Thousands of pictures are only useful if they create thousands of reasons to play. The lead idea: make a meme's meaning become its special power.
This is a new game concept, not an existing release. LINE Disney Tsum Tsum is a comparison, not a partnership. [Fact] means cited information; [Idea] means a proposed feature; [Joke] means an imaginary scene.
01. We want a new game, not the name of an old one
Ask about games using lots of images and somebody might start recalling titles from years ago. The real challenge is inventing something new from thousands of animal faces, objects, foods, backgrounds, and absurd expressions.
Each additional image should add a choice, a combination, or a surprise. Otherwise browsing the asset folder may be more entertaining than playing.
02. Nineteen ways to turn pictures into games
[Idea] One pile of pictures can power very different rules.
- Hidden-object hunt: find a target in a crowded scene.
- Picture word chain: connect the names of pictured objects.
- Falling merge: combine identical falling objects into something bigger.
- Real or fake: pick the image that fits a given condition.
- Extreme zoom quiz: guess a close-up as the view pulls back.
- Image association battle: choose the funniest image for a prompt.
- Spot the difference: find changes between two similar scenes.
- Creature mash-up: join animal, food, and furniture parts.
- Connect three: trace adjacent matching faces.
- Drop and match four: group four identical falling pictures.
- Triple-tile clear: take three matching tiles from a stack.
- Picture bubble shooter: shoot toward matching round pictures.
- Board merging: join neighboring objects to grow a town.
- Sort the clutter: move pictures to the correct shelves.
- Number-guided picture: fill squares to reveal an image.
- Memory pairs: flip cards to find matches.
- Pair-tile solitaire: remove two exposed matching tiles.
- Evolution album: discover new forms by combining images.
- Caption a photo: compete to write the funniest one-liner.
Searches, quizzes, collections, and matching all benefit from new images. Building all nineteen at once is a great way to eliminate the developer first.
03. The winner: a meme-inspired matching game
[Fact] LINE Disney Tsum Tsum has players trace three or more identical characters; collected characters also have individual abilities.[1]
[Idea] Take inspiration from an easily understood gesture, not the characters, brand, screen, sound, or visual identity. Create original round faces and creatures that capture the humor of internet memes. “Meme Chain” is only a working title.
In a normal puzzle, three faces vanish and points appear. Here a dog stops time, a search dog clears a type of image, and a cosmic cat rearranges the board. The joke becomes a move. Collecting a character becomes more interesting than swapping a picture.
04. One minute, three connected pictures, satisfying chaos
[Idea] Round characters enter a play area. Slide a finger through at least three touching characters of one type to remove them; new ones fill the gaps. Longer links earn more points, rapid clears add bonuses, and removed pieces fill a meter for the selected power.
Test an initial sixty-second round with five types visible and one power. Those are guesses to adjust after playtests. Finger accuracy matters more than fireworks. If the time-stop button doesn't respond, only the player's smile will stop.
05. Eight special powers that explain their own jokes
[Idea] These are original designs, not imported meme images:
- Time-stop dog: pauses the countdown for five seconds while fingers still move.
- Searching dog: finds and removes every picture of a selected type. Search results: terrifyingly complete.
- Cosmic cat: shuffles the entire board. Looks enlightened; understands nothing.
- Shocked face: blasts away the surrounding pieces. Surprise is now a weapon.
- Blank stare: quietly clears one horizontal row.
- Dancing animal: briefly raises the bonus for repeated clears. Dance now? Really?
- Crying face: turns nearby pictures into one type. United by tears.
- Smug face: boosts the next long chain. Confidence at maximum.
The ability should instantly fit the personality. Give the time-stop dog a generic fireball and everyone will ask: “But why?”
06. A collection, a gallery, and reasons to return
[Idea] Give each character a brief gallery entry: invented personality, cultural inspiration, ability, and times used. A player could choose a favorite, try a changing daily challenge, or compete against friends with the same starting layout.
Start by unlocking characters through playing. If paid random rewards are ever added, consider clear odds and protections for younger players separately.
[Joke] New character: “My trend lasted three days.” Gallery: “Extremely rare.” Player: “Who even remembers you?”
07. Global memes need more than literal translation
[Idea] A dog joke familiar in one country might make no sense in another. Make the artwork and power fun before asking people to read the reference. Curious players can open an optional explanation in the gallery.
Wordplay, expired jokes, offensive stereotypes, and permission to use images differ across regions. A worldwide release does not grant permission to copy the whole internet.
08. A tiny face must still be easy to recognize
[Idea] On a phone, pieces are tiny. Give characters distinct outlines, eyes, expressions, and brightness, not just colors. Cropping complex photos into circles can produce an army of nearly identical brown blobs.
Start with a normal face, a power face, and a larger gallery picture. Owning ten thousand images is not the same as rendering ten thousand at once. The latter makes the phone want to resign.
09. Let thousands of images run smoothly on a phone
[Idea] Load the images for the current round first. Fetch unopened gallery pages and seasonal pictures only when needed. Use appropriately sized pictures, reduce file weight without losing clarity, and stop holding unused large images in memory. Delaying nonessential loads reduces the work at startup.[2]
Test old devices, slow connections, and fingers that miss slightly. Avoid rapid bright flashes and offer a reduced-motion option. Safety guidance limits dangerous flashing.[3]
10. Viral does not mean free to use
[Fact] Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs warns that images found online are not automatically free for reuse.[4] Apple rejects simple app copies, and Google Play prohibits content that violates others' rights.[5][6]
[Idea] Use original drawings, assets clearly licensed for commercial games, or works used with permission. Check names, logos, sounds, human faces, and voices separately. “Everyone shares it,” “an image tool drew a lookalike,” and “I gave credit” are not universal licenses. Comparing a game with Tsum Tsum is different from presenting the new game as official.
11. Earn money without ambushing the player with ads
[Idea] Compare free rounds, ads after the results, optional reward videos, optional appearance purchases, and voluntary support. An ad that blocks the board in the middle of a finger gesture will only build a chain of complaints.
[Fact] Google Play restricts unexpected full-screen ads and ads that interrupt play.[7] Placing an ad does not guarantee revenue. Returning players, country, age, and asset rights matter.
12. Prove five characters are fun before drawing thirty
[Idea] Brainstorm twenty to thirty original characters, but test a playable version with five kinds, a sixty-second solo round, and two powers: freeze time and search-clear. Check whether people recognize pieces, trace accurately, laugh at abilities, and want another round. Use non-identifying play results to fix weak points.
If five types are boring, ten thousand pictures won't fix the game. If the search dog makes people yell “YOU FOUND ALL OF THEM?!”, the next drawing can introduce a genuinely new joke and move.
Bottom line: images are fuel. The engine is the satisfying match between a meme's meaning and what the player can do.
References (7)
- Disney Japan, official description of LINE：ディズニー ツムツム disney.co.jp
- MDN, Lazy loading, loading nonessential images only when required developer.mozilla.org
- W3C, Understanding Success Criterion 2.3.1, Three Flashes or Below Threshold w3.org
- 文化庁 / Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, ここが知りたい著作権, reuse of images found online bunka.go.jp
- Apple, App Review Guidelines, 4.1 (Copycats) and 5.2 (Intellectual Property) developer.apple.com
- Google Play, Intellectual Property policy support.google.com
- Google Play, Ads policy and restrictions on disruptive advertising support.google.com
