Meet Aloha Bob Moffa: Game Designer, Photographer, Graphic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aloha Bob Moffa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aloha Bob, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Corporate jobs are not for everyone. Movies have shown us that, and I’ve had to live through my wife’s tales. The difference between my wife and myself is that she thrives in it. I would have been the guy in the movie Office Space that decided, “I just don’t want to work anymore.” Most of my adult life involved working in a small business environment; not quite corporate, but just enough. We had the programmers, IT people, sales, basically all of the business professionals you’d expect. Then there was me, the artistic guy that wanted to push his creative boundaries but was limited to an audience of technical robot minds who thought a technical manual was more interesting than anything I created. When I felt I wanted to take my night job of graphic design and photography to the next level, we decided I’d take the leap and start a studio on my own. I am a great photographer and graphic designer and have a marvelous sense of big picture ideas for advertising. I’m also quite modest. I’m happy to say that 12 years later it is still going strong as Aloha Bob Photo and Design (ILoveAlohaBob.com). I wanted to expand into more creative ideas. My family loves playing games with each other and I had many ideas for games I could make. I started on some ideas, hired some people to help with the areas I wasn’t as strong in, and we were off running. As of this writing, Mount Tiki Games (MountTikiGames.com) has published two games and has many more that are close to releasing.    

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Getting to where I am today was not easy. First, we opened our photo studio right around the same time that the recession of 2008 hit. Businesses were closing, and people were losing a lot of disposable income, and that hurt. And to add injury to injury, smartphones were on the rise, and people were excited to be able to take their own pictures. Who needs a professional? Hint – the people that want great photography. Digital SLR cameras were also becoming affordable to everyone at that time. Many people who lost their jobs decided to make a go at being a photographer, whether they knew what they were doing or not. This hit hard because I had to compete with newcomers who would shoot a whole wedding for free just for the practice. Ironically, what I did to overcome that was raise my prices on certain things. I’d instead ply my talents on someone who was looking for quality products. The other was to visibly show the difference between what others did and what I could do. When someone sees a side-by-side comparison, it works. I believe two things set me apart from the others. The first would be the number of excellent services I provide. Be sure to note the word ‘excellent’ because many companies claim to do a lot of things, but very few of them can actually do them well. Photography, for example, you can look at my work in portraiture, business headshots, product photos, etc., and see consistent quality across the board. The same goes for graphic design. If I say I can do it, I do it well. Of course, the thing I’m most excited about is my newest venture, Mount Tiki Games. Since I had an artistic and design background, it was easy for me to get into the graphic part of the games I make. I do hire people to draw characters, but everything else is all me, and seeing my hard work on thousands of games that people choose to buy is a definite adrenaline boost.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are some great places around the city that I love visiting. The whole area around Centennial Park is a blast. In the summer you can get wet in the fountains and the winter brings out the Christmas lights. Our aquarium is top-notch and right next to that is the Word of Coke, which should be a staple for every visit. CNN Center has a good tour and there are the Turner channel stores all around. Going to the top of the Westin Peachtree Plaza is always spectacular with amazing spinning views. I’ve been here since 1973 and the blue dome of the Hyatt Regency was the tallest building then so seeing the city change every time I go down is crazy. Speaking of crazy, you get a crazy good fast food experience at The Varsity. The Fernbank museums and Center for Puppetry Arts are two of my other favorites.   

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The tabletop board gaming community is one that got me into the board game design field in the first place, so they deserve a shoutout. I’ve also had so many family and friends that have supported me in all that I’ve done so that support system gets a shoutout as well. And of course, my wife Renee and son Trey. They encourage me and are with me every step of the way, and I involve them with all I do. They deserve the biggest shoutout of all.

Website: www.ILoveAlohaBob.com and www.MountTikiGames.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilovealohabob and https://www.instagram.com/mounttikigames
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountTikiGames
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountTikiGames and https://www.facebook.com/ilovealohabob