The Latest Insanely Popular iPhone Game Was Made By Accident
The game was launched on February 7 and is currently sitting comfortably at No. 4 in the paid app stores.
But it turns out that the game was actually made by accidentally, according to its designer Asher Vollmer, a 24-year-old Los Angeles resident and graduate of USC.
Vollmer is an independent game designer and developer but worked with his friends Jimmy Hinson and Greg Wohlwend to build the game.
One night after work, Vollmer went to his favorite cafe and attempted to write a short story.
He wanted to become more well-rounded with his interests but became frustrated after writing two sentences.
Inspiration struck when he began fiddling around with the arrow and cursor keys and realized he could make a game with these simple tools.
Ten hours later, Threes! was born.
While Vollmer wouldn't divulge how much money the app has made in the past month, he mentioned that his previous app Puzzle Juice was downloaded 100,000 times and cost between $0.99 and $2.
"I saw what happened to Flappy Bird and I really don't want to be part of that hysteria," Vollmer told Business Insider over the phone.
The comparisons between Threes! and Flappy Bird are inevitable. Both of the apps are incredibly addicting and popular, with numerous imitations trying make a quick buck.
"I'm not superproud of how people keep saying they're addicted to it. That's not a point of pride for me," Vollmer said. "I wanted to make a game that you can spend time thinking about. A game with strategy and depth. And a game that fits mobile perfectly. But unfortunately it looks like when you combine all of those elements together it puts people in a place where they don't want to put the game down."
Despite these concerns, Asher is still proud of his creation, especially how small and simple the game is without unnecessary features.
The next set of updates will be expanding to other mobile platforms and languages so more people can play. For now, Vollmer will be relaxing and working on his next unspecified project.
You can download Threes! here.