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| From MouthOff to Monument Valley: ustwo's path to apps fame | From MouthOff to Monument Valley: ustwo's path to apps fame |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| In January, creative studio ustwo made a splash by releasing sales figures for its Monument Valley mobile game. | In January, creative studio ustwo made a splash by releasing sales figures for its Monument Valley mobile game. |
| The game and its Forgotten Shores expansion had cost $1.4m to make, but more than 2.4m sales generated revenue of nearly $5.9m, while the game scooped sackfuls of awards. | The game and its Forgotten Shores expansion had cost $1.4m to make, but more than 2.4m sales generated revenue of nearly $5.9m, while the game scooped sackfuls of awards. |
| Rewind to June 2011, though, and ustwo was releasing some less impressive figures. It had spent £60,000 making a children’s book-app called Nursery Rhymes with Story Time, which made just £24,000. | Rewind to June 2011, though, and ustwo was releasing some less impressive figures. It had spent £60,000 making a children’s book-app called Nursery Rhymes with Story Time, which made just £24,000. |
| Those two figures highlight ustwo’s rise to prominence in the apps world in recent years, but also hint at a backstory that millions of Monument Valley players will be unaware of. | Those two figures highlight ustwo’s rise to prominence in the apps world in recent years, but also hint at a backstory that millions of Monument Valley players will be unaware of. |
| While some may have explored ustwo’s other games such as Whale Trail and Blip Blup, they may be unaware of its other past apps. Some are still available: Nursery Rhymes with Story Time; cartoon mouth app MouthOff; and interactive fiction app Papercut for example. | While some may have explored ustwo’s other games such as Whale Trail and Blip Blup, they may be unaware of its other past apps. Some are still available: Nursery Rhymes with Story Time; cartoon mouth app MouthOff; and interactive fiction app Papercut for example. |
| Others have been removed: Granimator was a wallpaper-maker for iPad; Inkstrumental a quirky music-creation app; Rando a mobile photography app to swap shots with random strangers; PositionApp a tool for developers to track App Store chart rankings around the world. | Others have been removed: Granimator was a wallpaper-maker for iPad; Inkstrumental a quirky music-creation app; Rando a mobile photography app to swap shots with random strangers; PositionApp a tool for developers to track App Store chart rankings around the world. |
| Ustwo worked on Barclays’ Pingit money-transfer app; the recently launched Adidas Go app, which beat Spotify to the idea of matching runners’ steps to songs; and the user experience for Tesco’s Hudl tablet. And ustwo was also a co-founder of music discovery and ticketing startup Dice. | Ustwo worked on Barclays’ Pingit money-transfer app; the recently launched Adidas Go app, which beat Spotify to the idea of matching runners’ steps to songs; and the user experience for Tesco’s Hudl tablet. And ustwo was also a co-founder of music discovery and ticketing startup Dice. |
| All that means there is a lot more to ustwo than Monument Valley, but its founders Matt Miller and John Sinclair – known widely as Mills and Sinx within their industry – see that game as a culmination of all the lessons they’ve learned in a decade of mobile design. | All that means there is a lot more to ustwo than Monument Valley, but its founders Matt Miller and John Sinclair – known widely as Mills and Sinx within their industry – see that game as a culmination of all the lessons they’ve learned in a decade of mobile design. |
| The company’s rise has gone hand-in-hand with the growth of Apple and Google’s app stores – particularly Apple’s, which was where ustwo got started with its own apps a few months after the store launched in 2008. | The company’s rise has gone hand-in-hand with the growth of Apple and Google’s app stores – particularly Apple’s, which was where ustwo got started with its own apps a few months after the store launched in 2008. |
| Related: The best apps of 2014 for Android, iPhone and iPad | Related: The best apps of 2014 for Android, iPhone and iPad |
| The first few apps launched by ustwo sank without much trace, but MouthOff – an app that got you to hold your iPhone in front of your face, then showed one of various cartoon mouths lip-syncing to what you said – proved a hit. | The first few apps launched by ustwo sank without much trace, but MouthOff – an app that got you to hold your iPhone in front of your face, then showed one of various cartoon mouths lip-syncing to what you said – proved a hit. |
| “We tried all sorts, but none of them worked until MouthOff. We lost so much money. MouthOff was the first one where we made a profit: tens of thousands, or maybe even a couple of hundred grand,” says Sinclair. | “We tried all sorts, but none of them worked until MouthOff. We lost so much money. MouthOff was the first one where we made a profit: tens of thousands, or maybe even a couple of hundred grand,” says Sinclair. |
| In those early years of its move into apps, Miller was a regular at mobile industry conferences, mock-bragging about how little money ustwo was making, adopting the slogan of “succailure” to represent a combination of commercial failure with creative success – as well as learning valuable lessons from each release. | In those early years of its move into apps, Miller was a regular at mobile industry conferences, mock-bragging about how little money ustwo was making, adopting the slogan of “succailure” to represent a combination of commercial failure with creative success – as well as learning valuable lessons from each release. |
| This extended to ustwo’s category-hopping strategy, trying book-apps, creative apps, analytics tools and social apps in quick succession. | This extended to ustwo’s category-hopping strategy, trying book-apps, creative apps, analytics tools and social apps in quick succession. |
| “We never wanted to be second-guessable, but they all had a motivation behind them – whether it was about getting our name out in the developer community with PositionApp, or creating a design-based experimental platform like Granimator, or working with external people or companies as we did on Nursery Rhymes,” says Miller. | “We never wanted to be second-guessable, but they all had a motivation behind them – whether it was about getting our name out in the developer community with PositionApp, or creating a design-based experimental platform like Granimator, or working with external people or companies as we did on Nursery Rhymes,” says Miller. |
| “That whole talk I used to go on the road with, Succailure, was the embodiment of saying ‘well, we’re not making the millions that everyone claims you can make from apps, but the success in these perceived failures were all the learnings’. Every app we produced, we got so much out of it – at the very least, it was great marketing for our company.” | “That whole talk I used to go on the road with, Succailure, was the embodiment of saying ‘well, we’re not making the millions that everyone claims you can make from apps, but the success in these perceived failures were all the learnings’. Every app we produced, we got so much out of it – at the very least, it was great marketing for our company.” |
| Sinclair cuts in drily to note that Monument Valley was still a healthy step on: it made money, but also did an even better job of promoting ustwo – from the dozens of awards to the big brands that it attracted to the company’s client-services business. | Sinclair cuts in drily to note that Monument Valley was still a healthy step on: it made money, but also did an even better job of promoting ustwo – from the dozens of awards to the big brands that it attracted to the company’s client-services business. |
| “The problem now is the bar is so unbelievably high for what we’re going to do next. But that’s the challenge: and we’re not just in this for financial gain. Commercials are just one part of success in this world,” says Sinclair. | “The problem now is the bar is so unbelievably high for what we’re going to do next. But that’s the challenge: and we’re not just in this for financial gain. Commercials are just one part of success in this world,” says Sinclair. |
| So what is ustwo doing next? The company has a four-pronged strategy, starting with the client-services business, which brought in just over £15m in 2013, according to the company’s last set of published financial accounts. | So what is ustwo doing next? The company has a four-pronged strategy, starting with the client-services business, which brought in just over £15m in 2013, according to the company’s last set of published financial accounts. |
| Second, there’s ustwo’s own apps, including more games – but not a sequel to Monument Valley – which has now passed 4m downloads and $10m of revenues. “People expect it, but we’re not going to deliver it,” says Miller. | |
| The third prong in ustwo’s strategy is joint ventures, starting with Dice, which launched for London gig-goers in September 2014 as a way to browse upcoming gigs, buy tickets without booking fees, with the app functioning as the ticket to be scanned at the venue. | The third prong in ustwo’s strategy is joint ventures, starting with Dice, which launched for London gig-goers in September 2014 as a way to browse upcoming gigs, buy tickets without booking fees, with the app functioning as the ticket to be scanned at the venue. |
| “We don’t want to be the company that people now buy tickets from instead of other ticket companies. We want people going to 30 gigs a year instead of 10 gigs a year: for me, that’s true disruption, rather than just replacing something that’s there already,” says Sinclair. | |
| Related: Dice gambles on shaking up gig tickets: 'We're getting rid of the friction' | Related: Dice gambles on shaking up gig tickets: 'We're getting rid of the friction' |
| Miller explains that a second joint venture is following: “A CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy) journalling app to help change people’s emotional states” that, judging by a quick Google search, is currently named Moments. | Miller explains that a second joint venture is following: “A CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy) journalling app to help change people’s emotional states” that, judging by a quick Google search, is currently named Moments. |
| Finally, ustwo is using the cash from its own apps and client work to become an investor, funding startups in and around the mobile industry. Its first investment was in Marvel, a mobile and web prototyping design tool that’s already signed up more than 125,000 users. | Finally, ustwo is using the cash from its own apps and client work to become an investor, funding startups in and around the mobile industry. Its first investment was in Marvel, a mobile and web prototyping design tool that’s already signed up more than 125,000 users. |
| “We’re not just going to do cash investments. It might vary from a £10k investment to a whole six-months with a team of 10 people to get something to a first round of funding,” Sinclair says. | “We’re not just going to do cash investments. It might vary from a £10k investment to a whole six-months with a team of 10 people to get something to a first round of funding,” Sinclair says. |
| Both founders say that a restlessness to explore new technologies will also keep ustwo fresh. The studio has already moved into smartwatch design, building some of the first official watch faces for Google’s Android Wear. | Both founders say that a restlessness to explore new technologies will also keep ustwo fresh. The studio has already moved into smartwatch design, building some of the first official watch faces for Google’s Android Wear. |
| t is also thinking about in-car technology – ustwo recently published a video on YouTube of its early attempts to “reimagine the car dashboard”. | t is also thinking about in-car technology – ustwo recently published a video on YouTube of its early attempts to “reimagine the car dashboard”. |
| “We’re having to continually change. If we’d only focused on mobile apps, we would have stagnated and died. Being on our toes and learning the new technology is what keeps companies alive,” says Miller. | “We’re having to continually change. If we’d only focused on mobile apps, we would have stagnated and died. Being on our toes and learning the new technology is what keeps companies alive,” says Miller. |
| The company’s wider apps business hasn’t been without controversy: in 2012, the ustwo released a game called Papa Quash that was quickly accused of being a clone of indie developer Die Gute Fabrik’s existing Johann Sebastian Joust game. | The company’s wider apps business hasn’t been without controversy: in 2012, the ustwo released a game called Papa Quash that was quickly accused of being a clone of indie developer Die Gute Fabrik’s existing Johann Sebastian Joust game. |
| The game had been published on behalf of a former Big Brother contestant, Sam Pepper, with ustwo under the impression that he had received Die Gute Fabrik’s blessing. | The game had been published on behalf of a former Big Brother contestant, Sam Pepper, with ustwo under the impression that he had received Die Gute Fabrik’s blessing. |
| When this turned out not to be the case, the studio removed the game from sale, although Miller became a lightning rod for criticism of the company on Twitter, leading him to quit the social network for a year. | When this turned out not to be the case, the studio removed the game from sale, although Miller became a lightning rod for criticism of the company on Twitter, leading him to quit the social network for a year. |
| “Twitter can be a really dark place, but you learn. I wouldn’t take it as seriously now as I did when I got hounded,” he says. “These things flame for a few days then disappear again.” | “Twitter can be a really dark place, but you learn. I wouldn’t take it as seriously now as I did when I got hounded,” he says. “These things flame for a few days then disappear again.” |
| Post Monument Valley, things are a lot more positive for ustwo, with Sinclair and Miller both enthusiastic about their colleagues’ willingness to constantly try new things. | Post Monument Valley, things are a lot more positive for ustwo, with Sinclair and Miller both enthusiastic about their colleagues’ willingness to constantly try new things. |
| A glance at the company’s App Store catalogue suggests time management aid Gero and social music app Party Pooper are two of its latest experiments, while its YouTube channel reveals a partnership with the charity the Royal London Society for Blind People on a service called Wayfindr to help vision-impaired people navigate around cities. | A glance at the company’s App Store catalogue suggests time management aid Gero and social music app Party Pooper are two of its latest experiments, while its YouTube channel reveals a partnership with the charity the Royal London Society for Blind People on a service called Wayfindr to help vision-impaired people navigate around cities. |
| The interview ends with the pair bickering amicably over the size of ustwo’s next headquarters in London, with Sinclair mock-sighing every time Miller talks about a 100,000 sq ft “wonderland” as a done deal. | The interview ends with the pair bickering amicably over the size of ustwo’s next headquarters in London, with Sinclair mock-sighing every time Miller talks about a 100,000 sq ft “wonderland” as a done deal. |
| “When we create our true utopia, it’s going to be this play-haven. A big place where we have this mixture of amazing client/services and products stuff, our investments and joint ventures. And also a school – we already have CoderDojos here at weekends for young kids,” says Miller. | “When we create our true utopia, it’s going to be this play-haven. A big place where we have this mixture of amazing client/services and products stuff, our investments and joint ventures. And also a school – we already have CoderDojos here at weekends for young kids,” says Miller. |
| “I never realised it was possible when we were younger, but I realise now anything is possible. We’re going to create this proper world of wow.” | “I never realised it was possible when we were younger, but I realise now anything is possible. We’re going to create this proper world of wow.” |
| Sinclair raises his eyebrows, but Miller is undaunted: “And I’ll put my cape on and fly off the roof.” | Sinclair raises his eyebrows, but Miller is undaunted: “And I’ll put my cape on and fly off the roof.” |
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