The return of a beloved brand for a loyal audience
Join the Bratz Pack on a stylin’ red carpet adventure in Bratz Total Fashion Makeover from Graphite Lab and Outright Games!
Embark on a journey that takes you from being an undiscovered talent to an elite fashion icon. A mobile game with Bratitude, featuring ur BFFs (#BratzFriendzForever): Sasha, Cloe, Yasmin & Jade.
“Lookin’ fresh! That top and you go together like Cloe and animal prints!”
-Sasha
Based on Bratz , one of the best-selling fashion dolls retail history, Bratz Total Fashion Makeover is the latest entry in the series and the first to land on mobile devices. Bratz was created by MGA Entertainment and first released to retail in 2001. The brand quickly became a hit with younger fans. Bratz Total Fashion Makeover was developed by Graphite Lab and is available now on the App Store and Google Play.
Key Features
- BRATZ are back! Join Cloe, Sasha, Yasmin and Jade in an all-new mobile game experience!
- SOLVE addictive puzzles with challenging obstacles! Match three or more pieces to complete fun puzzles and earn powerful boosters. Complete complex puzzles and unlock special items including fashion rewards.
- DRAMA is everywhere, be ready to meet some wild personalities! Deal with dramatic characters like the Tweevils and work with the iconic Bratz cast to rise through the ranks of the fashion world.
- DECORATE your room as well as your appearance! Choose highly fashionable clothes, hairstyles, makeup, and even furniture as you become a social media star!
Early Decisions
Our early days of production were spent on developing the playboard. Inspired by classic match 3 rules, we began Bratz Total Fashion Makeover with similar mechanics. However, as we considered ways for the fashion theme to show through in the core mechanics, we realized casual players would enjoy the classic experience with a juiced up visual flair.
First, we wanted players to know they were playing a game about fashion and fame. While the puzzle mechanics would be familiar feel compared to other match 3 games, we needed the tone to be centered on flashy fashion. So, powerups take the form of cameras, red carpets, lipstick and other accessories. Second, we knew our game would be heavy on the fashion customization options and story. The result is a familiar core mechanic paired with deep customization and an all new storyline.
Check it!
Early conceptsOur first mockups were rough, but effective in communicating our vision
Initial concepts for the game were derived from classic match 3 rules of swapping nearby pieces to make matches. All elements of the initial concepts evolved into more refined versions of themselves.
Check it!
Early conceptsWe first explored styles for the match 3 playboard
Our team experimented with multiple styles of pieces as well, including squared pieces which are popular in titles like Toon Blast and Lost Island Blast adventure due to their color grouping mechanics.
“Nice to wear, important to care.’ You might be rockin’ a sweet outfit, but if you don’t take care of it right, it won’t last long!”
-Jade
Building the World
As our match 3 mechanics evolved and gained traction, we began work simultaneously to develop the layout of the locations that players would be rebuilding. Starting with the player’s apartment, they would be required to not only makeover rooms, but also perform fashion makovers, too. Since the player is focused on the puzzle mechanics, they aren’t offered ability to change where items are placed during the restoration but have options for styles. This meant we had to design the locations in a way that was visually compelling, but also connected with the story we were crafting. We pulled in references from past Bratz releases as well as retail products. This informed the types of objects placed in each location as we as the fashion choices available.
Beyond retail product, our team drew inspiration from past Bratz video content. Taglines, characters and other easter eggs are scattered throughout the game to reward die hard Bratz fans.
Connecting Fashion and Fame
Our first draft of the story focused on the player’s desire to become a popular fashion influencer. The player had recently moved into a new apartment which happens to have been home to one of the Bratz pack. With this connection they would set their sights on growing followers with the help of the Bratz, which are all along for the ride. While a complete arc would take some time to develop, we knew that classic characters and some fan-favorites would need to play a major role in each area.
Our approach to fashion design was finding themes of clothing which would work well together then build around that with additional accessories and other extras. Doing this would help us arrange our the Fashion Closet in a meaningful way, and would also allow us to add new options quickly.
Initial sketches of the apartment focused on single views so they could be assembled more simply.
As the game developed, so did the need for a comprehensive fashion system.
“You can reflect on yourself in a mirror, but remember that they are limited to a single point of view.”
-Yasmin
Crafting the Characters
Given that this was the first time Bratz would appear on mobile, we knew the character development would be an important step. From the very beginning we planned to have the characters illustrated in a way that would be approachable, yet true to brand; but also needed to be heavily customizable. As these requirements evolved, we wrote extensive guides for our artists to work from when developing the likeness for each member of the cast.
Core characters such as the Bratz received only minor tweaks to reach a supported direction. However, we spent additional time evolving our main player mannequin into a form that could support all sorts of variations from skin tone to hairstyle.
As our story expanded, so too did our cast. We added additional characters such as the Bratz Boyz (Eitan and Cameron appear in CH 3, and other supporting characters (Nevra joins in CH 2) each of which the player can makeover and customize.
Story Arc
With our mechanics leading the way, we developed the story as a vehicle to connect players to their purpose for renovation. To bring this tale to life, we knew we would have to react quickly to demands of the game and partners. We built out the initial story arc, expanded the character set, and added a level of detail to the task list which would connect players to their mission in a more meaningful way.
This effort lead to thousands of lines of dialogue which leads the player through 3 chapters and over 200 levels of gameplay. While our story isn’t over, this initial installment boasts over 20 hours of gameplay for full completion.
Initial versions of the core cast received limited adjustments and re-designs.
The Bratz are back!
“The simplest way you can add some zing to a room is with something green and classy.”
-Cloe
Systems
From day one, we knew that our success would depend on a variety of partners all working together to reach a common goal. Our approach with each project is to identify those partners early on so we can grow the game with the right parties involved. Bratz Total Fashion Makeover is no exception. We identified a need for data management, user authentication, user attribution, ad displays and several other requirements at the design stage. This made it very comfortable to integrate these various systems into the game.
The most extensive integration would be PlayFab, which would handle user management, data management, live events, and several other important systems. We’d used PlayFab on RollerCoaster Tycoon Story and knew it would be a reliable (and scalable) solution for Bratz Total Fashion Makeover. Additional integrations would take months to complete, but offer a fantastic web of functionality for the launch.
- PlayFab – Player Data, Authentication, Leaderboards, Push Notifications, App Currency
- Ironsource – Mediation and Video Ads
- AppsFlyer – Marketing attribution
- Firebase – Analytics
- ZenDesk – Player support and F.A.Q.
Support and Live Ops
Our team is engaged on a daily basis to support the game and iterate to provide the most satisfying experience for our players. This benchmark appears through attainment of great retention, strong monetization, and excellent review scores on both Apple App Store and Google Play. These results developed over months of assessment and analysis during our launch period. These testing windows produced valuable feedback on level balance, gameplay length, tutorial effectiveness, pricing, and many other areas to numerous to list.
Download Today
Bratz Total Fashion Makeover is available now on Apple App Store and Google Play!
Over 30+ tutorial sequences have been integrated
Player feedback on pricing is critical output from Soft Launch
Thanks for playing!
“1,2,3… EMERGENCY MAKEOVER!!!”
-The Bratz Pack
Let’s Make Something Happen!
OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THE MOST FUN AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES POSSIBLE.