We make puzzle games.

Around that time a game ‘Dots’ was released by Playdots. We were very impressed by how such a simple game with elementary graphics could provide such a great experience. Not to mention, the flat style seemed so much easier to maintain than the multi-layer jewel graphics. We began some experiments on the Jewel Galaxy engine, and very quickly we came up with the idea for a new product: Dotello.

Wait, these are just dots on the white background. We spent months making the gems in Jewel Galaxy and just a few minutes to create the main theme for Dotello. And you know what? This was better!

However, it doesn’t mean that flat design was a remedy for all the problems. On the contrary – even though the graphics were faster to create, the design was very problematic. A perfect example of this problem was an axe – a feature for removing trapped items. In Jewel Galaxy, a stone and axe were pretty self-explanatory, but in Dotello? This animated, vertical Pacman took us weeks to finish. Game features need not only be pretty but also very clear regarding their purpose. With Dotello, almost every feature was a problem in that regard.

And how did the game perform in the store? You can guess 🙂

Dotello was a hit featured worldwide! Players loved all of it – minimalist design, intriguing music, perfectly balanced difficulty curve. It was gaining fantastic reviews, not only in America. More info and download links: Dotello

We were so busy inventing new features and providing content-heavy updates, that we didn’t realize the financial problems of our publisher grew.