Snowman, the small studio behind the award-winning iOS games Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey, Skate City and Other, founds a new company, knock Knockwhich will focus on educational kids entertainment. Pok Pok will debut his first title later this month. Pok Pok playroom, aimed to inspire creative thinking through games for the preschool kids.
The launch brings Snowman back to its roots as an app maker, not a game studio.
In fact, the company’s first iOS app, Checkmark, was in the productivity space, offering iPhone users location-based reminders. However, Snowman later switched to game development and took advantage of the demand for mobile games with early starts such as Circles and Super Squares. But it wasn’t until Alto’s Adventure came out that Snowman started his foray into the game.
“We never really saw Snowman as a video game studio,” said Ryan Cash, co-founder and creative director of Snowman. “A lot of people would assume that because it’s really all we’re known for right now. It’s kind of a core business. But we prefer to see ourselves as a team of hobbyists who enjoy working on creative things. Right now it’s video games, but you never know what might be around the corner, ”he says.
Credit: Snowman
Pok Pok actually emerged from snowman’s craft culture.
Snowman employee Mathijs Demaeght and Esther HuybreghtsNow Pok Pok Design Director and Creative Director were looking for an app to keep their young son James entertaining as a toddler. They soon found that there weren’t many options that matched what they’d hoped for.
They wanted something that didn’t upset him, something that wasn’t too technical, and something that wasn’t playful, explains Esther.
When they later had their second son, Jack, they decided to just build the app they wanted for themselves. After showing Ryan a rough prototype, he saw the potential and challenged her to run with it.
Ryan’s sister Melissa Cash, whose background was in developing products for babies and toddlers at Disney, had helped launch Alto’s Odyssey at the time. When she saw what Esther and Mathijs were working on, she was impressed.
Credit: Snowman
“I’ve worked in the nursery for five years and have never seen anything that is even remotely like that. And then I just knew I wanted to work on it for the next 20 years, ”she says. Melissa got involved in the project and is now CEO of the Pok Pok Spinout.
Although Pok Pok is legally a separate entity, it remains closely linked to Snowman.
“We incubated the company within Snowman. We’ve moved desks to a corner and we’re all working together as mentors, colleagues, and as a group, ”notes Melissa. Ryan is still involved too. “Ryan is everything – our advisor, our helper – we haven’t even found a title for him,” she adds.
Today the Pok Pok team consists of six full-time employees, but works with contractors and educators on its projects. Snowman is now over 20 people, mainly in Toronto. However, some Snowman employees spend 30% to 50% of their time playing Pok Pok, Ryan says.
Currently, Pok Pok is self-funded on other fronts thanks to Snowman’s success. This includes not only the Alto series, but also Apple Arcades Where Cards Fall and Skate City, both of which are now being expanded to include PC and console. The company is working on it too AWAY, a collaboration with Slingshot and Satchel.
Pok Pok playroom, aimed at children ages 2 to 6, will be the first title to go live on Pok Pok on May 20th. The app itself will initially contain six “digital toys”, so to speak, that encourage children to play creatively. These toys also grow with the child as they get older.
For example, a toy with stacking blocks might appeal to toddlers who just want to move the shapes, but an older child could use them to build a city. A drawing toy can encourage doodling at a younger age or become a real canvas for art when the child is older. There is also a soothing toy called “Musical Blobs,” which resembles a lava lamp of various shapes that bounces around and responds to touch.
All toys are designed in an open manner – there is no right or wrong use. And Pok Pok Playroom is not a game. There are no levels to beat or goals to be achieved. There is nothing to buy.
What sets Pok Pok Playroom apart from rivals like Toca Boca compared to games and “digital toys” is that it is more educational and realistic.
“We’re taking a more educational approach and we plan to continue doing this for future apps and everything that Pok Pok Playroom will be created out of after launch,” says Esther. “For example, we don’t have unicorns or wizards in the Pok Pok Playroom. Everything is based on reality. I think we want to explore with children what the world looks like and how it works. We have tons of ideas for a more educational approach for all children, that’s not necessarily the ABC, the educational 1,2,3 so to speak. “
Credit: Snowman
Pok Pok also doesn’t use talking animals or fantasy characters to avoid the theme of diversity. Instead, the apps will include all races, all genders, all family constructions, all kinds of skills, and disabilities as they are created.
“I think it’s very important that children can recognize themselves, family members and friends in the app,” says Esther. “It is very important for our entire team that everyone feels respected for who they are and what their family looks like, and … I think that is really missing in the children’s area at the moment. We want to be the front runner there, ”she states.
The new app, which has been in development for nearly three years, is offered on a subscription basis, with more “digital toys” added over time.
Although Pok Pok is aimed more at the preschoolers, the company foresees a future in which it creates creative projects for the next age group and for other ways of learning.
Pok Pok Playroom was beta tested with around 250 families before it was launched.
It will be available starting May 20th at 9:00 a.m. (CET) on iPhone and iPad with a 14-day free trial. The price will then be $ 3.99 per month or $ 29.99 per year and no in-app purchases will be offered.