Do you enjoy smashing things? If you actually stop and think about it, almost every “satisfying video” you see on YouTube is basically just someone destroying something that didn’t need to be destroyed. Like mixing different colored playdough together until it becomes the color of… 💩💩💩…yeah…
If you have yet to check out our review of Tower Color, you can do so here!
Before we start we’d like to thank the Homa Games Team for participating in our interview and for answering all of our geeky questions! Thanks Guys!
…and without further ado, our interview begins…
The Interview
/// Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Tower Color! Could you kick-start this interview by telling us a little about your studio, yourself, and what drew you into the gaming industry?
Sure – so Homa Games is a chart-topping mobile games publisher specializing in hyper-casual games. Founded in mid-2018 in the heart of Paris, we started out with one clear mission: to help mobile game developers make their latest games into hits.
Originally forming from our sister company BidMotion, who specializes in UA technologies (used by King, Rovio, Playtika and others…), we used our knowledge and expertise in UA and monetization to successfully publish our first hyper-casual games.
Since our beginnings, Homa Games has already published a number of games that have topped charts and been featured in both iOS and Android stores in over 10 countries globally (Tiny Cars, Balls vs Lasers, Force Escape…). In less than a year, we are now independently renowned in the industry as a transparent and competitive publisher specializing in game design and creatives, data analysis, user acquisition, and profitable monetization strategies.
/// Ok, let’s start talking about Tower Color. What are the highlights of your latest release?
Well, in the first few seconds of playing Tower Color you will automatically notice the mesmerizing array of colors throughout the 3D game. These colors change automatically with each level and act as a core game mechanic, as you have to fire the correct colored ball at the blocks in the tower to destroy them. These colors are then enhanced with the high level of 3D graphics and smooth gameplay, making for an awesome gaming experience overall!
/// What was the core idea or inspiration behind Tower Color? And perhaps more importantly, where do you find inspiration for your games in general?
The idea of Tower Color came during after work drinks at the office, where we were shooting some items with a table tennis ball. We had so much fun that we thought about making a game out of it. We immediately took a piece of paper and started drawing our first concept. After working for three days on a prototype, we achieved something that we are really proud of. The whole team is very excited that the idea came from a very enjoyable moment that we shared together.
While we don’t create our own games in-house, we regularly hold brainstorming sessions with our whole team, to think up new game concepts like Tower Color that we then produce with the help of external developers. Most concepts aren’t randomly made up though, as we have a team of game designers analyzing trends in the hyper-casual market and coming up with new game ideas every week. These ideas stem from a combination of trend watching and adaptations of old school popular game concepts (the NES rocks!)
/// How long was Tower Color in development for? And are there any interesting and/or exciting moments or experiences you would like to share with us from that time?
As we mentioned, we worked on the prototype of Tower Colors for approximately three days and were really happy with the end result. In this short time period, we tested a number of different components of the game – different backgrounds, colors, physics, and bouncing effects – with A/B testing on a small population and were able to create our final prototype based off this.
The most exciting moment of this collaboration was definitely when the first metrics of the game’s performance were in, as the user comments and feedback were extremely positive. This was when we knew we had created something really special.
/// What software, developer-tools, or black-magic(?) did you use when making Tower Color? Is there anything you would like to share with the developers who read Edamame Reviews?
We predominantly work with studios that use Unity Engine to create their games, as it has become an industry standard software that is more compatible with the other monetization and Game Analytic SDKs we need to implement before pushing to launch. No black magic per se – however, we attribute a lot of our success down to our internal tools, knowledge of the industry, precise data analysis, hard work from our team and developer, and of course the right recipe for user acquisition & monetization.
/// Is there any secret “developer-advice” you can give our lucky players who read this interview?
Test out your games on as many people as possible! It’s extremely important that you understand how a user may interact with your game. If you test on a friend or family member who is unfamiliar with the game, you may uncover issues you didn’t realize existed – perhaps with game mechanics or the onboarding process. It’s a very easy and cost-efficient way to test your game before trying to scale fully in the market.
/// What can we expect to see in Tower Color or from Homa Games in the not so distant future? What do we have to look forward to next?
Tower Color will definitely keep improving with more features, including in-game challenges and new levels. As for Homa, we’ll keep focusing on publishing at least two games per month and building our brand as the biggest hyper-casual publisher in the industry. At Homa Games, our game design team is focused on the game experience for each of our titles and in 2019 it will continue to be one of our biggest focuses. We encourage our users to watch this space, as we have some new exciting things coming up!
/// Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to our awesome team of Writers, Developers, and Patrons who keep Edamame Reviews up and running?
We sincerely thank all your hard work! It’s teams like yours that shine the spotlight on new and upcoming studios, allowing us to have a platform to raise our voice and show what we have to offer the mobile gaming world – so thank you!
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