Hello Guest

Hello Guest is a stealth horror title from tinyBuild, set within the abandoned Golden Apple Amusement Park. Players take on the role of a security guard while being hunted by an advanced, self-learning AI lurking throughout the environment.

Magic Media, through Starloop Studios, partnered with tinyBuild to port the Hello Guest demo from PC to iOS and Xbox One. The project required extensive optimization to adapt the Unreal Engine 4 build for significantly different hardware while preserving the atmosphere, gameplay, and visual identity of the original experience.

Challenge

The original PC version of Hello Guest presented several technical challenges when adapted for mobile and console hardware.

High RAM and CPU usage resulted in performance issues, including low frame rates, while the iOS build initially exceeded available memory to the point that the game could crash before reaching the main menu. The team also needed to address audio performance, dynamic lighting, and a control scheme originally designed around PC input.

The iOS version introduced an additional challenge, requiring more complex gameplay actions to work intuitively on a touchscreen without compromising the player experience.

Solution

Magic Media carried out a wide range of platform-specific optimizations to bring Hello Guest to iOS and Xbox One. Our team reduced asset detail where appropriate and optimized animations, vegetation density, and visual effects to lower CPU and memory usage. Camera effects were also adjusted to reduce performance demands on mobile devices. Audio assets were compressed and optimized, while dynamic lighting was replaced with static lighting where possible to improve overall efficiency on lower-spec hardware.

For iOS, the team redesigned elements of the control scheme to better suit touchscreen interaction. Certain mechanics that originally required multiple simultaneous inputs were adapted so actions could be triggered more naturally based on the player's current equipment and situation.

Throughout the project, the team worked closely with tinyBuild to review progress and ensure the port remained aligned with the original game.

Result

Magic Media successfully delivered the Xbox One and iOS versions of the Hello Guest demo, with both builds approved and submitted to Microsoft and Apple.

The optimization work significantly reduced memory and CPU demands, allowing the game to run reliably across its new target platforms while retaining the core gameplay and atmosphere of the PC version.

Following the initial delivery, the team returned to the project to support further updates and refinements. Hello Guest demonstrates how targeted optimization, platform-specific controls, and close collaboration can help bring technically demanding PC experiences to console and mobile audiences.