Grooh!! was a puzzle game released on iOS and Android in February 2012.
It also garnered several prestigious awards worldwide!
© 2011-2012 digiDingo
"Grooh is an adorable (and perhaps a bit lazy) monster with a deep love for pineapples. Today, Grooh has decided to embark on an adventure to explore the abandoned 'Feilong Castle.' As he approaches, a massive dragon is intricately printed on the entrance door! However, the real excitement lies in the rumors claiming that a hidden treasure is concealed within — and who knows, it might just be filled with pineapples? That's where YOU, oh mighty player, come in to help Grooh uncover the secrets of the treasure!"
In October 2011, I took on the position of digiDingo's Game Designer and all-round artist (read my full history with digiDingo here). We immediately started work on a puzzle game inspired by Bombuzal (also known as Kablooey), originally released in 1988. Just four months later, on February 6th, 2012, Grooh!! made its debut on the App Store. The game quickly gained success, being featured as a prominent game in the New & Noteworthy's category in over 70+ countries! That was the beginning of a fascinating story between digiDingo and me.
We were a team of three working on this game: Jann Sigrist handled the coding using Corona SDK, a free and open-source, cross-platform software development kit, which was later renamed Solar2D in April 2020. Jörg Sigrist, his brother, took charge of designing the majority of the levels, crafting puzzles that gradually grew more challenging.
My role encompassed managing the visuals (art, animations, logos, icons, mockups, Graphical User Interface (GUI), sound effects, trailer animation, and website design). I also had the responsibility of designing the initial tutorial levels. I predominantly utilized Adobe Flash (now Adobe Animate) and Adobe Photoshop for this purpose.
Fun fact: Amidst the game's development, one baby was born (my ♥daughter♥), another was about to arrive, and one was conceived. That's quite a number of little Groohs!!
When Grooh!! was released, one of its key features was "Explore 99 challenging rooms... and discover a crazy final twist!". The twist turned out to be that the treasure Grooh discovered in the 100th and final room was locked! He couldn't open it, leaving many players confused or even disappointed by this unexpected ending, especially since the last levels were quite challenging.
However, we updated the game a few times, adding new levels, and by December 2012, the game featured a total of 120 levels along with the real ending: upon completing level 120, a key appeared, allowing Grooh to revisit level 100 and finally open the chest to obtain the coveted pineapples! I named the folder containing all the additional assets "Good Ending" :-D
Finally, in January 2014, a new pack of 40 levels was added in an update.
Christmas Grooh!! was an expansion of Grooh!!, introducing new landscapes, puzzles, and mechanics. It was released during Christmas in 2012.
"After returning from his thrilling adventure at 'Feilong Castle', Grooh discovers another realm - the Xmas Land! It's a place that fulfills the dreams of children of all ages. Rumors suggest that the Xmas Land grants wishes! Hoping it's brimming with his beloved pineapples, Grooh embarks on yet another adventure. Follow Grooh as he traverses this enchanting snowy land, aiding him in reaching his cherished pineapples! In the sequel to the beloved hit game Grooh!!, Christmas Grooh!! introduces new landscapes, graphics, sounds, and levels! Merry Christmas from Grooh to all of you!"
Christmas Grooh!! was released on December 20, 2012, and boasted 60 new puzzles, fresh game mechanics, an entirely new soundtrack, and, of course, an abundance of snow! This sequel undeniably elevated the already fantastic original Grooh by introducing enhanced and more vibrant graphics, refined gameplay, and additional animations.
Speaking of quality-of-life improvements, players could enjoy playing Christmas Grooh!! in "Touch Only" mode. In the original Grooh!!, controls and actions were shown at the bottom of the screen. However, in the wintry sequel, players were able to direct Grooh by simply pointing their finger to a spot within the level to command him to "go there." This enhancement was later incorporated into the original Grooh!!. Note that this feature could be disabled at the title screen, allowing players to continue playing with Grooh in the old-fashioned way if preferred (as seen in the screenshots below).
Working on Grooh!! was an incredible experience for me. Some people even joked that I turned into Grooh myself - possibly because I designed that amusing and adorable creature, animated its movements, and even provided my own voice to bring it to life with peculiar grrvoice and soundgrrs? Well, perhaps! I still hope that one day, Grooh will return crazier than ever, starring in an entirely new game. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, you can take a look at a couple of mockups and ideas related to Grooh Two!! below.
digiDingo's inaugural puzzle game captivated audiences with its engaging gameplay and charming aesthetics. But Grooh!! didn't just win hearts — it conquered them, notably clinching the Best Swiss Mobile Game award in 2012 (read below) and the esteemed GDC Best in Play award in 2013 at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco (read below), cementing its position as a standout title in the mobile gaming landscape.
Other awards received in 2012 include: Corona SDK: App of the Week, JayIsGames: Mobile Puzzle Game of the Year (3rd place), and iPadevice: Game of the Week.
The Swiss App Awards was one of the first award events in Europe dedicated solely to apps - and the very first in Switzerland! The Swiss App Awards 2013 ceremony took place on March 7, 2013, at the Marriott Hotel in Zürich, Switzerland. Grooh!! was nominated in the Games & Entertainment category, competing against titles like S**thead, Boldomatic, and MonsterUp Memory... and... WE WON! We got the Award!
Leading up to the event, participants were tasked with creating a 30-second video clip explaining the functionality, business concept, and design of their app, with the speech required to be recorded - one of the essential criteria. So, I crafted a video detailing Grooh's mechanics, where I not only explained how the game worked but also lent my voice to Grooh's funny and high-pitched character. This quite rare video clip is available below.
Info: the photographer of the ceremony was Kamila Buturla, so all the credit for the pictures goes to her.
Fun fact: The speaker (Tanja Gutmann, ex-Miss Switzerland) announced Grooh!! as winner... by imitating Grooh's voice :-D Fortunately, I had the chance to capture this funny moment, watch below.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2013 was a pivotal gathering of industry professionals, game developers, and enthusiasts. Held in San Francisco from March 25th to 29th at the Moscone Center, it provided a platform for networking, knowledge-sharing, and showcasing the latest trends in game development.
We were incredibly honored that Grooh!! emerged as the winner of the prestigious Best in Play awards, standing out among 7 other remarkable games selected from a pool of over 70 exhibitors. The Best in Play accolade recognized the innovation and promise demonstrated by independent developers at the GDC. These exceptional games were chosen based on criteria such as originality, creativity, and overall potential. As a testament to their achievement, winners of the Best in Play award were granted special designations for their kiosks at GDC 2013, providing a unique opportunity for all GDC attendees to experience and enjoy their games.
The soundtracks for both Grooh!! and Christmas Grooh!! were quirky and cheerful. All tracks were sourced from NEO Sounds, a website offering royalty-free music downloads, a premium production music library, and royalty-free sound effects. It served as an excellent source of inspiration for me. I explored tracks composed by artists like Alex Khaskin or Ilya Kaplan, and found their style perfectly matched the mood of Grooh!! and other digiDingo games. My aim was to find compositions suitable for the title screen, menu, and two gameplay themes, with the flexibility to rearrange tracks for sequences like the ending or other in-game events.
Consequently, Grooh!! incorporated four tracks, while the smaller Christmas Grooh!! had three tracks (plus one track reused from the previous iteration). In total, the combined cost of both soundtracks amounted to $173.65 ($96.80 + $76.85), a very reasonable investment.
Head over here for more info on this album and all the others I've released.
Alex Khaskin (born 1961) is a Russian-Canadian composer. His specialties include film and TV music scoring, providing music library, and serving as a music consultant. He uses a wide range of expression of the strings which are the most popular group in symphonic orchestra, as well as other instruments. In 2015, he composed the score for the film A Christmas Horror Story, where he crafted eerie adaptations of traditional Christmas carols.
Ilya Kaplan is a film/tv/media composer and sound designer residing in Toronto, Canada. He is known for his work in the field of soundtracks for various media, including film, television, and video games. He spent years developing techniques and tricks in order to manipulate sounds, and in some cases make "something out of nothing". His studio is full of unique and interesting musical instruments from all over the world.
Other artists featured on the album include: LSM-Studios (now known as Lukasz Stasinski), David Flavin, and Jonathan Geer.
"Grooh!! is a puzzle game that quickly succeeds in captivating and enchanting us with its offbeat and comedic universe. Grooh's colors and expressions are elements that add to its charm. Suitable for both young and old alike, for moments of relaxation. Top 100. 7/10."
"The graphics and animations are brilliantly done. The game has a polished look and feel and has grooh-ling fun. All in all, the game is one that Grooh's on you as you start playing and complete a level. The game is interesting and will provide for more than a casual game. The game is already in the charts in various categories."
"Our verdict: HOT! Grooh!! is a highly rated app (4.5 stars). It's currently ranked #50 in paid Games app for iPad. It is also the 82nd most popular paid iPad app (all categories combined)."
"Grooh!! is a real enjoyable game. With 100 levels, you will get very excited to pass the door to reach the next level. It is really fun to destroy all colored floors to open the door to explore the 'Feilong Castle'. You wouldn't get bored with it."
There were numerous internal discussions about a possible sequel to Grooh!!. As far as I recall, Jann Sigrist mentioned it during the Swiss App Awards (while holding the actual award :) in March 2013. Then, we developed Buffalooh, and in September 2013, we compiled a document outlining a game project called "Be Famous", as well as ideas for Grooh!! 2, accompanied by a mock-up. Here was the description:
"The sequel to the well-received game Grooh!! aims to enhance the in-game experience and introduce improved monetization approaches. Additionally, there's a shift from an isometric perspective to a more conventional top-down view while maintaining Grooh's adorable appeal."
The document also detailed these features: a total of 150 levels, with 25 levels available for free play, power-ups to purchase and use, a 'step back' functionality, and a super-secret hidden pineapple to discover per level. The game was intended to offer various themes to provide a diverse range of environments (unlike the original Grooh!!), such as jungle, moon, island, red canyon, etc.
Here's how the mock-up looked like:
In August 2017, I created a new mock-up of Grooh for the "Call for Projects" event initiated by the Pro Helvetia foundation in Switzerland. Commissioned by the Confederation, Pro Helvetia encourages artistic creation in Switzerland, contributes to cultural exchanges within the country, supports the dissemination of Swiss culture abroad, and advocates for cultural mediation. The foundation independently decides on the support it provides. When a project was recognized and selected, Pro Helvetia granted some benefits: contributions to the creation of works (productions and co-productions) and subsidies of up to CHF 25,000.
Here's how the mock-up looked like, with a redesigned Grooh:
Finally, in October 2019, I created one last quick mock-up of Grooh titled "Tropical Grooh!!". This mock-up utilized the original isometric view, featuring simplified elemental fields and a vibrant, colorful palette.
Before evolving into the well-known game, Grooh!! was very different. Initially titled 'Floor Painting', the game featured a character named Bob, a floor painting specialist. His primary objective was to paint the floors of each room within an entire building before sunset. The building consisted of 25 floors, with each floor containing four apartments, such as kitchens, living rooms, or bedrooms, to be painted. After painting the floor tiles, Bob couldn't walk on the freshly painted area; otherwise, his efforts would be in vain. Once Bob finished painting a room according to his plan, he could proceed to the next room. After completing all the rooms on a particular floor, he could access the elevator to ascend to the next floor.
Also, as outlined in the original Game Design Document (GDD), the game included inhabitants following predefined paths in specific rooms. Bob had to observe their movements and paint accordingly to prevent them from stepping on the wet paint. The game also introduced obstacles to redirect the inhabitants, causing them to walk in the opposite direction or follow their typical paths backward.
Fun fact: Yep, Bob was supposed to paint the floors... using his own tail! :D
Fun fact: My apartment at that time looked similar to the mockups above: same wall color, same furniture (yes, IKEA :P), same flooring, and even the same wall clock.
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