COUNTING CRITTERS
Counting critters is a fun and educational game for all ages.
As the owner of the product, I defined and designed the game mechanics and experience, invented and illustrated a character family, designed the UI, and produced the game. The result was a fun addictive game, developed for iOS and published on the App store.
THE CHALLENGE
DEFINING, DESIGNING, AND PRODUCING A FUN EDUCATIONAL GAME
When smartphones emerged and mobile games were being developed, I decided to produce a fun and educational game for iOS devices.
Several years before I was part of the founding team of XPOGames, a first of its kind platform for social casual gaming.
During that period I had developed several games in flash and decided to take one of these basic games and turn it into
a mobile game with unique characters and a fun background story.
The original game was a time-based counting game in which players were supposed to click numbers in the correct order within
a specific time frame. Each level added numbers and reduced the available time. Obstacles and goodies were introduced throughout
the game, adding difficulties and distractions.
The original flash game had some of the ingredients of the final game but lacked in look and feel and background story
GETTING STARTED
CREATING A CHARACTER FAMILY AND BACKGROUND STORY
A fun background story in games creates an emotional connection and a sense of 'purpose'.
The idea was a simple one: a group of critters that had been captured escaped. It was the player's role to capture
these creatures in the correct order.
The first thing I needed was a character family. I illustrated a group of critters, goodies, and baddies. Each critter
had unique capabilities.
For each critter I created a look that emphasized their role in the game
PROCESS
GETTING IT ALL RIGHT
Once all of the concepts and stages were defined designed, it was time to plan the game mechanics. All of the elements needed careful planning: available time, difficulty increase per level, timing of goodies and baddies, and more. I planned formulas that allowed infite levels and gameplay. Once implemented, these were finetuned to create the best experience.
THE RESULT
A FUN AND EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR ALL AGES
The game contains 5 different stages. Each stage is played in a different environment and introduces new types of critters and challenges. During the game, players receive badges for their achievements. Once a certain badge has been earned, it unlocks the next stage. For those, too impatient to earn these badges, the stages can be unlocked through in-app purchasing.
