Geomon
A location-based monster catching game predating Pokémon Go
From 2011 to 2013 I served first as Lead Designer and later Creative Director of Geomon, a location-based monster catching game developed by Stanford Start-X company Loki Studios.
Geomon used the time of day, calendar date, data from weather APIs, and points of interest from Open Street Map to generate time, date, and location-specific player encounters with ‘spirit animals’ that could be fought, captured and battled against one another in turn-based PvP battles.
At its height, Geomon maintained 15-25k monthly active users, and boasted a modest profit. Fans of the game can still be found, if you know where to look.
Lacking access to the established and lucrative intellectual property that is Pokémon: Pocket Monsters, it fell to us to design and develop our own.
As Lead Designer and Creative Director I contributed to the design of over 150 unique characters. I managed a team of 7 artists, guiding and directing the overall visual style of the game.
I also wrote or directed narrative for in-game content, both unique and semi-random ‘missions’ assigned to players to explore and/or dominate the mysterious world of the spirit.
My role also involved UI/UX design, growth and retention strategy (onboarding experimentation), and game balancing (both in PvP and single-player modes).
I was also the community manager. When you’re at a start-up you wear a lot of hats.
Geomon had its own fictional team of scientists and engineers who maintained the technology allowing agents (players) to explore the spirit world and assigned them tasks.
This is true: I would respond to every support email in the ‘voice’ of the appropriate staff member, depending on the issue or question.
In 2013 Loki Studios and its entire team (myself included) were acquired by Yahoo Inc. to build a consolidated Fantasy Sports app.
Geomon the game concluded in an epic community event that pitted users all around the world against the God of Lies himself. The players were successful: Loki was defeated, and with it, his studio.
