Pinoy-made productivity app ‘Pomodoro Pets’ lets you play while working

In this hectic, fast-paced world, managing your time has increasingly become more challenging. If you know where to look, however, there are tools that can help you use your time wisely, in effect allowing you to become more efficient in any activity.

One such tool is the mobile app “Pomodoro Pets” by Pinoy startup game development studio, Dog Beard Games. “Pomodoro Pets” takes the Pomodoro Technique time management method and gives it an adorable spin by incorporating a digital pet system. So it’s a bit like Tamagotchi, only with puppies and kittens – and it helps boost your productivity, too.

Or, as John Quiogue, Dog Beard Games’ Community Manager, explained: “ ‘Pomodoro Pets’ is a new take on productivity apps that focuses on self-improvement and integrates it with having fun.”

 

Productivity plus pets

“Pomodoro Pets” is simple enough to use. You decide on a specific task, then allot a time limit for it. Upon reaching said limit, the app gives you a ring to remind you to take a short break. Following four (or more) of such sessions, you get to take a longer break, after which you can opt to begin the cycle anew or stop if you’ve already completed your task. By using the Pomodoro Technique this way, “Pomodoro Pets” allows users to focus on their tasks, as well as manage their lists of things to do.

Between sessions, you get to spend some quality time with your pet. The more you feed, bathe, and play with your furbaby, the greater its bond with you grows. You and your pet can even visit colorful and exciting environments, from a Japanese house to the moon.

Only four pets are available at the onset – two dogs and two cats – but you can purchase more with real money, or the in-game money you earn playing “Pomodoro Pets.” You can also buy an assortment of food, toys, and clothes for your virtual friend.

 

It was clear from the beginning what Dog Beard Games wanted to accomplish with “Pomodoro Pets.”

“We have discovered (the Pomodoro Technique) to be very effective,” said Mikey Arboleda, the founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Dog Beard Games. “We wanted to help other people in increasing their productivity whether at work, school, or even on their workout sessions.”

Of course, a time management tool by itself is a tad… humdrum. So to boost the app’s appeal, the team looked into one of their childhood interests – and that just so happened to be the Tamagotchi handheld digital pet, one of Bandai’s most popular toy line.

“We were all lovers of this extremely popular game (Tamagotchi) back in the ‘90s,” explained Arboleda. “We wanted to capture that nostalgic feeling of taking care of your virtual pets while also adding that aspect of helping you in your day-to-day tasks.”

 

Inspirations and aspirations

Arboleda’s love for video games, and his desire to create his own, inspired him to start Dog Beard Games.

“I’ve always wanted to create games ever since I was a kid,” he stated. “As is the norm with people in the gaming industry, we (in the studio) are all avid gamers.”

In addition, he hopes to make the Philippines known as a game development hub.

“What really inspired me to do this is I want to put Philippines on the map in the gaming industry. There are so many talented and creative individuals here in our country and it baffles me that we are not a gaming powerhouse. One of our company goals is to create games and apps that are known around the world.”

Dog Beard Games is one of the youngest game development studios in the country.

“We started our game studio February this year with the dream of becoming a successful startup,” Quiogue pointed out. “The passion to create innovative games is what drives us in this endeavor.”

At the moment, the studio consists of 13 people, 9 of whom work full-time. The rest are either part-timers or freelancers. Most of them participate in app development.

It wasn’t easy creating “Pomodoro Pets.”

“We are a new gaming studio and some of us, including myself, are new in game development,” Arboleda admitted. “As expected, we encountered various obstacles the past few months.”

Thankfully, with enough passion, hard work, and know-how, even the toughest problems can be surmounted.

“Despite (obstacles), we were able to fix those issues by having weekly process improvement meetings,” Arboleda said. “I have always been a ‘preacher’ for process improvement in my previous companies. This process, along with having a tenacious mindset and the ability to pivot and adjust were the reasons why we no longer have those issues.”

As “Pomodoro Pets” was developed in parallel with other projects, the team took 4 months to complete the app.

“Pomodoro Pets” is Dog Beard Games’ first app. Arboleda describes feeling “ecstatic” about its official launch.

“All of us are very excited with this milestone,” he said.

It looks like we can expect more from Dog Beard Games in the future.

“We are currently working on 2 more games,” Arboleda stated. “Our games pipeline contains games from different genres like Simulation, Adventure RPGs, etc.”

The journey ahead

Arboleda shared his thoughts on what he believes it would take a Philippine game developer to succeed locally and worldwide:

“This is something that really varies per game studio. A lot of factors are needed to be able to succeed locally and more so in the international scene.

“For me, the biggest factor is the team itself. From the managers and leads all the way to juniors, the team should be efficient in their tasks and must work as one cohesive unit. From the start, I have always put a premium on team chemistry and efficiency.”

In addition, the quality of the games themselves have a lot to do with the developer’s success or failure.

“Another crucial factor is the uniqueness and appeal of the games in a studio’s pipeline. Having multiple releases in a year won’t mean much if it’s the same old games people have been playing for years (decades, even). Having said that, creating appealing AND unique games is not something easily achieved. One of our main challenges is to create unique games that will also appeal to a broad range of people.”

While Arboleda admits the Philippine game industry could benefit from more growth, he has high hopes for it:

“We still have a long way to go before we join the ranks of the giants of the gaming industry. I’m very confident that we will get there eventually and hopefully Dog Beard Games will be the main drivers of that push.”

“Pomodoro Pets” is available on both iOS and Android devices.

For more information about Dog Beard Games, visit its official Facebook page. — TJD, GMA News