Asher Vollmer
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Asher Vollmer (born September 14, 1989) is an American indie video game developer. He created '' Puzzlejuice'' and ''
Threes ''Threes'' (stylized as ''Threes!'') is a puzzle video game by Sirvo, an independent development team consisting of game designer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend, and composer Jimmy Hinson. The game was released on February 6, 2014, f ...
''. Vollmer also worked on '' Guildlings'' and '' Beast Breaker''. While a student at USC Interactive Media & Games Division, he developed the 2012
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
game ''Puzzlejuice'' with Greg Wohlwend. The pair's next game, the 2014 iOS puzzle game ''Threes'', received numerous awards and was later
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
to multiple platforms. Among other projects, Vollmer subsequently worked on ''Close Castles'', a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
game later put on hiatus, and ''Royals'', a
simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
for
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and
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.


Career

Vollmer is a graduate of the USC Interactive Media & Games Division program. As a student, he began work on '' Puzzlejuice'', a
puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...
. He reached out to artist Greg Wohlwend for aesthetic advice, which led to a collaboration between the two. ''Puzzlejuice'' is a combination of ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' () is a puzzle video game created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer. In ''Tetris'', falling tetromino shapes must be neatly sorted into a pile; once a horizontal line of the game board is filled in, it disa ...
'', tile-matching, and
Boggle ''Boggle'' is a word game introduced in 1972 and in which players try to find as many words as they can from a grid of lettered dice, within a set time limit. It was invented by Allan Turoff and originally distributed by Parker Brothers. Rules ...
: players rearrange falling
tetromino A tetromino is a geometric shape composed of four squares, connected orthogonally (i.e. at the edges and not the corners). Tetrominoes, like dominoes and pentominoes, are a particular type of polyomino. The corresponding polycube, called a tetra ...
blocks into rows of similar colors, which turn into letters that are cleared from the board by forming words. The
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
game was released on January 19, 2012, to what
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Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
described as "generally favorable" reviews. Multiple reviewers mentioned the difficulty in mentally balancing the various components of the game. Vollmer started as thatgamecompany's "feel engineer" in August 2012, but left in April 2013 to "go indie" and work on his own projects. On his blog, he said he thought the studio's current project would be groundbreaking, though he was unhappy working there. Vollmer tried to write a short story in an attempt to take a break from games. Before long, he began to play with his
computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or Push-button, keys to act as Mechanical keyboard, mechanical levers or Electronic switching system, electro ...
. Vollmer challenged himself to make a game that only used the
arrow keys Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are keys on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor (computers), cursor in a specified direction. The term "cursor movement key" is distinct from "arrow key" in that th ...
, and prototyped what would become ''
Threes ''Threes'' (stylized as ''Threes!'') is a puzzle video game by Sirvo, an independent development team consisting of game designer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend, and composer Jimmy Hinson. The game was released on February 6, 2014, f ...
'' in ten hours overnight. He proceeded to iterate on the idea with Wohlwend over the game's 14-month
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...
. In ''Threes'', the player slides numbered tiles on a four-by-four grid to combine addends and multiples of three. Vollmer cited '' Drop7'' as an inspiration for the game, having played it for two years beforehand. ''Threes'' had no original inclination towards minimalism. In fact, Vollmer and Wohlwend felt that the game needed to appear more complex so as to interest players. They returned to the original idea and added character personalities to the tiles. The iOS game was released on February 6, 2014, to what Metacritic characterized as "universal acclaim". Reviewers found the game "charming" and "addictive", and compared it to ''Drop7'' (2009), '' Triple Town'' (2010), and ''Stickets'' (2013). ''
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'' and ''TouchArcade'' awarded the game perfect scores, with the latter calling ''Threes'' "about as close as it gets to a perfect mobile game". Other developers released similar games and clones within weeks of the game's launch.
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
named ''Threes'' its best
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
game of 2014. The game was later
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
to Android,
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, and
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platforms. ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' included Vollmer in their "50 admirable gaming people of 2014" for his work on ''Threes''. Vollmer thought he would work on a new game a month after releasing ''Threes'', but was kept busy by obligations to fix and update the game, to port it to other platforms, and to promote game through press and events. He was convinced that he would never make a game "as clean and tight as ''Threes'' ever again". Vollmer's next game was ''Close Castles'', a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
game.


After ''Threes''

Vollmer unveiled ''Close Castles'' in June 2014. Players start in corners of a "grid map" and are represented by castles. Vollmer explained that the game's name is from castles built too close to one another, starting a mutually assured destruction scenario. Players can build three structure types out from their castle: towers that fire at incoming enemies (defense), houses that make "loyal subjects" (offense), and markets that make money (economy). The "A" button with a direction constructs a path directing followers to the enemy. Followers capture enemy structures as denoted by a "defense bar" that fills as followers enter the structure and that destroys the structure when filled. Markets are the weakest structure, and two towers can defend against one house. Player turf grows as player structures approach the limits of their area. Players earn five units of money a second, which increases by five for every market. ''Polygon'' called the game's simple visual design "horrifyingly deceptive". Vollmer has said that games should last around three minutes apiece and that the local multiplayer's lack of "hidden information" should make interactions with other players less of a "sadomasochistic" game of waiting for an opponent to concede. The game was demoed on an
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
but was planned for release on the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
. Vollmer put the project on hold while he worked out "fundamental flaws" in the gameplay. While Vollmer traditionally worked on multiple games at once, ''Close Castles'' was his only project when it was in production. In March 2015, he worked three days a week on a bigger project with a small team, and saved his other days for personal experimentation and ''Threes'' bugs. The next month, Vollmer released ''Royals'', a
pay what you want Pay what you want (or PWYW, also referred to as value-for-value model) is a pricing strategy where buyers pay their desired amount for a given commodity. This amount can sometimes include zero. A minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggest ...
simulation game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
for
OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
and
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. I''n Royals'', the player controls a peasant who advances towards royal status by collecting resources and followers. In February 2016, Sirvo Studios announced '' Guildlings'', a fantasy adventure game, which was later released in November 2019. Vollmer had founded Sirvo with other indie developers the previous year, which received funding from
FunPlus FunPlus is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Switzerland, with operations in China, Portugal and Spain. The company has developed the following mobile games: State of Survival, King of Avalon, Guns of Glory, Stormshot, Misty ...
, who also started a $50 million investment fund for the early projects of rising video game developers and artists. In September 2021, Vodeo Games, which was co-founded by Vollmer, released adventure game Beast Breaker. Vollmer felt ''Guildlings'' was misaligned with his design sensibilities, which led to Vodeo. In September 2022, Vodeo Games, which employees'
Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...
affiliated union was noted for being in the process of bargaining, closed after "running out of funds".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vollmer, Asher 1989 births American video game designers Indie game developers Place of birth missing (living people) Living people USC Interactive Media & Games Division alumni