The Waffle Game Creator's Story: Turning Down Life-Changing Offers to Stay Independent

When I was given the opportunity to interview James Robinson, the mastermind behind the Wordle-inspired browser game Waffle, I wasn't initially thrilled. However, after discovering the game's engaging mechanics and learning about its creator's partnership with Amazon, my interest was piqued. Waffle challenges players to rearrange letters to form six five-letter words within a grid resembling a waffle, with a twist: high scores are achieved through skill rather than luck. Robinson, a solo developer from Portsmouth, UK, shared his story of how Waffle came to be and his journey to turning down life-changing money to keep the game independent. Robinson's fascination with game development began at a young age, with his dad teaching him how to create games on the Commodore 64. He even developed a simple dodging game on a Psion handheld at school, which became a hit among his peers. Despite his passion for game development, Robinson's career took a detour into web development. However, he continued to jot down game ideas in notebooks and was inspired by Wordle creator Josh Wardle's approach to quickly releasing a game without perfection. Waffle's daily game is largely automated, with Robinson and his wife spending their evenings crafting amusing descriptions for the words that appear in each game. The game's success can be attributed to its organic spread, with features on PCGamer.com, CNET, and Lifehacker, as well as mentions on podcasts and Twitch streams. Waffle has consistently maintained around 450,000 daily players, with a peak of 455,000 players in a single day. Amazon contacted Robinson through Twitter, expressing interest in incorporating daily word games into its Prime subscription service. This led to the creation of Waffle Royale, an exclusive game for Prime users in the US and Canada. Robinson has explored various monetization strategies, including donations, advertising, and merchandise. He is currently working on a standalone app with Lively, a Leamington Spa-based studio owned by Keywords. Despite receiving lucrative offers to buy Waffle outright, Robinson has chosen to keep the game independent, citing his desire to create more games and maintain a platform to test his ideas with a dedicated audience. With his notebooks still filled with ideas, Robinson is excited to continue developing new games and learning more about the industry.