UK-based smartwatch games startup WearGa today launched Cupcake Dungeon exclusively on Apple Watch. This oddball RPG sees players slay hordes of pastries and candies with increasingly bizarre weapons.
Designed from the ground up for Apple Watch, the game is built to be played in frequent short sessions, perfect for how people use the device. Virapen, previously Head of Games at Disney, said:
“Cupcake Dungeon was designed to be played for five seconds, a hundred times a day. It’s gaming for your elevator ride.”
The team has previous success with Pixel Miner for Pebble, the number one game on the smartwatch platform. Pixel Miner launched last summer and has quickly become the highest rated game and the sixth highest rated Pebble app of all time, ranking above the likes of Pandora, Evernote and Swarm.
Virapen expands:
“We’re focused 100% on smartwatch, which means that we come to the platform with no baggage. The way in which people use these devices is unique and so we design in such a way that takes advantage of that. We aren’t trying to shrink down Clash of Clans or Candy Crush. We’re making smartwatch-first games.”
Cupcake Dungeon sees the player journey across Cupcakia, frantically tapping to slash at anthropomorphized cakes and candies who drop gold and bizarre ‘treasures’. The player uses their gold to upgrade weapons and attack rates to gain more power and level up, encountering newer and tougher enemies.
The game features a shedload of quirk and cult references. Virapen:
“It’s probably the only game in the world where you can beatdown a knickerbocker glory with a stick, steal his crayons and sell them to buy nunchucks. Certainly the only one where you can do that right from your wrist.”
Designing specifically for Apple Watch has allowed WearGa to make use of very specific features of the devices. Virapen:
“The player can be playing on their iPhone on the train, then switch straight to Apple Watch as they walk to work. It’s a totally seamless experience. Additionally, the game benefits from the specific user interface features of the Apple Watch, so the player can navigate the app using the Digital Crown and Force Touch. This gives an intuitive feel to the game.”
The game is currently free and features no in-app purchases, advertisements or other monetization. Virapen:
“We want to build an audience first and show how fun playing games on your wrist can be. We built Cupcake Dungeon with some room for monetization, but it’s not our priority.”
The game is available now for both iPhone and Apple Watch devices.