HANA GAMES: A Story Born from Passion
Where It All Began
We weren’t just two students sitting in lecture halls — we were two dreamers, sketching ideas on notebooks, staying up late to code, and imagining worlds that didn’t exist yet. That’s where HANA GAMES was born: on the benches of our university, long before it had a name.
When the time came to choose one, we called it HANA (花) — “flower” in Japanese. For us, it represents ideas blossoming into something bigger, something alive. It’s also a nod to Mike’s love for Japan, where he’s known as Sakura.
In January 2023, the dream became real: our studio took its first breath.
Who We Are
We’re different, and that’s our strength.
🌸 Sébastien — the Artist of Experience Calm, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. He shapes interfaces and worlds that aren’t just beautiful, but intuitive. His craft is turning pixels into places you want to live in.
🌸 Mike — the Architect of Logic Precise, organized, and always on time. He builds the backbone of our games, from server infrastructure to core mechanics, ensuring everything is solid, scalable, and reliable.
Together, we bring balance: vision and structure, artistry and logic.
Our First Steps
Like many young creators, our ambition was larger than our resources. We wanted to build huge, complex games with only passion as fuel. And we quickly learned the hardest lesson of all:
“Don’t be too ambitious.”
But every mistake made us sharper. We discovered the power of rapid prototyping. With My Airline Manager, we had a playable version in just weeks. Yet, without planning, progress slowed. That project taught us that organization isn’t just important — it’s survival.
Early Recognition
Our persistence started to pay off. At the Games on Web competition, year after year, we found ourselves on the podium:
- 2022: “Coup de pouce” Award
- 2023: “Top of the Top” Award
- 2024: “Speed Run” Award — a category created just to celebrate our last-minute delivery.
For us, these awards weren’t just trophies. They were proof: HANA GAMES wasn’t just a dream anymore.
The Challenges We Faced
We quickly realized that making games isn’t just about coding. Everything is its own craft.
🎨 Art — Characters, 3D models, animations, environments. Each step requires expertise we had to learn or seek.
⚙️ Technology — One bad choice of infrastructure cost us data, stability, and countless hours. It taught us the importance of reliable partners.
📱 Publishing — Every store (Apple, Google) comes with strict rules and long delays. We had to adapt, wait, re-submit, and keep pushing.
📣 Marketing — We saw how many games succeed not just because they’re great, but because they’re seen. That opened our eyes to a whole new battlefield.
Every obstacle shaped us. Every challenge made us stronger.
Our Vision
We’re inspired by studios like SANDFALL — studios that prove you can stay independent and still aim for excellence. For us, “high quality” means two things we never compromise on:
- 1. Polished visuals
- 2. Clean, performant code
But our vision goes beyond quality. We don’t just want to sell games — we want to build experiences players are proud to be part of. We want a community that grows with us, where feedback shapes the future, and every game feels like a shared journey.
Because at the end of the day, HANA GAMES is not just about us. It’s about all of us — developers and players — building something cool together.