The idea of Mighty Alpha Droid started off when we went to Singapore to attend Casual Connect Asia 2016. It wasn’t known as the mightiest word game for mobile back then. A new concept was passed around by Popsicle Games co-founders during the development of Vote Clicker, one of our popular game titles. A lightbulb moment it was for Martin, one of the co-founders of Popsicle Games. He made his first solid concept pitch in Singapore during a snack break in one of the many malls along Orchard Road.

Martin’s original idea was a multiple-choice game that was easily re-skinnable to support other topics beyond words and spelling like math, history, and the likes. “One of the key ideas for Mighty Alpha Droid was actually the top part of the game or the ‘Adventure Mode’ where MAD attacks enemies. My intention was for Popsicle Games to slowly dabble more into action-adventure like games,” said Martin. Our team had a tough time making the “multiple-choice” part work, so we decided on a word game instead. The top part or the Adventure Mode of the original game idea was retained, becoming a part of the word game later on.

Our indie game dev studio opted to go for the word game genre because it seemed attractive due to word games being top grossing titles on the App Store. There was a slight hesitation at the beginning when we talked about how long it will take to produce the game since Popsicle Games’s mindset at that time was to produce one game per month. “We were hesitant, but good thing we continued with it,” James added. Mighty Alpha Droid was the game that served as a trigger for the entire studio to accept longer development cycles if the game we wanted to create requires it. There are some games that really takes some time to build, especially if the game poses great concept and potential.

Martin wanted to make this app more exciting and packed with lots of action than any other word game out in the market. Initially, the character in the game forms words to attack, clears the floors by defeating bosses, which will lead to Mighty Alpha Droid’s ultimate goal: to go up by the tower to finish everything. Basically this is how the game progression happens. “Themed” towers were considered at some point before getting back from the Lion City: there would be a math tower, a physics tower, and the like.

Most word adventure games on the app store have a fantasy or role playing feel to them. That’s why everyone agreed when Martin brought up Mega Man to be the game’s theme. A futuristic motif was needed in order to make the game stand out from the rest. “And since the Adventure Mode resembles a 2D platforming game on its original pitch, I immediately thought of my favorite game: Mega Man, as the one to base the game’s look,” added Martin.

All of our ideas were tested right after leaving Singapore and coming back to the Philippines. Our game dev hands began to move with excitement, as we go onwards to the next phase of the process — actual development.