Truly Social Values
Having Fun
We make delightful games that are inclusive: games and activities for all ages, whether you want to game for a couple of minutes, or a couple of hours; getting a last game in before your bus arrives, or staying in with your family and friends on a rainy weekend. Our studio’s development team has a blast tinkering to make the best game experience possible, then sharing with our players. We collaborate with our player community to fine-tune the fun. And sometimes, our games even have real-world rewards!
Connecting, Engaging, Sharing
We’ve been asked what the “Social” means in the “Truly Social” – we believe it’s about positivity and connecting with others, by engaging with one another and sharing! We’re excited about the things we do everyday at the studio and we want our community to be excited too. Being “Truly Social” is also about listening, so tell us what you love, tell us about your day, tell us what you want to play – we’re listening.
Social Consciousness
We create for good. Our games are built with accessibility and inclusion in mind, so that everyone can be a part of the Truly Social Family. Founded by socially-minded developers, all three studios aim to be as sustainable as possible. Truly Social Games Vancouver and Truly Social Games Minsk are spearheading projects where individuals and families can save the bees, and learn about environmental impact. Let’s give back to our planet, together.
How it all started…
It all began with a true life adventure…”It was kind of like Indiana Jones meets anthropology meets architecture”
After a summer spent hunting for gold in centuries-old Mexican haciendas, CEO and co-founder Cooper DuBois returned to Portland, Oregon wanting to replicate his experiences for the masses in the form of a game. He teamed up with longtime friend (and game industry veteran) Patrick Tougas, and Truly Social Games was born.
Cooper and Patty then joined up with like-minded founders Dima Shyshanouski and Anton Augustinovich to open a development studio in Minsk, Belarus. Their first title, Planet Gold Rush, a mobile gold mining game, followed shortly after in September 2017. The company’s development capabilities increased in 2018 when founders Joe Bonar and Robert Baxter brought their studio in Vancouver, Canada into the family.
Who we are is in our name
The name Truly Social Games came naturally to us: we set out to focus on putting fun first! Our co-founders Patty & Cooper both had spent much of their careers creating violent games or casino titles and were ready for a conscious change- to create games that all players could enjoy. Not only that, but the games would be “truly social” in nature, so that our audience could become a part of the game creation process themselves. Through social conversations and feedback, in-game surveys, and of course, reviews, we listen and get to know our players, share behind-the-scenes stories, Q&A’s, and more, so that they can get to know us better, too.
Our Studios
Vancouver BC, Canada
Vibrant and eclectic, the city of Vancouver, Canada is home to newly-formed Truly Social Games Vancouver (TSGV for short!). A long-established game development hub with an unwavering eye on the future of gaming and immersive technology like AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality), Vancouver is also home to an expanse of world-class ocean and mountain vistas, as well as a richly diverse cultural scene. It’s no surprise that Vancouver is consistently voted a top travel destination and world-class city.
Minsk, Belarus
The thriving capital of Belarus, our studio in Minsk houses our development and design teams.
Dotted with historical landmarks, natural spaces, museums, and sports arenas throughout the downtown area, Minsk is a city with something for everyone, whether you’re a visitor or a local.
Portland OR, USA
Located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, our Portland studio is where our executive team is based. Aside from a strong arts and tech culture, there’s lots to love about the City of Roses. From the famous food carts, to a thriving music scene, to lush hiking trails only a short drive away, Portland might just become your new favorite place to live. (We have doughnuts and craft beer!)
Our Executive Team
Cooper DuBois is CEO and Co-Founder of Truly Social Games where he is at the helm of all company operations, developments, and strategies. Before the launch of Truly Social Games, he studied Fine Art at San Francisco State University, and then went on to lead the charge at casual gaming powerhouses Big Fish Games in 2005 and DoubleDown Interactive in 2009 where he was Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. He now lives with his family in Portland, Oregon where he’s also the owner of The Liquor Store, a favorite (and award-winning) local bar.
Patrick Tougas is CCO and Studio Director of Truly Social Games, where he oversees the company’s growth strategies and game development on all levels. A 24 year ‘AAA’ video game industry veteran, prior to launching Truly Social Games, he successfully bolstered the game catalogues of industry giants such as Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft, Square Enix and Capcom on titles/ franchises such as Diablo, Diablo 2, StarCraft, WarCraft Prince of Persia, Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider and Dead Rising 2, 4 and 5. He earned his degree in Special FX and Animation at the Vancouver Film School. In his free time, Patrick loves to go for rides on his motorcycle along the Oregon coast and play with his cat Eevie.
Joe has been creating games and building studios for over thirty-one years. He hears “I wasn’t even born when you made that game” quite often. He has been involved in just about every aspect of video game development in Europe and North America since developing his first game on Commodore 64 back in 1987. He keeps meaning to write a book about how amazing those times were. He has worked on hundreds of products for dozens of platforms from handheld through console, to PC, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and back to mobile again. He takes care of everything that helps take care of our business and our people.
Over his eighteen-year career, Rob has contributed to award-winning tabletop board games, mobile tap-fests, and AAA console zombie kill-a-thons. Focused on game systems design, creative development, and prototyping and ideation – Bax oversees our Design Direction from the grandest vision to the smallest interaction. Grab a regular six-sided die (1d6) and roll to learn a random fact about Rob. 1. He has voice acting credits in two AAA video games. 2. To up his D&D game, Rob took improv classes to be a better Dungeon Master. 3. His favourite fruit is Mango. 4. A published writer, Rob still uses expansive run on sentences to describe things in writing. 5. He can easily be bribed with Butter Tarts. 6. Has never been a Professor at Hogwarts.
He is trained in a traditional Fine Arts background, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts: Media Arts and Digital Technologies degree from ACAD. Since starting out in the industry at EA Vancouver, David quickly moved into a leadership role, creating effective direction for projects that span consoles, PC, and mobile platforms. His most recent project was ‘Tooth and Claw’ for HTC Vive.
Dima Shyshanouski is the Creative Director of the Minsk studio where he oversees game design and feature development. Including his time spent at Truly Social Games, he has 15 years of experience under his belt working in game design and prides himself on bringing a strong sense of creativity and organization to his role. He also holds an arts degree from Belarusian State University.
As Lead Developer, Vladimir Atanov ensures that the servers are stable and the API for our games are working properly. Before working at Truly Social Games, Vladimir built up 7+ years of experience serving as everything from backend/frontend developer and devops to team lead of multiple web projects.
Su is our resident Nerd Whisperer, a role which combines her expertise in project management and performance coaching to ensure that production runs smoothly. She has 20+ years' experience in game development, live operations and publishing with a reputation for capably scaling high-performing teams and delivering top-quality product. She has worked on PC, console and mobile platforms, including Augmented and Virtual Reality. She completed the Management of Technology MBA program at Simon Fraser University in 2019.
