. Match 3 metamorphosis is real but doesn’t new territory often comes with new rules? Let’s dive deeper into where the game is afoot in these uncharted waters. This multi-part analytical series is laser-focused on what some of these new rules might be. The last analysis in this series looked at some historical data coupled with powerful tectonic forces of maturing player behavior and deepening game design that has changed the lay of the land dividing the Match 3 landscape between Classic and Meta, ruled by the King’s and Playrix’s of the world. Yes, we are standing at a fork in the road folks but the real question is what does the road ahead looks like? This evolution is far from over for both Classic & Meta Match 3! What...

When it comes to viral games, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockdown is the game everyone is playing. I mean, Mediatonic recently were able to raise 1 million for Special Effect through auctioning off the ability to create an in-game skin. It’s currently out on Steam and PlayStation, with rumors it’ll be coming to mobile soon. So what made this game such a success? And what can we learn from here? In this article, I’ll answer just that. All while focusing on different takeaways from the game’s mechanics, levels, art and design, and how they built up their strong community. Let’s get into how Fall Guys works: Fall Guys takes the battle royale genre to a bright and colorful place, letting 60 online players struggle through silly levels, all trying to be the last one standing. To make matters more hectic and...

Despite November being a slower month for new releases, I’ve had my hands full with exciting new games to try out! And despite Apple Arcade launching new titles every month, I’ve turned my attention away from the new service, and back to what you indie developers have been publishing. So as always, I’ve cherry-picked five brilliant games I played last month, and shared exactly why these games caught my eye, and what developers, like you, can learn from them. Let’s get started. 1. Figment Developer: Bedtime Digital Games Launch date: November 28th, 2019 Price: First Chapter is free, then it’s $4.99 to unlock the full game. Available on: iOS, Steam, Switch, Playstation The developers at Bedtime Digital Games have created yet another magical title, again looking like something out of a children’s dreams. This action/adventure game follows the story of...

Having created one of the most popular idle games on the market, Idle Miner Tycoon, Kolibri shared with us their latest game, and how they built on what they learned from their first title to create their next big hit, Idle Factory Tycoon. And if you fancy watching the other talks from our event, you can check them out here: The Latest Trends for Idle Games – GameAnalytics The Story of Idle World – Homa Games Hyper-Casual vs Idle: The Latest Trends in Mobile Games

Idle publishing experts, Homa Games, agreed to shine a light on one of their biggest hit games, Idle World (reaching over 4 million downloads worldwide), as well as what it takes for an Idle game to get published in today’s market. Psst… If you’re craving some more insights about idle games, check out Homa’s latest article: Arcade Idle: 5 Tips for Testing Creatives, their games spotlight on Tiny Cars, as well as their takeaways from their Arcade Idle Game Jam. And if you fancy watching the other talks from our event, you can check them out here: What we learned: Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Factory Tycoon – Kolibri The Latest Trends for Idle Games – GameAnalytics Hyper-Casual vs Idle: The Latest Trends in Mobile Games

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Om Tandon, Founder/Games Consultant at UX Reviewer.com. You can find the original version of this post here. Launched way back in 2010 on mobile, 8 Ball pool has been a consistent performer on top-grossing charts in US and UK app stores. Whilst it did show signs of ageing and slowing down, losing ground to newly sprung sporting rivals like Golf Clash a year back, the relatively recent addition of new features has uplifted the core and meta loops of this iron horse. 8 Ball pool has made up for the age gap and continues to be a dominant force in the sports arcade category. Game design and UX wise, 8 Ball Pool is a game of excesses – a melting pot of skill and chance based gratification that is apparent in every aspect...

Editor’s Note: this post was originally published by Kalle Heikkinen, Chief Game Analyst – China. With over 400 games analyzed under his belt, Kalle has a solid understanding of what works and what doesn’t in the mobile game market. You could argue that Casual Racing has not been one of the sexiest spaces to follow on mobile in the West, particularly grossing-wise. Engines are revving up though, thanks to Mario Kart Tour drifting into the market last month. While making bets on MK’s success, it’s good to remember that adaptations of the genre have been able to find success in other markets. Casual Racing’s current market share in the US. The section on the left shows the subgenre’s market share in the overall market, while on the right you can see different games’ market share inside Casual Racing. Already in...

This month, the focus across the internet seems to be on colorful and vibrant games, all full of humor in order to distract us humans from the noise happening outside the world of video games. And with the release of Apple Arcade, there have been tons of new titles on mobile, as well as a bundle of awesome console games to keep us distracted. I’ve been having a great time exploring the new games through Apple Arcade, as well as the new releases on the Apple Store. I’ve also turned my attention back to my Nintendo Switch as well this month, so there is definitely a lot to cover in this post. But as always, I’ve cherry-picked my top 5 favorite indie games from September, and took the time to explain what the developers did so well. 1. Untitled Goose...