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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Game Industry's Premiere Storytelling Studio Turns Seven

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ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, February 8, 2023––Brunette Games, the game industry’s premiere storytelling studio, turns seven this year, with 35 released games to its credit, many of them top-performing, genre-defining hits.

Studio Founder Lisa Brunette launched Brunette Games in 2016 after an eight-year stint as a narrative designer––cutting her teeth at top employers Nintendo, Take-2 Interactive, and Big Fish––plus 15 years’ prior experience as a journalist. Her indie studio achieved immediate success through groundbreaking work on Matchington Mansion and Lily’s Garden, bringing effective game storytelling techniques to the match-3 decorating genre for the first time––elements that have been endlessly copied and are now standard best practices.

A narrative-focused company, Brunette Games provides a suite of services to its clients, from concept design to scriptwriting to voice-overs. The team has worked with some of the best companies in the game industry, including Jam City, Metacore, Playrix, and many others. Their clients’ games consistently rank in the top 20 across multiple categories in the app stores and are played by billions of people worldwide. Credits include high-profile IPs such as Disney Frozen and Family Guy alongside breakout hits like ZiMAD’s Puzzle Villa.

“Our team expertise is unparalleled, and it’s key to our success,” says Brunette. The team as a whole regularly authors industry articles and presents at events such as Pocket Gamer Connects and Geekle.

“I’m thrilled to see where our talented creatives take the company next,” says Brunette.

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About Brunette Games:

Brunette Games LLC is the industry's leading storytelling studio, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. The studio has designed and written narratives for multiple chart-topping mobile games played by worldwide audiences in the billions, including Merge Mansion, Matchington Mansion, and Choices: Veil of Secrets. Their clients’ games have been featured in the App Store and on Google Play and consistently rank in the top 20 in multiple categories. Founder Lisa Brunette has been named a game-industry influencer and is widely regarded as an expert in the field. Brunette Games is the go-to creative resource for interactive storytelling.

For more information, please contact Sara Hardin at [email protected].




Why We Say 'I Do' to Weddings in Casual Games

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By Sara Hardin

Television history was made in 1994 when Rachel Green entered the Central Perk in her sopping wet wedding dress on the pilot episode of Friends. “The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate” turned the expectations for portraying a wedding on its head—instead of the glitz, glam, and giddiness typically associated with the Big Day, Rachel left her fiancé at the altar after realizing she didn’t truly love him. Thus, Rachel is thrown into the ragtag group of friends the world quickly grew to love.

Weddings and romance—happy endings or otherwise—are an excellent way to develop characters in any narrative, and casual game stories are no exception. Multiple developers—most notably, our own client Metacore—have even capitalized on the failed-wedding trope for themselves as part of their marketing, and there’s little doubt as to why; the idea of a love turned sour is compelling. If we’re immediately asking, “Why? What went wrong?” then the content has already hooked us.

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Grandma Ursula comforts Maddie in this ad for Merge Mansion.

While there’s plenty of room for gossip and drama in casual game narrative—in fact, it’s something we at Brunette Games are constantly encouraging our clients to explore—the same can be said for happy and healthy relationships. Watching a romance grow from nothing to a-lot-more-than-something is hugely rewarding for audiences. A great example of this type of relationship development is seen in The Office between Jim and Pam. By the time they shared their first kiss, viewers who had been around since the beginning were crying happy tears (and maybe I’m projecting since that was definitely my experience… but I don’t think I’m too far off). Their friendship turned forbidden-crush turned passionate-romance is a hugely successful representation of the art of the slow burn. The payoff continues as we watch them get engaged and eventually married, and their relationship arc remains one of the most enjoyable parts of every rewatch for longtime fans.

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“I thought they'd be good together, like PB&J. Pam Beasley... and Jim. What a waste. What. A. Waste.”

Even if a game’s narrative leans more “playful comedy” than “mysterious drama,” the potential for exploring budding romance remains. In Redemption Games’ Sweet Escapes, the diva poodle Cherry and cantankerous hyena Buzz are an adorable representation of when opposites attract. They even get engaged and married, a development that was warmly received by long-term players. This kind of relationship growth has huge payoff for games with hours upon hours of gameplay: If the audience is dying to see if a romance is going to go somewhere exciting, they’re eager to continue playing to find out more.

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Sweet Escapes fans root for the unlikely romance between Cherry and Buzz.

In addition to romance in general, we think mature romance deserves more time in the spotlight. In ZiMAD’s Jigsaw Puzzle Villa, side character Emilio starts the game having silently pined after Valentina for years. Valentina, heart shattered by a disastrous marriage to an unfaithful man, takes some time to come around to Emilio’s affections—but when she does, she’s ready to embrace the quality of love she’s always deserved.

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Twenty-somethings aren’t the only people falling in love, and they certainly aren’t the only ones playing mobile games—all the more reason to make space for this type of romance in our narratives. This is an area of representation that often gets overlooked. We occasionally find a sense of reluctance to explore the dynamics of existing marriages and long-term relationships in our stories, which feels like a missed opportunity; these situations lend themselves to drama just as often—if not more—than a new, blossoming romance. The conflict in these instances is often more nuanced, less petty, and complicated by years of intimate connection. The interest in these storylines doesn’t have to taper after the wedding bells have rung.

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All this to say, we hope to see more opportunities for weddings and multi-faceted relationships in our future. The appeal, charm, and heartstring-pulling potential can’t be overstated—happy ending, or otherwise.


New Content! Unlock the Mysteries of Metacore’s ‘Merge Mansion’!

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By Jenna Hume

As a long-time player of Merge Mansion, I was excited when developer Metacore approached us about consulting on its narrative and thrilled when this consulting project turned into a narrative revamp. It's been an honor for Lisa Brunette, Sara Hardin, and I to work with the established characters of Maddie and Ursula and create an experience new and returning players can enjoy. In Merge Mansion, you’ll explore and restore the mansion grounds with protagonist Maddie, unlocking the secrets of the Boulton family. What’s Grandma Ursula up to? Play to find out!

Official Description

Love, heritage, and betrayal put together in one mysterious puzzle. Maddie’s grandmother has something to tell.

This mansion is full of stories unheard of! Help Maddie discover what her grandma has to reveal about the family's adventurous past.

Wipe off the dust and find new items, merge them into useful tools, and earn surprising treasures. You never know what awaits behind the mansion's next corner.

Unlock new areas within and around the mansion, unveiling decades-old family secrets on the way. With an abundant combination of items to discover and hundreds of engaging puzzles to solve, the mansion makes sure it always has new secrets waiting for you.

Features:

  • DISCOVER—Be it a shocking twist in Grandma's past or a mysterious room in the mansion cellar, there are always new things to look out for.
  • MERGE—Combine what you have into more useful tools. Can a rusty old shovel and a broken lantern come in handy? You betcha.
  • RELAX—Good vibes only, though there are some twisted secrets ahead.
  • EASY TO LEARN—Anyone can learn how to play this simple, intuitive game.
  • PLAY FOR A WHILE OR FOR LONG—Have a quick merge minute here and there, or become absorbed into an engaging merge marathon.

While Maddie’s journey into her grandma's mysterious past has just begun, there’s already a bunch of thrilling updates waiting to expand the story. We guarantee that Merge Mansion keeps surprising you, merge after merge, month after month.

It’s time to kick off your journey—the mysterious Merge Mansion awaits. 

Merge Mansion is available to play today on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

App Store

Play Store