Archer: Danger Phone is an idle game where players experience new and returning adventures from the popular animated series by mining Kriegerands and investing them to increase efficiency.
Studio: Disruptor Beam
Role: Design Intern
Software: Unity
Time on Project: May 2019-August 2019
Team Size: 15
Target Platform: iOS and Android
Available for free on iOS and Android!
Game Details
Archer: Danger Phone places players directly in the famous spy agency of the show as the world’s economy is collapsing, and Krieger develops a plan to become rich on his own Kriegerand cryptocurrency by getting everyone to invest in it. Each Operation is a different simulation as Krieger attempts to find the best way to get rich easily.
The game plays as a typical idle game, with currencies to collect and spend on increasing the efficiency of your rooms. Alongside the currencies, players also collect character and room cards that are used to unlock higher efficiency benefits. Progress is gauged by completing missions, and players are rewarded not just with currency and cards but also original cutscenes with their favorite characters.
The game has tens of original Operations to play whenever, in addition to timed events. These events are more focused on the themed episodes/seasons of the show and are a race to get as much money as possible. Leaderboards allow players to compete against each other for high-tier rewards that can be used in the regular Operations.
Contributions and Philosophy
- Designed and balanced features targeting specific behavior metrics
- Improved team efficiency by creating playtesting tools and scripts
- Implemented balance data and loot tables
- Gained proficiency in the design of reward/progression systems and free-to-play content, systems, and products
As my first experience working in the industry on an actual product, I felt like Archer: Danger Phone was an incredible opportunity. I’m a fan of the show and I had experience playing idle games at the time, so I found it a unique challenge that was outside of my comfort zone. Any nerves I had early on were quickly dashed, though, because I became a full part of the team and got to put my agile/Scrum skills to the test!
I began my internship by implementing loot tables and balance data that I would playtest and tweak. This was really interesting experience to gain, and I was able to get right into the files of the game to get an understanding of how it worked. I was also writing simple playtesting scripts alongside this process for myself that also made playtesting easier for the rest of the team, which made me feel like a real Technical Designer for a bit.
My role then evolved into performing odd jobs around the project. I helped design a new context for the space the game took in its narrative world, gathered and organizde art assets from the show, and analyzed test data and reported on it. Each week was a new adventure, and it felt great to be able to perform tasks that helped everyone on the team out.
Tim Carbone 