Sandwich Artist by Day, Game Designer by Night

Mike Moreno may have one of the shortest commutes to work in Los Angeles.

During the day, he can be found behind the counter of the Cahuenga General Store making sandwiches. When he punches out, it's just a quick walk up the stairs to the second floor and he's back home.

That's where he begins a shift for his second job: co-founder of game design company Bearded Man Studios.

Moreno, 34, and his handful of partners also have an office in Glendale and recently released their first title, Word Lab.

Available for download on the Android via Google Play and online play on Facebook, the game asks players to assemble words out of a five-by-five grid of letters. The letters don't have to be touching each other in order to be combined into a word. It's free to play, but power-ups are available at a cost.

A lifelong gamer from Houston, Moreno says Word Lab is meant to be a fun experience but also be beneficial to those wanting to develop their language skills.

"I like to make games that make a difference," he said. "This word game can help people, it's not just mindlessly matching colors, you have to use your brain to make words, I hope it helps people."

Word Lab can be played solo or between friends and an iPhone version is expected to be released in several weeks.

Moreno is studying video game programming at the Art Institute of California--Hollywood. Prior to that, he helped manage a GameStop store and served in the U.S. Army prior to 9/11.

He's a fan of retro gaming, like 8-bit games on the original Nintendo console, and would like to develop titles like from the 1980s through Bearded Man Studios.

"I grew up in Houston, Texas and in the area I lived in I didn't have a lot of friends, I had my regular Nintendo, that was kind of like my best friend growing up," Moreno said. "When I got older, i kind of felt like I wanted to give those experiences back to the people."