The Movie Test: Can Your Game Pass It?

A Casual Moment, A Big Idea Last night, I found myself in a situation I’m sure many of you can relate to — the movie’s playing, but I’m also casually tapping away at a mobile game. You know the feeling: one eye on the screen, one hand on your phone. And then it struck me — this multitasking moment could be more than just a habit. It’s actually a great test for the Game Design of Puzzles! That’s when the "Movie Test" idea was born 💡 What is the "Movie Test"? The concept of 'Movie Test' is simple. Imagine you're watching your favorite movie or TV series, and at the same time, you're playing a game on your phone. Congratulations if you can comfortably do both without missing plot twists or losing in the game! That Puzzle game has passed the 'Movie Test'. […]

Olha Semykina October 11

Journal

The hidden hooks of Traffic Escape

Today, let's explore Traffic Escape by FOMO, one of the pioneering companies that helped define this genre with its innovative Core Game Loop. FOMO has been in the TOP-50 for an impressive stretch of time, proving its staying power in the industry. So, grab your magnifying glass, and let's 'inspect' Traffic Escape together! The Portrait of our Funspector Without the NoAds purchase, players could encounter up to a staggering 482 ads (!) in Traffic Escape during the 150 levels: 24 Rewarded Ads 142 Interstitial Ads 316 Banner Ads Revenue & Downloads Overview FOMO primarily focuses on the Android platform, likely because it's easier to find the right audience for their game — especially regarding Ad Monetization. Most of the Traffic Escape audience is primarily located in the US and India. Level Curve The level structure is simple – the group of 11 levels is repeated: Normal Normal […]

Olha Semykina October 3

Journal

Royal Match: The Secret Event

I’m a big fan of Royal Match, especially their LiveOps and Feature system so I couldn’t miss their latest event. However, I have mixed feelings about it: as a Player – I absolutely love it. as a Producer – I was surprised by this NEW feature. Are you curious to know WHY? Let’s dive into it below. NEW Event ‘Super Duke’ A/B-testing We’ll dive into this Event in more detail soon, but before that, I want to share with you some interesting information: First, I got access to this Feature at the start of August. However, by the end of the month, they had Turned it off. Additionally, not all Players had this Feature. For example, my friends didn’t have it. Discussions in the Facebook fan group revealed that only a few players could try it (more on that later). This leads us […]

Olha Semykina September 26

Journal

Travel Town Deconstruction: Merge-2 Whales

Travel Town is an up-and-coming merge-2 project from a British developer called Magmatic Games. The game started buying traffic in early 2022 and has been making steady progress ever since. An especially impressive performance surge came in early 2023: downloads increased by more than two times, and revenue almost tripled. If the trend was anything to go by, this is just the beginning. The company initially prioritised Android because it's easier to launch a project marketing-wise. However, as of today, downloads and revenue are distributed almost equally between iOS and Android. That's a typical pattern in the industry. For instance, Love & Pies' sales are split between the platforms 50/50, while Merge Mansion and Gossip Harbor net more revenue from iOS. Travel Town's primary audience is located in the US. That's an important metric because the US generates more than […]

Olha Semykina September 24

Olha Semykina