Creating an original character felt like I had to invent an entire universe… but really it started with one Star.
The literal first thing I did was come up with the name Matchy Star™. I knew I wanted sci-fi, and I knew I wanted a main character who could carry the vibe — expressive, lovable, and instantly recognizable.
The first Matchy shape was a little offset for perspective, loosely based on the classic Nintendo star icon. I wanted an exuberant face, and I had that old “Exuberant Bliss” meme emoji stuck in my head — so I kind of fused the two ideas together.
The Nintendo star is intentionally less expressive (it’s not supposed to outshine Mario), but for the Matchyverse™, Matchy needed to communicate: excitement, curiosity, and goofy confidence.
Then I added an imperfect black outline for character — inspired by the offset, cartoony linework in Angry Birds.
Next I added hair — a little vanity, a little ego, because great hair changes a Star. There was only one clear reference: Johnny Bravo.
I originally wanted Matchy to have shades. Later we shifted toward goggles and removed the hair as the direction evolved (and as the team weighed in). I try not to run creative like a dictatorship — the team gets a say — but for the record, here is Shade Matchy:
I went through a ton of iterations: tiny tweaks to shape and shading, some so small we could barely notice them. Designing is a pile of micro-decisions — and unfortunately, not every file survives the journey.
And of course… Simpsons Mania is real. Eventually I added a nice set of blue pants to complete the look:
Later we hired Jimp from Massive Monster, and he brought the final polish and consistency. We tested eye styles and linework with our mailing list. We even flirted with making Matchy a wizard — but we reinforced the direction with references like SpongeBob, Andy the Mechanic from Advance Wars, and other spacey cartoon energy.
The result: an enthusiastic, derpy goofball scientist… and even more iterations:
