My Pet Trapezoid (Partially Found 2015 Mobile Virtual Pet app)

Original icon used in 3 Months Before They Changed

My Pet Trapezoid was a mobile virtual pet game developed and published by HyperGeometrics Inc, A Swiss company. in 2015. Inspired by the 2012 game Pou, it was released on July 12th for both iOS and Android platforms.

Background

The game centered around a cartoon-like trapezoid character, rendered in a teal color with two small legs, large, cartoonish eyes, and a small, curved smile. Players adopted and cared for their virtual trapezoid, fulfilling needs such as feeding, playing, and cleaning. Customization options allowed players to accessorize their trapezoid with various items. My Pet Trapezoid distinguished itself through its unusual protagonist and quirky, physics-based mini-games, setting it apart from other virtual pet games of the time.

Production

HyperGeometrics Inc., a relatively small indie studio based in Portland, Oregon, was led by game designer Anya Petrova and programmer Ben Carter. Petrova conceived the idea after seeing a child's drawing of a trapezoid character, while Carter handled the technical implementation, including the physics engine for the mini-games. The soundtrack was composed by local musician David Chen.

The game's development was reportedly fraught with challenges. According to an interview Petrova gave to Portland Indie Game Monthly in June 2015, the team struggled to balance the game's unique physics mechanics with the demands of mobile performance [1]. The game's server infrastructure was initially outsourced to a smaller hosting provider, which later proved inadequate as the game's player base grew.

Availability

Despite initial positive reception, with reviewers praising its originality and addictive gameplay [2], My Pet Trapezoid suffered from poor monetization and a lack of consistent updates. HyperGeometrics Inc. struggled to maintain the game's servers and provide ongoing support. By late 2018, the game was removed from both the App Store and Google Play Store. The game relied on server verification to run, making it unplayable after the servers were shut down.

Since the game's removal, several users on online forums have claimed to possess old devices with the game still installed, but none have provided verifiable proof or offered to share the game files. A Reddit thread from 2024 on r/LostMobileGames featured one user, "TrapezoidFanatic87," who claimed to have a working version on an old iPhone 5, but the user subsequently deleted their account, and the claim could not be verified [3].

The search for My Pet Trapezoid has been hampered by the relatively short lifespan of the game and the obscurity of HyperGeometrics Inc. Efforts to contact former employees of the company through LinkedIn and other platforms have so far been unsuccessful. The domain name for HyperGeometrics, hypergeometrics.com, is currently a dead link.

There was a brief resurgence of interest in the game in early 2023 when a fake "My Pet Trapezoid Remastered" APK was circulated online. This file was quickly identified as malware by several antivirus programs.

Fan Theories

• One popular theory suggests that a secret mini-game was hidden within My Pet Trapezoid, accessible only by performing a specific sequence of actions. This theory stems from a cryptic comment made by David Chen, the game's composer, on his personal blog in 2016 [4]. He alluded to "a hidden polygon" that players had yet to discover.
• Another theory posits that HyperGeometrics Inc. had planned a major update to the game before its shutdown, featuring new customization options and mini-games. Evidence for this theory comes from unused assets allegedly found within the game's files, which were briefly posted on a now-defunct 4chan thread in 2019.

Updates

• April 25, 2025

Recent developments in the search for My Pet Trapezoid have yielded promising new information, primarily stemming from interviews conducted with former HyperGeometrics Inc. employees. These interviews, facilitated by independent game preservationist Sarah Klein, shed light on previously unknown aspects of the game's development, early builds, and potential archival sources.

Interview with Ben Carter (Programmer)

In an interview conducted on July 18, 2024, Ben Carter, the lead programmer for My Pet Trapezoid, provided crucial details regarding the game's source code and development process. While Carter confirmed the challenges mentioned in Anya Petrova's 2015 interview with Portland Indie Game Monthly regarding the physics engine, he revealed that several early builds of the game were backed up on a now-defunct Google Drive account associated with HyperGeometrics. He recalls these builds predating the final release version by several months and featuring different UI elements, early trapezoid designs, and even a scrapped mini-game centered around stacking polygons. According to Carter, the credentials for the Google Drive account were known only to Petrova and himself, but he believes that Petrova may have a local copy of the credentials. He also recalls using a specific build of the Unity Engine, version 5.1.3f1, for the final released version, which could be important for emulation efforts.

Interview with David Chen (Composer)

Further adding to this update, Sarah Klein also interviewed David Chen on July 22, 2024. When asked about his 2016 blog post referencing "a hidden polygon," Chen clarified that it wasn't necessarily a literal mini-game element. Instead, he stated it was a planned alternate visual style for the trapezoid. If players achieved certain milestones or input a specific cheat code, their trapezoid would transform into a different, more complex polygon (specifically, an irregular heptagon) with unique animations. Chen also mentioned that, as a side project, he created some extended versions of the game's soundtrack. He stated he has copies of these extended tracks and prototype music cues on a hard drive stored in his attic.

Potentially Found Build?

Following Ben Carter's interview, Sarah Klein has initiated contact with Anya Petrova. While Petrova has not yet responded to direct requests, a person claiming to be a relative of Petrova's contacted Klein on July 26, 2024, claiming to have located an old laptop that belonged to her. The laptop's specs have not been confirmed, but they state it has not been turned on in roughly 8-10 years. A specialist will be needed to assess the functionality of the device to see if it holds any data from HyperGeometrics. More information will be needed before verifying if this discovery can be confirmed.

Impact on Fan Theories

• The interview with David Chen seemingly confirms the existence of *some* form of hidden content, albeit more of an aesthetic change rather than a fully-fledged mini-game, as many theorized.
• Ben Carter's statements about backed-up early builds lend credence to the theory regarding planned updates and unused assets. The possibility of recovering these builds could provide valuable insights into HyperGeometrics' original vision for the game.

References

1. ↑ "Interview with Anya Petrova." Portland Indie Game Monthly, June 2015.
2. ↑ "Review of My Pet Trapezoid." Mobile Game Report, July 2015.
3. Reddit thread: r/LostMobileGames, 2024. https://www.reddit.com/r/LostMobileGames
4. David Chen's Blog. "The Hidden Polygon." 2016. https://davidchenmusic.blogspot.com