The last thing anyone needs is another matching game. Well, okay, really, the last thing anyone needs is a terrible illness, to feel unsafe at work or in their home, and a free U2 album, but after that, the last thing anyone needs is another matching game. But in talking to Charlie Gu, the Chief Jolly Jammer and CEO at Dreamics, it seems that their matching game, Jolly Jam (iOS) may actually be a bit different.
Let’s start with the basics: What is Jolly Jam and how do you play it?
Jolly Jam is a fun puzzle game that takes place in the lands of the Jelly Kingdom, where players steps into the character of Prince Jam as he tries to rescue his beloved Princess Honey from the evil Boss and his minions who kidnapped her. Players strategically matches fruit jelly in a box and battle monsters to advance to the next level. Very simple yet fun.
What other games do you think Jolly Jam is similar to, and what do you think makes it different?
Matching colors genre hasn’t changed much in the past ten years. They’re either match-3 or dots-linking types of games. But we want to make something new and different. Creating a box to match fruit jelly is a fresh new take in the matching genre.
So where did the original idea for it come from?
Our previous game, Cuble, had some boxing gameplay, and we re-innovated that gameplay into Jolly Jam.
And are you aware that there’s an all-natural fruit jam called Mami Jolly?
No, this is the first time I’ve heard about it. It looks very tasty, like our Jolly Jam game. It would be interesting to cooperate with some relevant brands in the future.
Dreamics is based in China. Do you think the game has any qualities that are distinctly Chinese?
We’re actually a global team with people from both the United States and China, and we’d love to work with potential colleagues around the world. Jolly Jam is a global brand and we aim to create fun experiences for people everywhere.
What’s truly inspiring is that Jolly Jam has been featured by the Apple App Store in 147 countries.
Your game is free but has microtransactions: But some games that are free-to-play but have microtransactions have irritated their fans by being too aggressive with the microtransactions. What have you done to make sure Jolly Jam doesn’t do this?
We are very aware of the importance of game balancing. I’m very proud to say our team has done a great job on that. It’s a free-to-play game, so players do not have to pay to progress. But for those who want to advance faster, the game offers boosts and extra life for purchase.
The game is currently available for iOS. Are there any plans to bring it to Android, Windows devices, Facebook, or any other platforms?
Yes. We are a small team and need to stay focused to make sure we deliver each version to perfection. A Facebook version is in production, followed by an Android version.
Finally, I have to ask, what flavors of jam make you jolly? I like grape myself.
For jam flavor I love apple, grape, strawberry, and blueberry. That’s why I made all four of them into Jolly Jam.
