Walo Walo
Walo Walo is a mobile game concept designed for short, joyful play sessions. Players collect and train cute creatures, explore a whimsical world, and engage in light real-time battles. With a cozy tone and completion-focused progression, the game offers relaxing yet rewarding gameplay.
Genre: Casual + Adventure
My Role: Game Ideation Designer
Duration: 6 weeks
Tool used: Figma wireframe, AIGC
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User Experience Goal
The player takes on the role of a Walo trainer and Adventurer, uncovering the world’s mysteries while nurturing their favorite Walo and forming deep emotional bonds.
The game aims to create a warm and comforting atmosphere, one that makes players want to “check back home” regularly to see their Walo. Within this cute and whimsical world, players are also given light strategic choices and room for personal expression.
Targeting Audience
Core Demographics:
Age: 13–30
Gender: All genders, with a slight lean toward female players or male players who enjoy cute or pet-themed aesthetics
Platform: Mobile (iOS & Android)
Player Habits:
Play in short, fragmented sessions (e.g., during commutes, lunch breaks, or before bed)
Enjoy pet-raising and cute aesthetics, similar to Pokémon, Animal Crossing, or Tsuki Adventure
Interested in collection and growth mechanics
Prefer non-competitive gameplay, avoiding high-pressure PvP environments
Like to participate in events, unlock content, and progress at a relaxed pace
Psychographic Traits:
Enjoy curating and managing their own cozy in-game space (e.g., Homebase)
Tend to form emotional attachments to pets, characters, or collectibles
Seek a sense of order and progression within a relaxing environment
Appreciate narrative elements and immersive worldbuilding, and are emotionally receptive to in-game story events.
Non-Intrusive Retention: Building a “Return Desire” Instead of “Login Anxiety”
Deep Design insight
For players with fragmented playtime, WaloWalo avoids aggressive daily retention mechanics. Instead, it fosters emotional bonds and light goals that naturally encourage players to come back.
Daily tasks are tied to small but meaningful rewards (Star Crystals + Coni Coin), with no punishment for skipping, only incentives for participation.
The Homebase system simulates a sense of belonging—players often return simply to “check in” on their Walo, who may be wandering, sleeping, or idling around.
Limited-time, light-social events like “Nian Beast Invasion” help maintain a sense of ongoing narrative activity, even in short sessions.
Meta Layer as a Multi-Path System
The metagame is intentionally diversified across multiple long-term goal paths—main story progression, WaloDex completion, creature training, time-limited events, and home customization—ensuring that every type of player finds a track to commit to.
Completionists will chase full WaloDex completion.
Emotionally-driven players will focus on decorating and bonding with their Homebase Walo.
Story-driven players will immerse themselves in narrative anomalies and character events.
Light social players can trade Walo or visit friends’ Homebases occasionally.
Time-conscious players can adjust their engagement level and still progress meaningfully, without pressure.
Main Quests as Narrative Engines for the Core Loop
Rather than isolating the narrative, the main story is tightly woven into the game’s core loop of exploration → battle → training.
Events like “electrified zones,” “anomaly investigations,” and “rampaging Walo” are story missions that push players to explore maps, strengthen their Walo, and complete objectives.
As players pursue narrative goals, they are naturally led into the core gameplay loop.
This ensures that the story is not a passive layer—it becomes a motivational engine that reinforces gameplay direction and depth.
Pet System Reinforces Empathy Through Evolution
The original evolution system—merging multiple Walo into one—was replaced after careful consideration. The current system uses devouring wild Walo to gain elemental traits, enhancing a pet’s stats and unlocking evolution.
Players tend to form emotional attachments to their raised pets, and fusion mechanics risk breaking that bond.
While “devouring” may sound intense, it’s softened through non-violent visual language and player-controlled ethical choices.
This mechanic becomes a resource-based evolution path, allowing for high strategic freedom while preserving emotional continuity.
Layered elemental combinations lead to diverse evolution paths, giving players a sense of ownership over how their Walo grows.