Aquex

Fish Battle Royale PvP

Forget the food chain. In this deadly arena, the strongest fish isn't the biggest, it's the
smartest fighter. Gear up, battle it out, and redefine survival to rule this chaotic ocean

Overview of the project

What happens when you drop 20 weapon-wielding fish into a shrinking underwater arena? You get Aquex, a chaotic and charming battle royale that redefines underwater combat. This project showcases Papastudio's ability to transform a fun concept into a polished, multiplayer experience packed with action and personality.

Dive into the frenzy! Watch the official gameplay trailer for Aquex

Quick info:

• Project: Aquex
• Genre: Battle Royale, Survival
• Platforms: Mobile (iOS, Android)
• Services: Full-cycle game development, Multiplayer integration, Backend architecture, Game art & Monetization design

The goal & The challenge

The goal:

• Stand out in the crowded battle royale market with a unique and accessible underwater theme.
• Deliver gameplay that’s simple to start, but where winning depends on skillful decision-making and tactical choices.
• Build a lasting community by connecting directly with players on our Discord server and through engaging in-game daily missions.

The technical challenges:

• Seamless real-time multiplayer: A battle royale lives or dies by its netcode. We needed to ensure a smooth, low-latency experience for 20 players in a fast-paced 3D environment, where every millisecond counts.
• Intelligent & Fast matchmaking: Players want to play, not wait. The challenge was to build a system that could rapidly assemble a 20-player match, intelligently filling empty slots with bots to keep the action flowing.
• Designing human-like AI: To ensure non-stop action, bots needed to be more than just placeholders. The challenge was to program AI with sophisticated behaviors, from pathfinding with A* algorithms to complex decision-making, making them almost indistinguishable from real players.
• Balanced & Fair gameplay: With a diverse arsenal of weapons and items, we had to meticulously balance the gameplay to ensure every match felt fair and skill-based, avoiding any "pay-to-win" mechanics.
• Scalable server infrastructure: To handle a global player base with unpredictable peaks, we needed a server solution that could scale up and down automatically, optimizing both performance and cost.

Key game features

Combat with tactical depth

Features a simple auto-bite system combined with a strategic knock back effect that lets you control the fight

Strategic equipment and skills

Loot and equip gear in 3 distinct slots (Weapon, Body, Tail Armor) and unleash 3 powerful skills: Laser, Bomb, and Trap.

An interactive underwater world

Use the environment to your advantage. Hide in dense seaweed, take cover behind reefs, and battle around sunken shipwrecks.

Designed for player retention

Stay engaged with a constant stream of rewards from Daily/Weekly Missions and a 7-day login bonus system.

Strategic spawning

Players make their first tactical move by choosing their spawn point on the map while matchmaking.

20 players, one ocean, one survivor. The ultimate underwater showdown

Tech stack & Tools

Papastudio’s role in the project

Papastudio served as the full-cycle game development partner for Aquex. Our team poured its expertise and passion into every stage of the project, from the initial sketch to the final launch.

End-to-end game development

Programming all core gameplay mechanics, controls, and features within Unity.

Multiplayer system integration

Backend & server architecture

AI programming

Game art & Concept design

Creating all visual assets, including the unique fish characters, weapons, items, and immersive underwater environments.

Monetization & Shop design

Retention system design

Master the art of combat. A closer look at the agile PvP mechanics in Aquex.

Why this project stands out

The success of Aquex showcases our dedication to building memorable multiplayer games. If you have an ambitious idea for a game, our team has the creativity and technical expertise to turn it into a reality.