The Philosophical Games Studio

Wero is the philosophical games studio from Toronto.

Our games ask players to think differently. While we make games for anyone to play, we are often commissioned to make games to suit an organization’s unique goals; to prompt teamwork and leadership, to challenge groups and transform the individual.

Our Clients Include

What Players Say

“This is the most intricate / engaging virtual activity I've done so far. Kudos to the team for putting this together!”

— Sally, Player

“I wanted to extend another massive thanks for yesterday. I thought it was just brilliant and participants described it has exceptional.”

— Kelly, Client

“You were fantastic collaborators, storytellers and problem solvers. Together we've created something truly unique...”

— Jason, Client

Services

  • Wero is a full service video game developer. We work closely with our clients to take projects from concept to launch. We’re collaborators and problem solvers, and have extensive experience working with hands on teams as well as hands off teams.

  • The global pandemic pushed many in-person events online. We responded by re-imagining in-person games as virtual online experiences, drawing on descriptive games, alternate reality games, and escape rooms. Your teams can have fun while exploring ideas to improve your business whether in-person, remote, or both.

    Wero can adapt an existing game to your needs, or start from the ground up. We handle all elements of design, production, and launch.

    We can also pair clients with expert facilitators who connect gameplay with larger organizational goals.

  • While we’re focused on video games, we spent years helping clients design custom, unique escape games from the ground up. We still like to take on those projects from time to time.

    We have designed high-end, top-rated, escape games for clients including new and standing escape room businesses, agency, brand, and corporate clients around the world.

    We draw on best practices in video game development and human-centred design philosophy, to design escape games which win over the Goldilocks among us and leave players with smiles!

VIRTUAL GAME CASE STUDY

Microsoft’s The Hunger Theorist

In a food scarce future, a benevolent AI is trying to improve the world’s food supply - and causing a few problems along the way… Thousands of players around the world challenged the experience in small teams, practicing working together to make better decisions.

Hallmarks of our Work

  • Ask people to work together in teams and something special happens. Complex problem solving starts to happen individually and in groups. The experience of playing our games in a team is dynamic, challenging, and a test of creativity, logic, memory, and perception.

  • We pride ourselves on using the right tools for the job: we select technology for accessibility, ease of deployment, and durability. We want players be challenged by the game, not by the tools we use to make the game.

  • Team games train leaders. Success relies on choosing priorities, defining problems, and attempting solutions. Our games challenge leaders, either chosen or emerging organically, to make better decisions.

  • Their popularity cuts across all demographics. Puzzles provide an engrossing challenge and players feel satisfied when they solve them. Our games involve challenging yet achievable puzzles, which are especially gratifying when solved in collaboration with others.

  • Our mantra is to design and test our games to achieve a balance between challenge and satisfaction. Depending on the demands of a project we’ll sometimes scale difficulty for different groups of players (for example children vs. adults) and other times we’ll carefully optimize the game so a good, engaged team, can find themselves in “flow”.

  • Our secret weapon is challenging player to think differently - to re-think about how they think about problems. Sometimes a puzzle isn’t at all as hard as it seems, so long as the player shifts their perspective…

ESCAPE ROOM CASE STUDY

EY’s Meet E.R.N.I.E.

Actors, game masters, elaborate sound and lighting design, a VR challenge, and a seriously imposing and snarky AI obelisk... Over a thousand EY staffers challenged this fully immersive escape built 32 stories above Toronto in the EY Tower.

Featured Projects

  • Climate Town

    Video game for Heritage Park.

  • Hunger Theorist

    Virtual team game for Microsoft Aspire.

  • Meet E.R.N.I.E.

    Pop-up corporate escape room for EY.

  • Sweet Escape

    Permanent escape room.

  • The Getaway

    Pop-up escape experience for DDB.

  • Radiology Escape

    Portable escape room for UAMS.

Who Is Wero?

Wero is an game developer based in Toronto founded by Adam Clare and Denis Coyne. Over 10 years it has developed from a side project to primary focus for its founders.

Wero’s founders are Adam Clare and Denis Coyne, but Wero in spirit includes many talented and creative people, from writers to designers to builders, whose skills are drawn on when needed.

  • Wero’s lead game designer, Adam is a professional game designer, educator, co-founder of Board Game Jam (a 48-hour board game making event), and author of ‘Escape The Game’ (the first published guide to escape game design).

    He has taught game design at OCADU, Ryerson University, George Brown College School of Design, and is now faculty at Sheridan College. He holds a Masters in the Philosophy of Education from OISE at UofT.

    His work on games and education has been presented at conferences around the world.

  • Denis is a producer and entrepreneur with expertise in games, linear media, and education. He has guided creative and business development for dozens of projects, cementing many partnerships with people and companies, most notably earning a 10-episode commission from CBC with NBCUniversal ITP.

    After starting his career at the Toronto International Film Festival Denis's entrepreneurial spirit led him to found several successful ventures including a production company, talent/influencer agency, and safety training organization.

    Denis holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and Certificate in Entertainment Law from Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development. He also is faculty at George Brown College’s Diploma in Screenwriting & Narrative Design, and previously Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Creative Industries.

Subscribe to our newsletter.