Poki Developer Spotlight: Blumgi Games - Part 2

We recently launched the Developer Spotlight series to showcase the global creators who experiment, create, and innovate with Poki! 

This is the second half of our interview with Blumgi Games, headed by solo-developer Loïc Roger. Blumgi Games developed popular titles like Blumgi Slime, Blumgi Merge and Blumgi Bounce. In the first half of our talk, we discussed Loïc’s history, how to design games specifically for the web and the bespoke tools that Poki provides developers. If you want to read the first part, you can find it here.

Given your history, I presume you make all your own art. What tools do you use, and how did you develop your style?

I use Adobe Animate for everything. It comes from my background at Ankama where we used Flash for TV shows.

Regarding style, I look for efficiency - a kind of "essentialism." I’m very interested in logo design, where you express a lot with very little. I traveled to Japan 10 years ago and was fascinated by the country's use of mascots and their various designs. In Japanese supermarkets, every package has a small mascot that is very efficient in what it expresses. That was a game-changer for me.

On Poki, where players often play in a small window, the art has to be readable. It’s almost like a logo: few colors, high contrast, and very graphic. It removes the cognitive friction of trying to figure out what is a background and what is a platform.

I suppose that all goes towards supporting the ‘instant-play’ style of gaming that web gaming values a lot.

Absolutely. Casual players are often on Poki to kill time or relax; they don't want to think too much. I try to base the experience on surprises and rewards rather than just difficulty. Challenge filters players based on their skill-level, so I try to keep the game experience as mainstream as possible, so the surprise reaches all players. I want them to wonder, "What is the next surprise?" rather than stress about the challenge itself.

It was Stickman Hook that taught me that. Although it’s not a Blumgi Game, it is technically my most successful game ever. It was a huge deal but very simple: one character, two gameplay elements and one button. And I've seen the metrics - play sessions on Stickman Hook last a very long time. When I got my hands on some gameplay videos, I discovered that a big factor for the games longevity is that it lets players express themselves creatively.

In Blumgi Slime, the goal is just to jump to a platform. A player can play it safe, or they can try to be as efficient as possible. Even if the game is simple, giving players the tools to find their own path makes them feel smart. 

In Stickman Hook, we saw that players were discovering ways to bounce and skip parts of the level. It was an exploit, but we left it in because it made the player feel like they had discovered a secret, and that made them feel proud of themselves.

So you're letting the players make their own path forward, even if unintended?

Sometimes you let them cheat on the game and that’s okay. It’s more important that you give them a few tools for a situation and let them find their own path to the solution, even if it results in no challenge. You can make a very satisfying level where it's just a slide with some air that pushes them forward and a single button to press, and that is enough for casual players. Sometimes they just want to have some rewards with low effort.

Low effort, high reward.

Exactly.

You’ve currently got 12 games on Poki, across a wide range of genres, but do you have a personal favourite? 

I like them all. (laughs)

(Laughs) Of course. 

But I’m proudest of the efficient ones like Blumgi Slime. It's so simple but at the same time people get a lot of enjoyment from it.

Blumgi Merge is also a very special one for me because I made it with my son when he was 14. He needed work experience for school, and he asked to do it at my company. I told him, "My company is just me in the kitchen - you won't learn much!" (laughs)

Hmm, I see what he was thinking (laughs) 

So I asked you all at Poki if I could bring him to Amsterdam. We started the game at home and finished it at the Poki office. He had to speak English and meet people from an international company.

It was a great father-son experience. He understood that it’s not just me at home; there’s a real company pushing the games. It was his concept, and so far, it has been one of my most successful games.

I've made an article on my blog if you want to read more about this experience.

Let’s talk more about the business side of Poki now. When did you realize your Poki games could provide a sustainable income?

So in France, you can get a state allowance when starting a company, which gives you about a year to take risks safely. My strategy was to ship games fast to build a "passive income" stack. I didn't know how much a single game would make, but I figured if I made a lot of them, the combined income would work.

I was lucky because my first game did really well, enough to make a living right away. What I like about Poki is that games have a "long tail." My first game still makes money today. Revenue fluctuates with the seasons of course. Black Friday is huge as advertisers are trying to reach more players, but January is slower because less people are buying new items. In the long run, I was able to build a very good living by stacking games.

Can you give us a sense of the scale a successful game can reach?

Success, not just on Poki but in gaming in general, isn't just about skill; it's about timing, luck and many other extraneous factors. If it all aligns you could end up with a very successful game, but there is an equal chance of it not reaching its audience, even if it's a great idea.

I was able to make a good living, but I want to be really clear that this isn’t a guarantee for everyone. When I joined Poki, there were less games on the platform and I was in a fortunate position where I could blast out a lot of little games very quickly, and build up that stack. Now, there are stricter quality metrics that need to be hit before a game is published on Poki. If your metrics aren't good, your game might not be published at all.

My advice is: never leave your job until you’ve tested the waters. Simple stuff is hard to make. Making something simple that is also enjoyable is a skill in itself.

Have there been any recent changes at Poki that you’ve found helpful?

The tools provided to developers are powerful, more so then when I was making my first game. You can spend one week on a prototype, get data, and decide whether to continue or stop. That allows you to take more risks.

However, the audience is becoming even more "TikTok-like." Concepts that worked a few years ago might have too much friction now. You have to assume the audience has never played a game before. Some young players struggle with a mouse because they grew up on tablets. That will seem weird to a developer like me who finds using a mouse or controller natural, but that’s just how it is now.

Also, the shift to mobile is huge. When I launched my first game, the player ratio on Poki used to be 80% desktop and 20% Mobile; now it’s 50/50. Because of that, I tend to make games with a mobile first attitude again, as there are some unique challenges when it comes to designing for both mobile and web browsers. In particular, designing a game that works in both portrait and landscape modes. It’s a nightmare to get the UI and the view right for both, but it’s necessary.

That sounds like a lot to juggle. Thank you for sharing all this, Loïc!

No problem! I’m happy to share my learnings. I want more good games to appear on Poki. It’s better for everyone.

If, like Loïc, you have an interest in creating games for web; reach out and let’s explore your idea!