GENIES & GEMS
Genies & Gems is a free‑to‑play match‑3 puzzle mobile game from Jam City, where players swap and match gems to complete levels and progress through a magical story. You follow characters like Jenni the Genie and her companion Trix the Fox as you recover stolen treasure and unlock new worlds by solving colorful match‑3 puzzles, collecting keys, gold bars, and relics along the way. The game features thousands of levels, power‑ups, daily events, and challenges designed to provide ongoing puzzle gameplay and variety.
The official trailer for Genies & Gems
Role
Senior Game and UI Artist
Company
Jam City
Background
Genies & Gems is an original game from Jam City that officially launched in February 2016. The game was successful from the start, remains one of Jam City’s top-grossing titles, and continues to operate as a live-ops game. It has achieved approximately 20 million downloads to date.
I joined the Genies & Gems team in 2016 after Sugar Smash: The Book of Life was sunsetted. Due to a reorganization of talent across multiple projects, I served as the sole artist on the game for more than half of my time on the project.
Technical Constraints and Design Restrictions
There were several key challenges when designing and creating assets for this product. The product was both landscape and portrait orientation, and it could also be played on tablets and on desktop via Facebook. We also had our own propriety game engine which had its own limitations.
Key Objectives
Increase DAU, player retention, revenue, and new players, all while making visually appealing art for players to look at.
