Pocket Gems' Blog

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Pocket Gems’ 2016 Intern Class

We’ve had so much fun having our interns here this summer! But as summer comes to an end, we must sadly say goodbye to one of the best intern classes PG has ever had. From a welcome dinner, escape rooms, mini golf, to intern olympics, it’s certainly been a blast! Check out some of the highlights from this summer below! We will miss you class of 2016! #pocketgems #internclass2016 #summer2016 #gamedev

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Gemmers’ Day Out

Last Wednesday, we celebrated summer and our hardworking employees, by heading over to the Presidio for some fun in the sun! We munched on food from Izzy’s Cheesesteaks and Taqueria Angelica's. Gemmers’ played games, colored, toured the Walt Disney Museum, enjoyed some much rest and relaxation! Check out some of the pictures below! 

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Project Night at Pocket Gems

Last week Pocket Gems had a full house! We hosted the SF Python Meetup group for an evening of tutorials, mentoring, and Open Spaces sessions that involved ‘Hacker space (maker projects) that use Python (e.g. in Raspbery Pis, iOT, home automation, robots / drones / blimps autopiloted with Python).’

In other words, it was an evening full of hacking, coding, pizza, beer, and collaboration.

Gemmers and Members of the SF Python Meetup Group

Open Spaces is in session

There were 3 tutorials, 2 of which were lead by our very own Gemmers! We couldn’t be more proud.

Adam, the genius coding Gemmer, presented on what he likes to call Python Magic where he showed the crowd how to do things you shouldn't do in Python unless you have a good reason, and some good reasons to do them.

Adam presenting on Python Magic

Manish, another Pocket Gems coding master, dazzled the SF Python community with his extensive knowledge on how to develop applications with Python on Google App Engine, an auto-scalable cloud computing platform with Google's high replication datastore.  

Manish giving his tutorial

We were also lucky to have a special guest, Moshe, who has spoken at Europython, Pycon and various other conferences. He helped fellow coders learn how to srat up a new Python project the right way.

Moshe engaging the crowd

Pocket Gems has such a versatile space that invites people of all backgrounds. We are always eager to host projects like this as it helps bring the community together and offers a great learning opportunity to fellow Pythonistas and Gemmers! Stay tuned to see how we use our space to host People Ops Projects, Art tutorials and so much more!

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Summer Art Show + an Open Mic Night

It was time for another art show, but this time we paired it with an open mic night! Last week, Pocket Gems’ happy hour was filled with some incredible talent and some happy surprises. These happy hours are a great way to showcase the musical and artistic abilities of our Gemmers across all departments.

The lights dimmed and the show began. Guests indulged in fancy charcuterie and cheese plates and decadent wines as they were serenaded by the music and enjoyed the art. See, we can get fancy too!

From glass fusing to watercolor, the art show portion included a variety of stunning work. We still can’t get over how jaw dropping talented these pieces are. Check out some of the work below!

Gustavo Ambrozio, Glass Fusing (California Dreaming)

Mike Dumas, Draft of his Digital Illustration/printed book (Stasis AI)

Martin, Digital (Left to Right- Bloodborne Travel Poster, Legend of Zelda Travel Poster, Metroid Travel Poster, Little Pirates)

Viva, Watercolor (Left to Right- Navigating the Thicket, Black Dog Walk, The Queen's Forest)

The Open Mic portion was a great addition, the crowd cheered, smiled, and were blown away at the these musicians. The performers (see photo below) had dazzling solos and collaborated together at the end with a drum circle/jam session. We didn’t realize we had so many talented and confident musicians here at PG! These jammin’ Gemmers really know how to put on a show.  

Left to Right (Jam session, Yiyun (Singing with track), Martin (acoustic), Matt (acoustic), Sam (ukulele), Rick (acoustic))

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What’s Your Favorite Game of All Time?

We’ve all got at least one. That game which captured your imagination and left blisters on your thumbs. Whether it’s a game you discovered later in life or it’s the one that turned you into a lifelong player, every gamer has a title that holds a special spot in their heart. 

Since Pocket Gems loves game so much, we decided to ask some of our team about their favorites. Check out their answers below and tell us about your favorite game!

Christopher, Art

“Dark Souls. It's a beautiful, nuanced and deep game. It respects the player's intelligence and doesn't hold their hand. It provides you with a gripping experience that you won't soon forget.”

Matt, QA

“Halo. The story and lore is what got me started, but the competitive nature and balance of its of multiplayer is what makes Halo my favorite game of all time. There’s a high ceiling on the amount of skill required, but skill isn't necessary if one has a little luck. Losing doesn't feel awful but winning feels incredible.”

Yang, Test Engineering

“Minecraft! It's nice to have your own world all to yourself. No one can tell you what to do or where to go. You can watch the pixelated sunset while listening to the quiet sound of rain if you want. It's probably the most self-engrossing game I've ever played. Also, playing with other people makes it the best co-op game I've ever played.”

Jeff, Art

“Thief: The Dark Project. A lot of it had to do with the timing of when it came out. First person shooters were king at the time, and Looking Glass came out with a really elegant twist that changed the tone and pacing of moving through a level. Having to cower in the shadows, waiting for the right time to sneak added an incredible amount of tension to the gameplay. Even with now dated graphics, the humor in the dialogue and overall level of craftsmanship still hooks me.

I'm calling it a tie with another game based on a single mechanic - Shadow of the Colossus, still one of the best looking PS2 games. The lighting, muted palette, and sense of scale and majesty as well as sorrow when you slay the giants made for a really unique experience.”

Chase, QA

“Crazy Taxi. It pioneered 3D open world driving games and sparked my love for Muscle Cars.”

Jesse, PX

“Chrono Cross. I loved everything about that game. The music, the design, the characters and the story. It was one of the first times I ever replayed a game numerous times.”

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Flashback to Cass’s PGU talk on harnessing the power of the player-generated content!

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Pocket Gems Spring Art Showcase

Tonight Pocket Gems’ happy hour is assembled into an art gallery to showcase the various talented Gemmers through the art lense. Our teams have a strong passion for art, not only at work, but outside the office as well. We’ve brought out the cheese, crackers, and wine in celebration and are prepared to be stunned.

And our art show isn’t limited to people who are on the art team, a number of participants came from other functions. For example, Shannon, from the marketing team, doesn’t practice art in her day to day, but finds that it still holds influence in her role: “I find that having an art background, even as a hobby, has allowed me to understand the creative side of the process. This is true both recognizing aesthetics, limitations, and an understanding of the work behind the creations that our art team creates.”

Q&A with some of our artists:

Viva:

What inspires your work? “I am inspired mostly by childhood fantasy and whimsy. Recently I've taken to doing a lot of nature observation and studies. I started painting watercolor primarily after I graduated from college. We had a strict traditional art program and everyone had to use oil paints, but the medium and turpentine weren't useable in a small apartment so I started playing with water soluble paints. I came to really appreciate it and use it after I realize what a powerful and simple effect water can accomplish. Textures and color mixing are never the same in any 2 washes and the uncertainty is thrilling!”

Ikumi:

In the competitive art world, how do you keep your work unique and catch viewer attention? “I never try to focus on being unique in my personal art. To me, creative process is a very personal endeavor. My art is interpretation of my experiences, memories and everything that I that I find joyful. I love the beach and bright, fun colors, and they're recurring theme in my works.”

Dilynn:

Can you explain the differences in making pencil to paper and computerized art? “I think the best difference between 'pencil to paper' art and 'computerized art' is how you are able to deal with mistakes.

Physical art is a little less forgiving, depending on how proficient you are at the medium. If a mistake is made there's a little more effort involved. Paint needs to dry and maybe it can be painted over or scraped off. With pencil on paper there's an eraser to fix mistakes, but there's always a little of the mistake left over.  There are lots of other physical art forms, but I imagine mistakes are generally made and sometimes you just go with it and learn from those mistakes.

With digital art, I feel very spoiled. I spam that 'control+z' combo like no tomorrow. Sometimes, when I'm drawing in my sketchbook, physically, I feel my left hand do the motion. That's when I remember that real life doesn't have a 'ctrl+z' hot key. Although, the biggest thing about digital art, is remembering to save. At least with physical drawings you know that the only way for it to be destroyed or lost  is if something spilled on it, it fell and broke, ended up making its way to an industrial shredder, or you literally lost your art piece. With digital art, it could have been hours since your last save and all of a sudden, the program you're working on crashes. Sometimes the program recovers your lost work, other times, there is nothing to do but to crawl into the fetal position and cry a little. Then pick yourself up and do it over again. Recovering from this particular mistake takes a bit of effort, too, but at least you can do it faster the second time around. Basically, the short answer to this question: Physical art has no 'ctrl+z'. Digital art does.”

Iris:

How do you expose your artwork? Do you have a website/ online presence? A number of ways: “Tradition methods (word of mouth and flyers) I have an online website (includes both professional/personal works www.iambluepencil.com for example). Connections (many of the friends I've made can vouch for my work or the reception that either I or the venue throws so it usually spreads that way). Multiple social media sources (instagram, facebook, deviantart, behance, and more).” 

How do you get your art in galleries? “Depends on the art gallery really...I've been with some galleries for quite some time and I've grown with them so I've become a regular at the events. Other galleries require portfolios of work, resume, and images of works in progress of work that will be shown. Sketch Tuesday's at 111 Minna - lots of artists just randomly go there to draw and at the end of the night you put up your artwork and sell it for whatever price you think it's worth (also great exposure/connections).”

What advice would you give to an artist looking to gain more exposure? “Gaining exposure is really hard if you're not willing to start getting criticized for it and to some extent can become demoralizing. My advice to anyone who wants to go down this path is to have a strong sense of love for your own work and get it out there! Talk about it, show it off, do live paintings of it, and really live your work. Talk to your connections and ask questions. Honestly, that's how I've learned to better my own work and presentation of it.”

Daniel

What resources would you recommend to somebody who is looking for a creative outlet? “I started making Amigurumi because I was missing that sort of creative activity in my life. I used to make a lot of small arts and crafts when I was younger (such as Origami, clay/bead figures, sewing) but I hadn't done something like that in years. When a friend of mine started making small stuffed animals I wanted to try it myself! I like Amigurumi because of how easily it ties into many fan cultures - it's cute seeing tiny stuffed figures of characters I love from shows, movies, or games.”

There’s nothing better on this rainy day than to stroll through the cafeteria with our residential artists and being able to discuss their process with them on the spot. Cheers to our team for allowing us to display their work!

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Pocket Gems University here with tips and tricks to creating compelling presentations! Pocket Gems Deck Enthusiast, Max, teaches follow Gemmers how to communicate ideas effectively. 

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Gemmers take on the HMB Triathlon

If swimming 1.5 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, biking 40 kilometers and running 10 kilometers consecutively sounds daunting -- that’s because it is. Almost a thousand participants attended the 2016 Half Moon Bay Triathlon last Sunday and six of our Gemmers were amongst the crowd of triathletes!

“The order of events-- swimming, biking, running-- is set that way so that you are less likely to [tire]”. The sequence of events runs from most difficult to least. The competing Gemmers have been training for the past three months, five times a week for all these events. On Fridays they have a running club, which meets up before work. Some members of the group venture to the Paradise Loop bike trail in Marin on the weekends as well.

“Every participant has their achilles heel”. Some excel at running, some are bike enthusiasts, and some have been swimming since their high school sports days, but there is going to be one event that is the most challenging for everyone. It was different for the different members of the group. The majority faced their Goliath during the swimming portion. The average temperature of the ocean in Half Moon Bay varies from 56 to 59 degrees.... brrrrr... and according to the Stanford Shark Tracking App, sharks are lurking in our Bay Area waters... Literally chilling. BUT all our employees made it back to work on Monday alive and well (huge sigh of relief!)

But there is more than just sweating to this story! Our Gemmers found that training with their co-workers was a fun experience that fostered a sense of camaraderie. Exercise = endorphins and Gemmers who participated reported feeling happier day by day. Hats off to our triathletes for celebrating a healthy lifestyle!

Here are some tips from the team for all you out there who feel inspired to take on a triathlon:

Energy Gel: Don’t be deceived by the sound of Maple Bacon- it was not good. Of all 20 flavors tasted, Lemon Sublime makes the top of the taste charts.

Diets: Crazy insane workouts are a great excuse to eat anything you want! Bring on the Sierra Nevada, ice cream, and did someone say Crab Shack? Ramen? Fat Burger?

Muscle Soreness: Eat bananas and rest! Also yoga balls and foam rollers feel amazing after a long run.

Gear: Andrew recommends Vibrams and says to change your running shoes after every 200 miles (he also says this casually like the rest of us would ever consider running 200 miles…). Max says it’s all about the running pack. You need somewhere to stash some power bars and your iPhone with a GPS tracking app. Tiffany loves her Swell water bottle and cycling shoes. The Hemington siblings were talked into getting wetsuits to brave the frigid ocean temperatures. Ashik loves his iPhone arm band- which carries catchy music to set the tone for his workout.

And lastly, a word of advice, from the wisdom of Donna, “Treat yo’self!”. I’ll make sure that we keep stock of some of our best kitchen treats for our super athletes:

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Pocket Gems Hosts Diversity Brunch

Inclusion in games is an industry-wide issue and one that Pocket Gems takes very seriously. We believe that creativity thrives in environments that unify people with unique backgrounds and different perspectives. We’re excited to have these important conversations and examine ways that Pocket Gems can address diversity in our office, in our games, and on our teams. 

In the past we’ve initiated these conversations by hosting panels on inclusion in gaming and creating reminders around the office. Our most recent effort took place last week with Pocket Gems’ first-ever diversity brunch. Who doesn’t love brunch?

The purpose of the event was to create room for discussion around diversity at Pocket Gems and in the games industry. We talked about things like: what does diversity look like within Pocket Gems teams? How about across our company leadership? How are we incorporating diversity into our games? How is diversity accounted for in our recruiting efforts?

Tackling these questions required refueling in the form of warm, tortilla wrapped bundles of the breakfast basics- eggs, bacon, cheese and avocado. Oh, and some really stellar coffee.

What did we find? That Gemmers care a lot about diversity and want to see more of it in the Pocket Gems community, in our game characters and in our recruiting efforts.

Some ideas that came out of the brunch:

People expressed a desire to have more avenues to meet people on other teams. Lunch (or other informal connections) seems like a place where we can encourage people to interact.

People would like to see a pulse survey around the topic of diversity so we have more data points to help direct our future diversity initiatives.

Employees would like to see more opportunities to give feedback on character diversity and story in the games we build.

Gemmers suggested that we implement more targeted recruiting efforts at organizations that will increase and encourage more diversity in hires.

The room was rife with great ideas, insights and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. A couple of hours later, we wandered back to the Pocket Gems office to dive back into 3D modeling, code fixes, performance reviews, financial planning and all our daily game making duties. Our engaging diversity conversations left us all energized and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

We can’t wait to continue the conversation and are excited to start integrating these ideas into the work we do everyday!

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Get a sneak peak behind #WarDragons with @googlecloud!

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Looking Back on GDC 2016!

Your pockets are full of business cards you half-remember getting, your feet feel like you just ran a marathon and you have a tanline on your face that looks suspiciously like a VR headset. This can only mean one thing: another Game Developers Conference has come and gone.

Check out a quick recap of Pocket Gems’ GDC week below.

Cass kicked the week off on Monday with a talk titled All Choice, No Consequence: Efficiently Branch Your Game’s Narrative. As you probably guessed, Cass discussed how to make a compelling story with multiple branches.

Cass described how having choices in a story is really important. It’s especially important that those choices feel impactful. However, it’s less important that those choices actually ARE impactful.

We’re not going to try and recap the whole presentation here (it was really good, trust us), but here’s a super-short overview of her talk’s takeaways.

Don’t add branches until you have a great story

Don’t add choices until you have a great script

Every choice should have clear meaning, goals, and consequences

Write immediate reactions

Never negate player agency

In good Pocket Gems tradition, we also wrapped up the chaotic week of GDC with a decompression party. The annual Pocket Gems’ GDCompression bash includes lots of pizza (really, I mean LOTS), video games, socializing, instagramming, and beer!

Entertainment included old school games like Mario Kart 64 as well as newer games like Street Fighter V. We also set up a giant screen with 8-person Smash Bros!

How many pizzas does it take to feed 300 hungry game enthusiasts?

Check out more pictures by searching for #gdcompression:

for the swede #gdcompression

A photo posted by sujan (@heysusancho) on Mar 18, 2016 at 8:40pm PDT

In case you were wondering what the app that #gdcompression was using for these printouts looks like, here it is.

A photo posted by Eric Gottesman (@structurefall) on Mar 18, 2016 at 10:09pm PDT

#gdcompression #party #gdc16

A photo posted by Manoel Neto (@mblneto) on Mar 18, 2016 at 6:53pm PDT

🍻✨ #gdcompression #pocketgems

A photo posted by Aurora Sofia (@philosofia) on Mar 18, 2016 at 8:10pm PDT

Thanks to everyone who hung out with us at GDC this year! **Obligatory job plug** If you want to come work with us, check out our openings here!

See you at the next GDC!

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Holiday (in February) Party Photos!

Sure, a holiday party is pretty cool. But you know what’s really cool? A holiday party in February.

Check out a few of the photos from our Sweet 16 holiday party below!

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WAR DRAGONS Launches Novel, All Things Burn, on Appreciate a Dragon Day

Pocket Gems, the creators of WAR DRAGONS are announcing that the game’s literary adaptation, WAR DRAGONS: All Things Burn, is launching today today forAppreciate a Dragon Day. The novel, which is available for download now on Amazon here and Apple’s iBooks here, is a prequel to the game.

The WAR DRAGONS universe is defined by chaos and flame. Everyday, ominous shadows overhead precede the destruction of carefully architectured bases and kingdoms. But it was not always this way. In days past, the benevolent guildleaders from the island of Atlaua ruled the land through the ability to speak with dragons. All that changed when an orphan child washed up on Atlaua’s shores. He would grow into a mighty soldier, ruthless general and eventually an immortal warlord. A man who would show the world that just as all things grow, all things burn. They call him Gustav, leader of the Blackbloods.

WAR DRAGONS: All Things Burn documents Gustav’s rise to power through his own eyes, as well as through the viewpoint of Ash, a commander in Gustav's Blackblood Army who after years of doing Gustav's bidding, is orchestrating a revolution to take back her homeland. The novel was written by award-winning author Brian Oliu (SO YOU KNOW IT’S ME, LEAVE LUCK TO HEAVEN, I/O) and edited by Michael Rudin (CALL OF DUTY: DEVIL'S BREATH, CALL OF DUTY: RIGHTFUL KING).

“Let me proclaim this from the beginning, then. If there can be no peace for me, then there will be no peace for anyone," said Gustav, the evil leader of the Blackbloods (in the story).

The book features six teams from WAR DRAGONS who won the game’s Great Contest last December. The winning teams were written into the fiction of the book as the powerful guilds which played a pivotal role in Gustav’s bloody journey to becoming a despot.

WAR DRAGONS: All Things Burn is available for download on iBooks for free and on Amazon for 99 cents.

To delve even further into WAR DRAGONS: All Things Burn, join the live interview featuring Brian Oliu and Michael Rudin on the official War Dragons Twitch channel on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 3 PM Pacific.

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WAR DRAGONS Gives Players Chance to Burn Their Names into History with Novel Adaptation of Game

Pocket Gems, a leader in mobile fury and wanton dragon warfare, is today announcing that it will immortalize an exclusive group of WAR DRAGONS players by writing them into the literary adaptation of a mobile game.

Pocket Gems will be holding ‘The Great Contest’ in WAR DRAGONS later this month, the winners of which will be written into the game’s prequel novelization. The book, which will be available for free to download on Amazon, Apple and Google later this year, is written by award-winning author Brian Oliu (SO YOU KNOW IT’S ME, LEAVE LUCK TO HEAVEN, I/O) and edited by Michael Rudin (CALL OF DUTY: DEVIL'S BREATH, CALL OF DUTY: RIGHTFUL KING).

“The War Dragons community has been so creative in shaping the universe of the game and really making it their own,” said Oliu. “We wanted to give die-hard fans and newer players alike something to reward their originality and show them how the chaotic world of War Dragons came to be.”

The team names of the six winning guilds of The Great Contest will be written into the WAR DRAGONS novel. The winning teams will also get exclusive new portraits and the number one team will have a statue erected of their team’s likeness inside the game’s shared universe. Teams win by battling other teams to conquer and hold territory in the game. The contest will run from Dec. 9 through the end of the year.

The Great Contest is part of the Kingdom of Ice expansion, the largest WAR DRAGONS update in the game’s history. Along with the contest, the expansion will feature updated art, newly-designed holiday dragons and several new characters.

“WAR DRAGONS has one of the best game communities in the world,” said Aland Failde, Director of Product Marketing at Pocket Gems. “We wanted to find a way to give back to our top players, and immortalizing them in the game’s universe seemed like a good place to start.”

WAR DRAGONS is available for download now in the Apple App Store and is coming to Android early next year.

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Halloween Party!!!

Every year at Pocket Gems the goblins and ghouls come out of the woodwork for an epic Halloween party! This year was no exception. Matt and Rebecca created a spooktacular shindig that was themed “A Water (G)rave.”

The nautical soiree had a costume contest, fresh beats and a kraken to boot. 

Check out some of the photos from the party below!

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Hidden Agendas: The Lionheart Mystery Launches Today on iOS

Murder! Mystery! Intrigue! Hard-to-find objects!!

We’re very excited to tell you about the launch of our latest hidden object game, Hidden Agendas: The Lionheart Mystery! The game is a Victorian murder mystery that’s available for download now in the Apple App Store.

Join Kate St. Clair, a journalist and detective in the late Victorian era, as she investigates the mysterious murder of her coworker. The case pulls Kate into a race around the world. As she travels, she solves murders, thefts and kidnappings--slowly realizing that the crimes are all connected. Who’s behind it? What are they plotting? Is there a connection with Kate’s newspaper? What is the Lionheart Mystery?

Meet the Cast

Let’s get to know the cast of characters, each with their own hidden agenda! 

Jack (left) was raised with wealth and privilege. At first impression, Jack is overly confident, pompous and egotistical. A closer look reveals that having yet to accomplish anything on his own, Jack is actually quite insecure. He admires Kate’s confidence, self-determination and necktie!

Kate (middle) can’t leave a mystery unsolved. This often frustrates her friends, who sometimes wish she would leave well enough alone!

Olivia (right) is Kate’s prim-and-proper best friend. She is refined and possesses great social grace. While she may not admit it, Olivia loves the excitement that comes from solving mysteries with her friend!

As the three travel, they will meet a cast of shady characters: rival reporters, constables, newspapermen and the cream of high society. Don’t let their smiles fool you, some of them are up to no good!

The Detective’s Desktop

What mystery story is complete without pictures connected by yarn?! 

As Kate travels the world chasing mystery, she carefully plots the trail on her desktop. Her workspace is decorated with 3D-rendered items that accentuate both the era and the crime-solving nature of the game. Follow the threads plotted on Kate’s desktop in our quest to learn more about the Lionheart Mystery.  

Making a Scene

Each collectible on Kate’s desktop provides players with a portal to beautifully illustrated crime scenes. Help Kate comb the hand-painted, artistically distinct scenes for clues. Each lead Kate one step closer to solving The Lionheart Mystery.

Can you find the tickets to the Twilight Gala?

Can you find the pink rose and the secret door?

Can you find the stained glass lamp?

Murders Sell Papers!

Fletcher, the editor of the London News, is always looking for an exciting scoop. Kate uses the clues she finds on her adventures to craft newspaper stories.

Develop Evidence!

In the Dark Room, Kate literally develops the evidence she needs to solve each case!

Each chapter of the Hidden Agendas story presents Kate with a new mystery to solve, while telling a larger story of crime and conspiracy. New chapters and mysteries will be added each month, so Hidden Agendas will be an ever-growing, immersive story.

Pocket Gems already has over 12 million hidden object players. We love playing and building hidden object games, and we’re thrilled to share this beautiful, story-driven adventure with our players!

Download Hidden Agendas: The Lionheart Mystery today!