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Here's a story I haven't told before. Six years ago I was in the Valley for what seemed like a holiday.But in reality me and my buddy Paul were pitching Y Combinator (+ various VCs / angels) for our ill-fated smartwatch company WearGa.
Thread with pictures...
We already had the no. 1 game on Pebble, called Pixel Miner. It had been downloaded over a million times and was on 1 in 14 Pebble devices.
We'd sort of made it by accident when a friend of ours who happened to work at Pebble gave us a free device (in a Ziploc bag) at GDC and asked if we wanted to make a game for it.
Me: "Not really"
Him: "We have budget".
Me: "Not really"
Him: "We have budget".
People were pretty insane for mining pixels. They built machines out of Arduino and servos to play the thing.
It was really early wave incremental and there wasn't much like it.
But it was free and we made no money.
It was really early wave incremental and there wasn't much like it.
But it was free and we made no money.
Someone from the community contacted me and offered me "a few bitcoin" they'd mined as a thank you for making the game.
Being too lazy to work out how bitcoin worked and thinking we were on to millions with smartwatch games I politely declined. Maybe that was a $20k mistake?
Being too lazy to work out how bitcoin worked and thinking we were on to millions with smartwatch games I politely declined. Maybe that was a $20k mistake?
I was working two jobs at the time: My day job at a mobile studio and this. I'd work on WearGa before and after work, sending half my salary back to the UK to support Paul.
For some reason I also decided to completely restore this pinball table with my own electronics too.
For some reason I also decided to completely restore this pinball table with my own electronics too.
My first time in a big software project and using electro-mechanical components.
You can read about that project which I for some reason meticulous documented for my fave blog @hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2015/07/27/pinball-table-gets-new-lease-of-life-with-arduino/
You can read about that project which I for some reason meticulous documented for my fave blog @hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2015/07/27/pinball-table-gets-new-lease-of-life-with-arduino/
Anyway, it all started to take its toll on me. I was walking down the street one day and just burst in to tears.
I don't know how I was managing to do so much, but I did and for a long time.
I don't know how I was managing to do so much, but I did and for a long time.
We had lots of interest in the company but all the money said the same: Let's see how things pan out with Apple Watch.
YC who had paid to fly us out, given us a hire car (Dodge Charger) and a valley hotel, for their famous 5 min interview, said the same: Let's see.
YC who had paid to fly us out, given us a hire car (Dodge Charger) and a valley hotel, for their famous 5 min interview, said the same: Let's see.
I thought this was madness: It's Apple! The first new hardware category since the iPad. How could this fail? How could apps not be the thing?
Anyway, we hustled and got a convertible note setup to build an Apple Watch launch title: Cupcake Dungeon.
Apple gave my partner early (but heavily guarded) access to Watch and we were in the store for day one.
Apple gave my partner early (but heavily guarded) access to Watch and we were in the store for day one.
I had preordered the Apple Watch for launch. We had the best possible placement on the store, amazing featuring.
This is me that day. The exact moment I realized I didn't have a business.
The watch sucked and getting apps on it was so confusing I knew nobody would do it.
This is me that day. The exact moment I realized I didn't have a business.
The watch sucked and getting apps on it was so confusing I knew nobody would do it.
Despite that solid featuring we were maybe seeing about 300 downloads a day.
This was as good as it could get.
We closed the business down and Paul went off to Wooga to found their watch games team. Which was shortly shut down. And he stayed in the company a good long while.
This was as good as it could get.
We closed the business down and Paul went off to Wooga to found their watch games team. Which was shortly shut down. And he stayed in the company a good long while.
Our art team at Liquid Development did an amazing job, so I commissioned this cake for them, based on one of the enemies in the game.
Which they smashed up with hammers, bats and other weapons from the game.
Which seemed like a fitting end to the story.
Which they smashed up with hammers, bats and other weapons from the game.
Which seemed like a fitting end to the story.
Reflecting back on this journey, I learned a lot of lessons. About design, but ambition and limits. Also about luck and timing.
I still think that watch games make sense. They were fun. But the UX and installation process sucked. So ultimately few ever experienced them.
I still think that watch games make sense. They were fun. But the UX and installation process sucked. So ultimately few ever experienced them.
Up until a few years back I would still get fan mail for Pixel Miner. It's the first game I designed that felt like a hit.
If I saw someone in the street with a Pebble I'd asked if they'd played the game. About half the time they had. That was super exciting.
If I saw someone in the street with a Pebble I'd asked if they'd played the game. About half the time they had. That was super exciting.
I also learned a lot about founder dynamics. This is tough when you're both in the room and equal. On different timezones and in different positions, the stress and tension mounts.
If you're thinking about going out and trying to start a studio or make something weird the people think is stupid - do it.
Even if it fails, you'll have learnt something and likely you'll enjoy it. That's a success.
Even if it fails, you'll have learnt something and likely you'll enjoy it. That's a success.
This period was terrifying, stressful and often sad. Plus the outcomes were abject failure. I lost money (maybe ÂŁ10k?) and had nothing to show for it.
Other than a big level up and the two games I'm most proud of in my career so far.
Other than a big level up and the two games I'm most proud of in my career so far.
