Moloco
Playable Ad Demo
✦ Skills
Game Art, Character Design, Illustration, Animation, Motion Design, Prototyping
✦ Collaborators
JJ Gray, ECD, Moloco
Nathan Reuss, CCO, Carpe Diem
✦ Industry
Ad Tech, Mobile Gaming, Interactive Advertising
Overview
Playable ads are one of the most effective formats in mobile advertising — they let users experience a game before downloading it, driving higher engagement and conversion than static or video ads alone. Moloco needed a demo that could show potential clients exactly what their platform was capable of delivering.
I designed and animated a fully original match-three puzzle game from scratch. From concepting the visual world, developing an original character, and illustrating and animating every asset. The mechanics were inspired by the familiar language of casual mobile gaming, but the visual identity was entirely my own.
Let’s get into it—
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Design a game for a brand which has no prior gaming assets
Deliver a polished, believable game experience without building an actual playable product
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Create a visual language that felt native to the casual gaming genre while being unmistakably original
Develop a character with enough personality to anchor the world
Animate with the same polish and responsiveness expected of a real mobile game
Moloco Fishing Adventures
Moodboards
Personality
Emotive, Lost, Chubby
Scenery
Minimalist, lightly abstract, colorful
Sea Critters
Silly, simple, distinct shapes and colors
Molo-cat States
Sea Critters
A simple project, but I had a lot of fun making it. This demo did what the best playable ads do — offered an enjoyable moment that made you want to keep playing. For Moloco, that was the whole selling point.