When we founded Tricky Software our initial target platforms were Mac OS X (macOS) and Windows, with the goal to create state-of-the-art tools, compelling apps, and fun games.
Our first breakout success was Spore Origins, which we created for Electronic Arts. The original platform was actually the iPod Click Wheel, but when Apple was getting ready to announce that they were opening up the iPhone platform to all developers they invited a few select companies to use their very early iPhone SDK to create a demo. EA turned to Tricky and asked us to create a Spore Origins demo in two weeks time. We worked extremely hard, and in the end Spore Origins was the only game title from an external company to be shown on the day Apple had their announcement event. Needless to say this set the stage for what would become a massive hit for EA. Spore Origins shot to #1 in the App Store when it launched, it was shown at an Apple Music Event on stage by Phil Schiller, and it won mobile game of the year.
After the success of Spore Origins we decided to diversify a bit. At this point our internal engine was running on OS X, Windows, and iPhone (aka iOS). We took one of our internal titles, Armado, got it ready for the iPhone and launched it in 2009. Armado was an internal success, and validated that our technology could ship a title across three platforms simultaneously. This would mark the beginning our of constant need to be developing an internal game title of our own. Our specialty became adventure games, and our first big adventure game was Emma and the Inventor. We first launched Emma and the Inventor on OS X and Windows, but soon after launched Emma on the iPad where it became a hit for us. Following on the success of Emma we green lit Emma 2, and in 2014 we launched Emma and the Inventor: Resonance on OS X, Windows, iPad, and Android devices.
There are many more projects and moments worth mentioning, but one standout moment was participating in the "Appcessory" craze that took over for while around 2011. This is the concept of creating physical products that somehow interface with a mobile device, in our case an iPad. We were fortunate to have worked with both Griffin Technology and Crayola to create the revolutionary iPad title named Crayola ColorStudio HD. At the time the idea was to create a special pen, named an iMarker, that would include sophisticated palm rejection through a combination of hardware and software magic. The secret was to combine the iMarker with a drawing app that allowed children to bring the pages to life through unique interactions and animations. We worked closely with Griffin on the iMarker prototypes, and created ColorStudio to fully take advantage of it. When the app and pen launched it was a huge hit, going to #1 in the iTunes App Store, while the iMarker sold out in stores like Target and Walmart. It spawned an entire line for Griffin and Crayola, and we continued to innovate with Crayola for many years afterwards.