Parker Whitney and Jake O’Brien--who cofounded
Flyclops with Dave Martorana--started developing
Domino ! as a two week side project, but it rapidly grew into a fulltime gig. The game launched in May 2012 in a highly competitive market and grew its user-base by 500 percent between June and December. The
Indy Hall-based company is
hiring an Android developer.
According to O’Brien, the vast majority of mobile games fail, and many are built around complex, character-driven narratives that have a limited market. Classic games, on the other hand, are often overlooked. Whitney and O’Brien were working on an imaginative game when Whitney discovered one of his favorite childhood pastimes was missing from the app store.
"It was like a giant hole," says O’Brien. "The more we started working on [Domino!] the more we were sold on the idea of it."
The success of Domino! is partially due to timing. As devices spread to new demographics and geographies, the mobile market increasingly includes people who grew up with a game board instead of a PlayStation. Domino! is downloaded throughout the United States, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Whitney, who handles customer service, says he’s continually impressed by the enthusiasm. One customer routinely plays with her husband while he’s stationed in the Middle East. In the Midwest, a family of eight gathers in the living room after Sunday dinners to play on their devices. A devotee named "Coach" sends Flyclops bi-weekly emails.
With 97,000 users playing Domino! every day, Flyclops can return to action-based game development. Additionally, they plan to create new variants for Domino! and build a stronger market in Latin American countries.
Source: Parker Whitney and Jake O'Brien, Flyclops
Writer: Dana Henry