From Technical Hurdles to Download Surges: How Mindworks Boosted King Smith: Forgemaster Quest’s Downloads via Pixel-Perfect Playable Ads
ACTIONFIT, a leading developer of mobile games, has carved a niche in creating engaging games. Among its portfolio, King Smith: Forgemaster Quest stands out—a pixel-art RPG that immerses players in a magical blacksmith shop, where they craft weapons and interact with a cast of quirky characters.
The Challenge
As the game gained traction, ACTIONFIT faced a common challenge in mobile marketing: leveraging playable ads to drive downloads without sacrificing creative quality or user engagement.
Before partnering with Mindwork, ACTIONFIT struggled with the technical barriers of developing effective playable ads. Creating playable ads in line with King Smith's vibe demanded specialized design and technical skills that ACTIONFIT lacked in-house. As generic templates seemed forced, the ACTIONFIT team's initial tries didn't manage to grasp the magic of King Smith, which failed to improve advertising performance.
The Solution
Mindworks stepped in with custom playable ads that mirrored King Smith’s core gameplay and aesthetic. Mindworks team prioritized consistency and engagement by mirroring the game’s iconic pixel art style, ensuring ads felt like a natural extension of the game.
Key strategies include:
- • Simplified gameplay mechanics (click-to-upgrade with auto-management) to minimize user learning curves.
- • Dynamic visual effects, including particle animations and shop expansion transitions, to enhance immersion.
- • A shortened growth loop, where players rapidly unlock new weapons and upgrades, leveraging collectibility to keep users interacting.
- • A climactic "order surge" moment paired with a powerful upgrade offer, creating a delightful momentum that drove clicks to the app store.
The Results
Mindworks’ custom playable ad was deployed across major ad networks—Mintegral, AdMob, AppLovin, and Unity—and quickly became a cornerstone of ACTIONFIT’s UA campaigns, contributing to 40% of King Smith: Forgemaster Quest's ad spend during the period. More critically, King Smith saw a significant boost in downloads, as the ad’s authentic gameplay preview resonated with audiences.
"Mindworks team understood the soul of King Smith: the pixel art, the quirky characters, the joy of managing. The custom ad they built felt less like an ad and more like a mini-version of the game itself. It’s no surprise it drove 40% of our ad spend. We’ve finally found a partner who turns technical complexity into creative magic."——LEE YONG SEONUA Manager, ACTIONFIT
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