For Tokyo Game Show 2025, Google Play Japan took Diamond Ship online: a quick arcade game designed to carry some of the booth's energy beyond the show floor.
Campaign Overview
Diamond Ship turned the Tokyo Game Show activation into a browser-based shooter with seven game worlds inspired by featured IP, hidden boss battles, public and secret leaderboards, and prizes that rewarded repeat play.
It was built as an online extension of the Google Play Japan booth, with enough hidden things and leaderboard competition to make repeat plays worthwhile.
Results
- 74,700 unique visitors
- 242,000 total plays
- 7 minutes and 16 seconds average engagement time
- 257,000 click-throughs to the Google Play Store
Experience Highlights
- Seven bespoke maps designed around different game universes
- Retro-futurist visuals and motion pixel art that matched the event identity
- Hidden stages and boss encounters that added surprise and replay value
- Competitive progression through public and secret leaderboards
- Prize mechanics that connected gameplay with Google Play rewards and merch
My Role
I led the frontend website build from start to finish. I built the public-facing UI, connected the game flows, and worked through the responsive details across desktop and mobile.
I also handled much of the animation work, translating the retro-futurist direction into movement across the interface—from page interactions to smaller presentation details.
Process
Visual Direction
The art direction balanced nostalgia with a more futuristic arcade feel, transforming static IP assets into a cohesive game universe that felt aligned with the physical TGS installation.
Animation and World Building
Additional animation across maps, stages, bosses, and interface moments helped the online experience feel lively and immersive, even for players joining remotely.
Technical Foundation
The game was built from scratch with Phaser 4 and Matter.js, supported by a custom Tiled map editor workflow used to refine level layouts, attack patterns, and difficulty tuning.
Playtesting and Balancing
Enemy behavior, boss attack angles, and gameplay pacing were iterated throughout development to keep the challenge sharp without losing approachability.
Built With
- Angular
- TypeScript
- HTML5 + CSS3
- Node.js
- Phaser 4
- Matter.js physics
- Custom Tiled map editor integration
- Browser-based game architecture
- Motion pixel art and interface animation