Virtual reality is no new concept. Have you ever heard of Sword of Damocles? It was invented by Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull, it was arguably the first VR / AR head-mounted display connected to a computer. That was in 1968. Today mobile games are at the start of shifting to VR But it wasn’t until 1987 that Jaron Lanier used the name ‘virtual reality’ for the first time. He coined the term to help better describe his research. His company was the first ever to sell VR goggles, called the EyePhone, which cost upwards of $250,000 (including the computer to run it). Image source: Flashbak Of course, technology has come a long way since 1968.  In 2021, the global VR market size was just under $5 billion, and research shows that we’re now predicting the market to increase to more...

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...

In the last two parts of this series, we’ve explored which casual games sauntered to the top charts and how social games united people across platforms. Now, which other genre could possibly give these a run for their money? If you guessed trivia – the headline was probably a giveaway – you win a brand-new, all-inclusive holiday to the Isle of Analysis. On your left, you’ll see the tiny village of Facts and Figures, while on the right we’ve got three titans, battling for the summit of Mt Saint Quiz. All aboard, it’s time to learn some trivia. How did lockdown affect trivia games? People seem to love filling time with trivia games. While it might be short bursts of eight minutes, they log on often. Just over 5 sessions a day on average, working out to about half an...

As people have been trapped at home, unable to visit friends, it’s unsurprising that social games dominated the charts and headlines. But it’s not just direct interaction that’s made these games popular. Multiplayer games that are as satisfying to watch as they are to play have been the real successes this year. It’s a positive feedback loop. People play multiplayer games to hang out with their friends. This makes the game more popular, so streamers jump onto it. Those seeking community in times of loneliness watch the streamers and chat with one another. They then start playing the game, too. The game becomes more popular, and so on and so forth. And when the game is playable from any device? Well, this cycle is even more likely. How did lockdown affect multiplayer games? We can see the success in the...

This year, we’ve seen more narrative and story entering the hyper-casual genre, a deluge of social hidden-role games, and a resurgence in the classics. The headlines are rammed with examples of games exploding onto the scene and dominating our collective attention. But there have been a few quieter successes, too. Games that have been gathering players and doing particularly well at keeping idle thumbs busy. Over the course of this three-part series, we’ll look at these less-talked-about games and what we can learn from them. How has lockdown affected gaming? Before we launch into the games themselves, it’s worth mentioning why we’re focusing on casual games. Our CEO, Ioana, explained in a talk recently that it’s been a strange year for the industry. (Though, not particularly surprising.) At the start of the lockdown, playtime shot up 62% and players spent...

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...

A tad late on this one, I know. But kicking off the year on a high note, I have a handful of high-quality free-to-play games to share with you. This time, I wanted to not only look at what makes these titles great, but also touch on how these free games make money and keep themselves afloat. From deck building to platformers to minimalist puzzle games, the following five titles all bring something unique to the game dev community. So, without further ado, let’s dig in. 1. Mineblast!! Developer: Neutronized Launch date: January 15th, 2020 Price: Free, with in-app purchases Available on: iOS & Android The combination of physics, platformers and puzzles is something I have seen pop up recently in a few games (take Projection: First Light as an example), and is something Neutronized has done really well. Their...

2019 was a brilliant year for mobile games. We witnessed some fantastic titles coming out every month, full to the brim with fresh ideas, vibrant stories, new mechanics, stunning art, and more. We’re now on to a new year of gaming, but before we start looking at what 2020 will bring, let’s round-up the year with some of the best games released in December. With so much free time over the Christmas break, I’ve spent hours trying out so many titles (old and new). But to keep things consistent, I’ve trimmed my list down and delved into what I think are the top 5 games released last month, while explaining what exactly made them stand out. Let’s get to it! 1. Necrosphere Developer: Cat Nigiri Launch date: December 2nd, 2019 Price: $2.99 / £5.79 Available on: iOS & Steam Necrosphere...