At just 15, Sebastian Perez’s games have enjoyed over 100K downloads to date! After witnessing Robert Nay’s success with the Corona-built Bubble Ball game, Sebastian was inspired to create his own studio, Tiny Lemon Games, and build a line of successful mobile titles. Thanks for sharing your development story with us, Sebastian!
My name is Sebastian Perez and I’m a 15-year old Corona developer. The first app I developed was a game called “Items Catcher” using the GameSalad software. I was pretty happy that I made my first app at the time but sadly, the app is no longer in the store because of poor daily downloads. I have been thinking of bringing it back using Corona SDK.
Before I began programming, I was very inspired by the success of Robert Nay (creator of Bubble Ball). When I saw that his apps became viral, I thought, “Wow, I could be a programmer too!” Even today, I’m still in awe of his work and his fame showed me, and kids everywhere, that anyone can make a great app.
I discovered Corona in the summer of 2010 and noticed the company’s “play more, code less” slogan. I downloaded the trial, but soon gave up because I had a slow PC, had trouble finding how to work with the sample code, and didn’t know how to open the code source, as I didn’t have a code editor. I came back to Corona in the summer of 2011, now working with a Mac, and enjoyed the simplicity of coding and the strength of the SDK.
When I dove into Corona with zero coding or programming skills, I found the platform easy to use. I learned how to switch scenes and put images on the iPhone in just 5 days! That was an accomplishment in and of it self. With my new knowledge, I started to make my first Corona SDK app called Minecraft Guide. I launched it on December 13, 2011 and it was my first hit paid app with over 6K downloads and 
counting. Then a few month later, I developed Minecraft Quiz, my first free hit app that got over 100K downloads within the first three month! Since its launch, the app has ranked in the Top 50 in Trivia. I have been developing for over a year now and have multiple apps including iMinecraft Guide, Super Craft and Deceased City.
For my future career, I’d like to become a successful entrepreneur. When I graduate high school, I would like to continue to work on app development and attend MIT to improve my programming skills and write even better games. When I become an adult, I would like to tell my story of how I started my gaming company from the living room of my yellow couch and built it up to become an awesome, successful studio!
I’m working on a new game with Corona, but am keeping it under wraps for now. I recommend Corona SDK to any student who loves to program. Corona SDK is the best tool for any age and you don’t need to know any programming or coding skills to start using the platform.
-Sebastian Perez, Tiny Lemon Games