During the summer of 2022, I joined CyberAgent as an intern to develop my own puzzle game app in a few weeks. CyberAgent is a leading IT company in Tokyo, Japan, that specializes in media, Internet advertising, game, and investment development. Some of their most recognized products are “AbemaTV” (on-demand streaming app) and “Tapple” (dating app).
Company
CyberAgent, Inc.
Duration
2020 August
Roles
UI Design Internship
Tools
Adobe XD, Protopie
Project Goals
Propose a new puzzle game app design for the market and present the final product to other interns and the company’s creative team.
Target Audiences
People who were watching the internationally famous show Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃) and those who were interested in Japanese history
Puzzle App Concept
I came up with the idea of combining the old Japanese puzzle game and traditional Japanese patterns and made the app called “Wagara Awase.”
What is Wagara Awase?
Wagara Awase = “wagara” + “tachiawase”
Wagara
A wagara is a Japanese traditional pattern. Japan has a history of traditional patterns that are used in textiles, ceramics, and interior decorations.
Tachiawase
A puzzle game played by people as indoor entertainment during the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan.
It is a game of transforming a certain shape divided into several pieces into a completely different shape.
Wagara Awase
Users change a geometric shape into another geometric shape (Tachiawase), which will be the base shape for making a wagara pattern in this app. This works because many of the smallest units of traditional Japanese patterns are composed of polygons.
For example, the pattern on the left is 麻の葉(hemp leaf), and the shape making its pattern is the hexagon.
How the game works
- Users change a geometric shape into another geometric shape, which will be the base shape for making a wagara pattern
- When users successfully finish the puzzle, the app reveals the pattern, and they can learn about the historical meaning and background of it
- There are several ways to solve each puzzle, so users can enjoy making different patterns
