Boy with Leukemia granted wish to make iPhone game

A 9-year-old boy battling leukemia was granted his wish to develop an iPhone game.

Owain Weinert, who has pre-B Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, asked the Make-a-Wish Foundation to develop a mobile game. His wish was granted: the game, called Allied Star Police, launched in the Apple App Store Thursday. Developed with Seattle firm 4th & Battery, it’s offered gratis and also comes in an iPad version.

Owain wanted to create something that he’d want to play — so the result is a rollicking arcade-style game “featuring a combination of tower defense and real-time strategy gameplay.”

Dubbed as a “classic good vs. evil story set in a futuristic fictional world,” it’s rated ages 9+ for mild cartoon or fantasy violence.

“Owain was like every other designer and developer I’ve worked with,” said Matthew Lee Johnston, senior producer at 4th & Battery. “The minute he walked in the door he handed us a fully realized game design, figured out to the last detail…When he first sat down to play it, he naturally knew what to do and won his first round easily, which felt to us like we did a good job executing on his plan.”

After all that work, is it what Owain hoped it would be?

“My brother can’t stop playing it, my dad can’t stop playing it, and neither can I,” Owain said. “This started off as a dream of mine and now my friends and people all over the world can play my creation.”

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