History edit
In 2011, Tony Goodman, John Boog-Scott, and their long-time colleague Angelo Laudon founded PeopleFun. It is headquartered in Richardson, Texas. Childhood friends Goodman and Boog-Scott co-founded Age of Empires developer Ensemble Studios (1995–2009) and another video game developer, Robot Entertainment,[1] which they left in 2010.[2] When they started PeopleFun, the two no longer had the time to play console and PC games for hours and turned to mobile games, which could be played more casually, instead.[1] Mobile games also had a much larger market. Goodman served as the company's CEO, while Boog-Scott was the COO.[2]
PeopleFun released its first game, a word game titled Word Chums, in September 2012. It had to compete with Words With Friends
Wordscapes, a mobile word game, in 2017.[1] In 2018, it affiliated itself with marketing company AppLovin, which led to its EBITDA increasing 27 times, revenue increasing almost seven times, and growing from 16 to over 60 employees by February 2020. AppLovin also helped WordScapes become the highest-grossing word game. The COVID-19 pandemic also aided the company's growth greatly.[2]
In April 2022, Carol Miu succeeded Goodman as CEO after he left the company.
Games edit
Wordscapes is a mix of Boggle and crossword puzzles.[3] To solve the puzzle, the player must find every word using the letters that are located in the circle at the bottom of the screen.[4] There are anywhere from 3 to 7 letters in the circle, depending on the level being played. There are also bonus words, which the player can solve for extra coins.[5] The game currently contains 6,000 levels and an infinite number of extra master levels that players can access after completing the first 6,000.[6][7] The game publishes a daily puzzle for each day.[8]
Complex rated the game as one of the best free games that is available for the iPhone.[9]
Word Mocha (2017) Based on the original game it retains the similar Boggle feature with coffee and hot drink backdrops and also lacks the crossword puzzle feature.
Wordscapes Uncrossed (2017) Based on the original game it retains the similar Boggle-esque features, but lacks the crossword puzzle elements.[10][11]
Wordscapes in Bloom (2018) Similar to the original game, but features a botanical theme with predominantly flowery and garden backdrops to levels.[12][11]
Wordscapes Search (2019) A word search with similar backdrops and themes to other Wordscapes games.[13][11]
Wordscapes Shapes (2019) Blends elements of a word search with elements of a Jigsaw Puzzle combined with similar themes and mechanics to previous Wordscapes games.[14][11]
References edit
- ^ a b c Lieberman, Grace (July 9, 2021). "These childhood friends from Lake Highlands spent decades creating what their tech firm is called". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c Perez, Christine (December 3, 2020). "Mobile Game Giant Tony Goodman on His Winning Strategy". D Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "10 best word games, word puzzle games, and word search games for Android!". Android Authority. January 23, 2019.
- ^ Winters, Bryce J. (August 1, 2019). "Wordscapes Daily Puzzle August 2, 2019". Thenewscrunch.com.
- ^ Cammy Harbison (February 12, 2019). "'Wordscapes' Sea of Words Event is here, and we've got all the solutions to the puzzle event". Newsweek.com.
- ^ Winters, Bryce J. (June 10, 2019). "Wordscapes Master Level Answers". Thenewscrunch.com.
- ^ DUANE, HANNAH W. (May 20, 2019). "What Online Chess Taught One Teen About Digital Life". Wired.com.
- ^ "wordscapes daily puzzle today". Omogame.com.
- ^ "The Best iPhone GamesDunk Line". Complex.
- ^ "Wordscapes Uncrossed - Overview - Apple App Store - US". App.sensortower.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Games". Peoplefun.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Wordscapes In Bloom - Overview - Apple App Store - US". App.sensortower.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Wordscapes Search - Overview - Google Play Store - US". App.sensortower.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
- ^ "Wordscapes Shapes - Overview - Apple App Store - US". App.sensortower.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.