Build stylish robots in Pinoy-made ‘Mech Builder’ mobile game

What do cute puppies and giant robots have in common? They are both the subjects of a Philippine game development studio’s most recent releases.

Just this July, Dog Beard Games released “Pomodoro Pets,” a productivity app that revolves around adorable virtual pets. This time, the developer has a new title called “Mech Builder,” a casual puzzle game that revolves around badass giant mechs inspired by anime and manga.

Let’s Volt In!

“Mech Builder” tasks players with assembling robots by selecting their parts in the correct order as four conveyor belts carry hundreds of them towards the edge of the screen. To make things more interesting, bombs sometimes take the place of robot parts, and you’ll have to tap them several times to defuse them.

“Our core idea is to make a game that is easy to play but hard to master, so we came up with the tag line ‘think, tap and build,’ which relates to how ‘Mech Builder’ is played,” explained Dog Beard Games community manager John Quiogue.

“Mech Builder” comes with two modes: Quick and Endless. Quick challenges players with achieving the highest score within a brief period of time. Endless has no time limit, but brings you closer to “game over” with each mistake you make and each bomb that explodes.

“We believe that this game will entice players to go for a higher score and reach the top of the leader boards,” said Quiogue.

Every mech successfully built grants you gold; with gold, you can upgrade mechs so that they award you more money. Alternatively, you can buy other robots, some of which are tougher to build, but more generous with the rewards. “Mech Builder” boasts 10 unique mechs, three of which are freely available in the beginning.

Giant robot love

According to Quiogue and Dog Beard Games colleague Jose Leandro Ronquillo, the team’s love for mechs inspired the creation of “Mech Builder.”

“We were really fond of mechs and robots,” they stated. “They captured our hearts when we were kids, watching shows the likes of ‘Voltes V,’ ‘Daimos,’ ‘Gundam,’  ‘Voltron,’ ‘Evangelion,’ etc. It’s clear that we held on to those memories and were inspired to create ‘Mech Builder’ based on those TV shows.”

The team chose to make “Mech Builder” a puzzle game due to the genre’s challenging nature and inherent charm: “We wanted to add depth of challenge for our players. Puzzle games have that kind charm which both children and adults would love to play; only this time, with robots!”

While “Pomodoro Pets” is all about bringing out the cuteness of pets, “Mech Builder’s” robots are simultaneously adorable and dangerous-looking, with enough style to impress the most ardent mech enthusiast.

We can thank Dog Beard Games’ three talented artists, Mark Anthony Bersola, Dwayne Maico, and Kenneth E. Sofia, for the robot designs.

“We gave our artists ample time to research and to come up with a few initial designs,” said Quiogue and Ronquillo. “Our artists showed us several designs to choose from, which helped us decide on the final look. We try to instill creative freedom in our artists for them to express their unique artistic style.”

Dog Beard Games’ audio engineer, Arvin Cua, was responsible for “Mech Builder’s” cool music and sound effects.

“Since this is a game involving mechs, we wanted to incorporate futuristic sounds,” the team said. “We had multiple iterations with the sound design.”

Cua also worked on the studio’s previous games.

The team enjoyed the 3 weeks it took to develop “Mech Builder.”

“[The most enjoyable experiences we had developing ‘Mech Builder’ were] the play testing and tweaking phases. Even during its development, we had internal tournaments on who can get the highest score.”

Dog Beard Games is the machine that will continue to churn out new games. “We have a mountain of fresh new ideas; you’ll just have to wait and see what we come up next,” said the team. — BM, GMA News

Mech Builder is now freely available for both iOS and Android devices.

For more information about Dog Beard Games and their apps, visit their official Facebook.