In the competitive world of tech, places like Silicon Valley or names such as Microsoft first come to mind.
Who else has the know-how to compete with the Instagrams and Snapchats of the world for a smartphone users attention?
Based in Kelowna, video game studio Hyper Hippo is making its mark on the world of mobile gaming one tap at a time.
The company's game AdVenture Capitalist has over 40 million mobile installs globally and also recently received the 2017 Best Instant Game award from Facebook
Based on the universal aspiration to accumulate wealth, game players work their way up from running lemonade stands, to making movies and eventually owning oil fields by making a series of business moves.
Conceptually it may sound like a lot of work, however, creators say the game's runaway success has less to do with what you're playing and more to do with how you play it.
“AdVenture Capitalist is what’s called an idle game or a clicker game, and the idea is that with quick sessions and low input a player can receive high rewards,” said Tristan Rattink, Studio Head at Hyper Hippo Games.
“In 20 or 30 seconds you can make some strategic choices that allow your progression in the game to skyrocket.”
AdVenture Capitalist was the first major breakthrough for Hyper Hippo as a company, but not the first success for its CEO, Lance Priebe.
Priebe helped put Kelowna on the map in the gaming world when his team created and eventually sold Club Penguin to Disney for $350 million.
The company's studio on Kelowna's Betram Street has released over 10 games since 2014 to web, mobile, Steam and PlayStation, including the award-winning and record-breaking title, AdVenture Capitalist.
The gaming industry is never one to rest on past accomplishments, meaning Hyper Hippo's diverse studio team is always working on the next big thing.
"Every time we release an update to one of our games, our team listens to the community and reviews player behavior data from that version to make the next update that much better," said Rattink.
"Our studio fuses many art forms together to create engaging mobile games including: game design, 2D/3D art, sound design, interaction design, narration and storytelling, branding, engineering and more!
The product teams manage every element of a game‘s lifecycle, starting with building it from scratch to constantly updating it."
If you're thinking a career in the exciting and creative world of video games is for you, visit Hyper Hippo's website to learn more.
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