Casual & Publishing Line
~3M downloads across the line
Status: 19 released titles 2019–2023
Engine: Unity
Developers : KobGames Studios, Red Band Games, Gamularity, Vivid in-house
Genre: Casual, idle, blast puzzle, arena
Platform: iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Steam
Engine & Tools: Unity, Python (Pandas, NumPy), Excel, Miro
Contribution: Prototype evaluation, A/B testing strategy, control scheme design, difficulty analytics, live ops automation, collaboration with Machine Learning team
Casual Publishing Programme
Vivid Games published 19 titles through this programme between 2019 and 2023. We evaluated countless external prototypes and over twenty internal concepts during this period. The released portfolio included:
Endless Lake, Fly Sky High, Crash Drivers, KO.io, Animal Hotel Manager, Juice Farm, Idle Fish Aquarium, Skyward City, Gear For Heroes, Stylist Story, Mythical Showdown, Chrono Cards: Mobbles, Road Hopper, Neon Bliss, Zombie Blast Crew, Space Pioneer, Highway Getaway, Knights Fight 2 and Calm Colors. The production pipeline also included concepts like Sheep Patrol and Penguinia Ride.
I built a custom tool to manage the publishing calendar and track production progress across the entire portfolio and collaborated closely on the titles listed below.
After the initial hyper-casual tests we adjusted the portfolio criteria: the publishing line targeted casual games with deeper progression. We required realistic themes and expanded the monetization models. We added subscriptions, direct in-app purchases, and ad-supported revenue streams.
We evaluated prototypes on a one-month cycle against a strict retention gate. I designed the A/B testing strategy for this phase. We released every tested prototype in multiple variants to determine whether low retention resulted from a flawed core loop or merely poor balance.
EroBlast
Eroblast reached 1.9 million downloads and became a primary revenue source for the studio alongside Real Boxing 2. The publisher released a follow-up title, LoveNest, in 2023.
We built the game around an adult anime aesthetic to solve an acquisition problem. Gamularity originally pitched the blast puzzle mechanic with an alien and snail theme. We tested several standard reskins, and none produced a scalable CPI. The adult character-focused creatives reached the target metrics, and the team built the game out from there.
Vivid Games signed a contract with the National Centre for Research and Development in February 2023. The grant funded a machine learning level generator I proposed for these titles. The system was specified to generate Match-3 levels and automatically rate their difficulty.
I moved to other projects during the main production phase and returned to Eroblast during live operations to automate the pipeline. I eliminated syntax errors in the live environment by building custom spreadsheets that generated valid configuration JSONs directly from table data.
Pocket Mini Golf
QubicGames acquired the intellectual property rights to the brand. The Nintendo Switch version sold over 250,000 copies in its first months and became the publisher’s fastest-selling release. The original mobile version passed 500,000 downloads.
A Steam sequel followed in 2023 using the same input model.
I designed a single-gesture control scheme for the core gameplay. The player drags away from the ball to aim and releases to execute the shot.
A single drag dictates the launch power and the direction. Applying a lateral offset puts curve on the ball. The external developer’s original prototype required two separate gestures to achieve this result.
OmNom Games
Om Nom Golf
The prototype cleared the Day 1 retention benchmark. Management cancelled the project due to an undefined meta-game scope and unprojected future development costs.
The evaluated soft launch build contained only the base mechanic and a limit of 24 levels.
I supplied course tuning recommendations based on a custom analytics view. We tracked player failures down to individual obstacles. The data showed which obstacle combinations motivated players and which resulted in churn. This obstacle-level tracking originated the machine learning concept that led to the National Centre for Research and Development contract for the Match-3 titles.
Om Nom Crafters
The studio cancelled this resource gathering prototype after early testing. The Cut the Rope IP resonated with an audience too young for the genre.
During the development phase, I automated the content pipeline to accelerate prototyping.
Custom Python scripts and Pandas DataFrames converted level designs directly from Excel into Unity-ready files. The system allowed designers to build levels quickly in spreadsheets, using specific cell content and color formatting for readability.
Idle Fish Aquarium & Juice Farm
Idle Fish Aquarium & Juice Farm
Idle Fish Aquarium recorded the highest Day 1 retention among the tested original prototypes. Red Band Games released a follow-up idle title, Juice Farm, in March 2020.
We integrated the ad layer directly into the Idle Fish economy. Rewarded videos paid out boosters that players immediately used to upgrade their fish tanks.
In Juice Farm, the progression system scaled up from a single resource loop into multiple automated production lines.
Senior Game Data Analyst @ CD PROJEKT RED
I highly recommend Matuesz for roles in game design, particularly within economy games. Having worked together on multiple projects, including idle games, I’ve witnessed their creativity, strategic thinking, and attention to detail firsthand. Mateusz has a knack for crafting engaging experiences that resonate with players, utilizing AI as a tool to push boundaries and innovate. Their passion for gaming, coupled with their interest in AI-driven solutions, makes them an invaluable asset to any team.
Agata Pikulska
Senior Data Professional || SQL, Python, ML, BI, Data Viz
I worked with Matt on live games as well as on new projects, and for both he showed full dedication and the highest professionalism. His impressive theoretical background and diverse experience were always valuable assets in our day to day work. In my role as the team data analyst I was always impressed by Matt’s ability to find the right tools and clever solutions to any challenge we faced as a team and in his own area of expertise, he is truly a master of good research and out of the box thinking. One of the best things about working with him though was his thoughtfulness and honesty, that made every day working with this guy a pleasure
Dzianis Selyadtsow
Senior Unity Developer – DreamLoft
A wonderful expert in his field! He has impressive experience and the ability to see opportunities and ways to improve. We worked together on automating and simplifying development processes using neural networks in the gaming industry – a really innovative approach. Looking forward to working together again!
