Astro Ape Studios
Astro Ape Studios was the first company I started with my co-founder.
We spent nine months in a basement learning the craft of creating engaging experiences on tiny screens and compelling core gameplay loops on Apple's transformative mobile device to great success. Every game we launched soared to the Top 50 on Apple's App Store and the company was eventually acquired by mobile gaming giant, Zynga.
As the company was a startup, I took on various roles. Primarily as Chief Creative Officer, I created the ideas, and led the game design, game mechanics and economics, the feature roadmaps, the art and sound direction and marketing functions.
Office Heroes
Our first game was Office Heroes, a farm-like, socially-connected satirical take on the office life my co-founder and I had just left. We bought a table, a chair, and a MacBook Pro and spent nine months in a basement designing and building.
Soon after launch, it climbed the chart and eventually broke into the Top 50 apps on iTunes. Fun fact: it was the #2 grossing app in Singapore.
Dessert Heroes
Astro Ape's sophomore effort was Dessert Heroes. We leveraged the technology and core game mechanics to benefit from the network effect of having a smash hit of a first game. We were able to cross-pollinate, incentivize and gamify the two experiences together, creating some unique virtuous cycles.
By leveraging the technology used to build our previous mobile game, we were able to expedite the development process, expand our game portfolio, and offer players diverse and engaging experiences. This strategic approach not only maximized our resources but also allowed us to capitalize on the success and popularity of the original game, cementing our position as a leading developer in the mobile gaming industry.
Similar to Office Heroes, Dessert Heroes was broke the Top 50 and we were beginning to turn heads in the industry by launching within 4 months while hiring talent, marketing and fundraising.
Throughout my tenure at Spresso, I dedicated myself to creating a user-centric experience that prioritized usability and accessibility. By employing customizable visualizations, interactive dashboards, and intuitive data exploration tools, we ensured that stakeholders at all levels of the organization could effortlessly navigate their data landscape and extract meaningful insights. Whether executives seeking high-level summaries or data analysts delving deep into the details, our design system facilitated seamless data comprehension for everyone.
Monsterz Revenge
Our third game was Monsterz Revenge. Creatively, we were on a roll with a unique, identifiable art style and narrowly focused on our target demographic (later, this would be known in the industry as product-market fit.
We were honing our craft, learning how to manage a live product and a game-as-a-service with rolling updates and feature roadmaps, all while leap-frogging development on the next game, growing the team and fundraising.
Vegas Strip City
One of the last games we released was in partnership with Samsung and Mobage on the newly launched Android mobile phones. Vegas Strip City was a risque take on the bevvy of casino and card games that typically came pre-installed on dumbphones.
And when one door closes...
After launching these successful games in quick succession, we were contacted by a number of major game developers looking to win on mobile.
Nine months after launching our first game, we negotiated to be acquired by a pre-IPO Zynga.
