Indie Dream Lab
Indie Dream Lab
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Case study

Ca$hteroid

Ca$hteroid logo

Blast the asteroids. Beat the clock.

Ca$hteroid is a space shooter where players hit colourful asteroids and try to survive until the timer runs out. It is another example of the skill-based games we create at Indie Dream Lab: quick to pick up, hard to master, and built for high engagement and retention.

Download on theApp StoreAvailable now on iPhone.
Engine
Unity
Genre
Skill-based space shooter
Platform
Skillz
Our role
Design, art & development

Easy to learn. Built to replay.

Skill-based games live or die on whether players come back. So we designed Ca$hteroid around reasons to return, from the first second of a round to weeks after install.

Each layer feeds the next: quick shots inside a run, new power-ups each run, a timer that makes every session short, and ranks that reward getting better.

  1. 1Every second

    Aim and hit

    Asteroids drift down with a number that shows how many hits they can take. Players always know what to shoot next.

  2. 2Every run

    Stack your talents

    Power-ups drop mid-round and stack up, so each run builds into its own wild loadout of shields, extra cannons and drones.

  3. 3Every session

    Beat the clock

    A short timer keeps rounds tight. When it hits zero, your score is in, and one more go is only a tap away.

  4. 4Over time

    Rank up

    Players climb pilot tiers, starting at Cadet Pilot, which gives them a reason to keep coming back and improving.

Gameplay

No two runs alike

Talents change how you play from moment to moment. Here are a few of them in action.

Ca$hteroid gameplay: rapid fire
Rapid fireA talent turns a single shot into a stream of fire.
Ca$hteroid gameplay: shield up
Shield upAn energy dome protects the ship for a while.
Ca$hteroid gameplay: mystery boxes
Mystery boxesHit the glowing box to see what you get.
Ca$hteroid gameplay: stacked loadout
Stacked loadoutSeveral talents at once, plus a helper drone.

Take the controls

Download on theApp Store

Artwork

One ship, two jobs

The ship is painted twice: a fiery, detailed version for marketing, and a clean top-down sprite that stays readable in the middle of a firefight. Same shapes, same colours, built for different screens.

Ca$hteroid key art: the ship wrapped in flames
Key art
Ca$hteroid in-game ship sprite, seen from above
In-game sprite
Ca$hteroid background art: glowing asteroids above a neon grid
Environment

Development

Built in Unity

The systems behind the fireworks, designed to keep every round fair and every player coming back.

Numbered asteroids

Each asteroid shows its hit count and ticks down with every shot, so the action is easy to read at a glance.

Talent system

Power-ups that stack and combine during a run, each with its own icon in the talent bar.

Mystery boxes

Surprise rewards that appear mid-round and give players something exciting to aim for.

Lives and shields

Lives, shield domes and score pop-ups give constant feedback on how a run is going.

Timed, fair rounds

Every round runs against the same clock, so the highest score comes down to pure skill.

Pilot tiers and shop

Rank progression and an in-game shop give players goals that last well beyond a single round.

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