How a 26-year-old woman who doesn’t code made the the hottest game in Asia

The new game Tabi Kaeru, or “Travel Frog” has become the most downloaded game in China, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Mayuko Uemura, a 26 year-old Hit-Point employee who has “never written code in her life” created the game after finding inspiration in travel and “the feeling of waiting for a loved one to return from a trip,” as reported by the South China Post.

“I want to develop games that players can love. I don’t want to develop games where you have to focus too much.”

The frog has a home resembling a cave. Inside, he is keeping busy through writing or reading. Outdoors, he is looking for different ways to collect things from his travels. The game’s objective focuses on collecting as many things as possible throughout the trips the frog takes, and to bring them back home.

The goal is collect more stuff: for the frog to take on trips, as well as the stuff he brings back.

“Even though the game is only available in Japanese, it has been downloaded more than 30 million times following its November debut (with China making up 95 per cent of that), outpacing even Nintendo’s hit title Animal Crossing released around the same time, according to researcher Sensor Tower. By comparison, Neko Atsume has been downloaded 22 million times.”

And the number one consumers seem to be women, according to analyst Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners.

“It shows that there is a huge opportunity to target female gamers in China.”

Now the only question is, will the game hit America as hard as it did Asia? The Japanese Times says that’s still up for debate.

While frogs are considered a symbol of fortune and prosperity in China and parts of Asia, Hit-Point isn’t saying how much it’s made from ‘Tabi Kaeru.’ While there are ads that bring in revenue, users can also purchase additional clover as currency. There’s plenty of potential. The popular feline characters in “Neko Atsume” are now featured in toys, books and even a movie.

And though the game is only available in Japanese, it has been downloaded over 30 million times.

I’m heading to the app store right now.