poppivoPoppivo is a coming-soon mobile game collection built around portrait, one-thumb play. I’m Farhan Kiyani, an independent founder, and I’m building it around an immediately playable feed: swipe through the collection and interact with the game in view.
The planned launch collection has 44 games. Each is meant to have its own identity and a main action that is easy to understand. Complete campaigns, followed by optional endless play, are part of the product direction. Offline-first solo play is also a goal for the collection.
A feed for finding the game you want
A collection creates a discovery problem before the first move: which game should you try? I want the feed to give each game enough space to communicate its world and the kind of action it offers, without turning the choice into a long sequence of menus.
A vertical swipe brings another game into view, ready to interact with through its tap or horizontal controls. Fresh vertical browsing stays available during play. The interface needs to recognize each gesture before committing a game action, so browsing does not produce a stray move in the game beneath it.
There should be no required play button or separate exit step between those actions. A brief control hint can explain the visible game while leaving it ready to try. Finding a favorite should also make it easy to return to that game on a later visit.
Small controls with room to learn
One-thumb play gives each game a focused control scheme. The interesting part can come from timing, choosing a route, reading a changing situation, or improving the accuracy of a familiar action.
I want a new player to reach that first understandable action quickly. A game can then introduce variations that build on what they already learned. Simple controls leave room for demanding challenges when the rules and feedback are clear.
Portrait orientation is part of this direction. The game needs to be designed around that frame, including where the important action sits and what a thumb will cover. Rotating a wide-screen layout would not answer those questions by itself.
Games you can finish
I want a campaign clear to feel complete. You learn a game, work through its challenges, and reach an ending. You can then choose another game or stay with a favorite in endless play.
That structure gives different players room to use the collection differently. Someone may want a series of finished campaigns. Someone else may want to improve a single score for much longer. Achievements can suggest additional challenges without making daily attendance a condition of progress.
Poppivo’s design avoids energy timers and streak pressure. I want returning to a game to be a choice you make because the action is enjoyable or there is a challenge you want to finish.
Different worlds in the same pocket
The collection’s visual direction includes CUTWING’s paper bird and floating ivory islands, BENDLIGHT’s opaline leafling among emerald glass and brass, SKYFALL’s brass builder and ceramic towers, and SCRAPHOUND’s mechanical foundries.
Those worlds should be easy to recognize as you browse. During play, their artwork also needs to make characters, hazards, and useful feedback readable on a phone. The images currently shared on the site are concept art for that direction.
A common format should not make all the games feel identical. The collection is meant to give you different actions and places to return to, while keeping navigation familiar.
Built for solo play first
Poppivo is being designed around solo games and offline-first play. The aim is to make prepared games useful when a connection is unavailable, with clear information about downloads and saved progress.
Connected features can come later without being a requirement for enjoying a complete solo campaign. There is no need for a lobby to make the core collection worthwhile.
Poppivo has not launched yet, and a release date has not been announced. The launch-news list is for updates about the collection and its release. You can also reach me at farhan@poppivo.com.