Soap Creative’s gaming division SMG Studio hits the jackpot with latest app game ‘One More Line’
CB Exclusive – Sydney-based SMG Studio has launched its second game title – One More Line. The highly addictive game was developed in a week and is generating AUD$15k+ in daily revenue for the fledgling game developer.
Says Ashley Ringrose, Soap Creative and SMG founder: “SMG is an independent gaming studio foremost, but for Soap, it’s also an investment in our own product to demonstrate to brands the opportunity gaming presents. To put that investment into perspective, we’re now generating daily revenue from owned IP that would take 8-10 staff in a typical agency to generate.”
One More Line has been described as “Nokia Snake meets Spirograph”, a reference to the original mobile hit and the iconic geometric drawing set. In One More Line, players navigate a rapidly moving line through a slalom of obstacles that they can grapple onto or avoid. Aside from being a highly addictive time waster, the gameplay produces colourful geometric patterns leading its creators to dub it the game where “your death will be beautiful.”
You can see a stream of player generated images by searching the hashtag #onemoreline: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23onemoreline.
The game has smashed its way into app store charts across the world with one million+ downloads in seven days, over 62 million plays and is currently sitting at #6 in Australia and is Top 10 games in 34 other countries. With no paid media, the success of the game is largely driven by word of mouth and editorial features. It premiered at the PAX Australia gaming conference a fortnight ago where it received high praise from gamers and industry press. The strong reception prompted the studio to accelerate its release for all mobile and tablet devices.
Says Ringrose: “One More Line was one of five game concepts born through rapid prototyping sessions with the team. We immediately saw the potential in this and created daily iterations that honed the gameplay. By the end of the week the entire office was buzzing away on One More Line. We then spent another three weeks polishing and testing the game.”
The distinctive ‘Space Disco’ soundtrack in the game was created by SMG Studio collaborator Jared Underwood from Batterie music who had previously never composed music for a game before.
SMG Studio is backed by Soap Creative which established the dedicated gaming unit in mid-2013 to capitalise on the agency’s gaming experience. The four person team launched its debut game OTTTD ‘Over The Top Tower Defence’ in May 2014 which picked up various indie game awards and quickly established the studio as a quality developer in the indie gaming scene. The studio is currently working on multiple games including the release of its first console title Hyper Death Robot Party, which is slated to launch in mid 2015 on Xbox One and PS4.
The studio was one of just 10 companies funded by Screen Australia’s $20 million Games Enterprise grant before it was cut. Prior to establishing SMG, the Soap team had developed other mobile titles including Thumbzilla, selling over 150,000 copies before transitioning to an ad-supported model with six million downloads and Diggin’ Dogs published by Chillingo, publisher of Angry Birds and Cut The Rope.
One More Line is available for free on mobile and tablet devices from the iTunes Store, Google Play and Amazon.
4 Comments
Some a’hole is gonna tell me this is advertising, isn’t he.
Soap are really great at turning passion into product.
Very jealous and you deserve the rewards…
That is the equivalent of a $5.4 million retainer! Eat that
Hilarious a game which barely made an impression on the app charts especially in regards to profit is a success story, gotta love advertising spin.