Things are finally progressing! I finished up the endgame area a week ago and shipped that out to a small group of testers. I believe there will still be some changes/improvements there, but overall I’m happy with the initial feedback I’ve seen.
Experience has shown me that when I take this long between builds of the game, major things will end up broken. Because of that, I’ve been taking a little downtime between shipping this build and implementing the next major area for the game. I didn’t want testers finding game-breaking bugs while I’m ripping up so much that I can’t ship a build until I finish the art for the next area.
Thus far, The bugs have definitely started to flow in. In fact, I’ve not been able to address the endgame area feedback as much as I’d like because there were so many other bugs. But it’s good to have my decision to postpone major changes validated.
In the meantime, as part of my break from game-breaking work, I’ve completed one of those “nice-to-have” improvements on the list; something I thought I might not be able to get done before ship: I’ve been re-doing some of the art for the starting area. You can see a couple comparisons below:
It’s hard to believe it’s already been two years since I originally did some of this artwork, but it’s been in desperate need of improvement for a while. I think the revision has much stronger details while also having a cleaner look that fits better with the rest of the game’s aesthetics.
It’s also a bit of a testament to how much I’ve improved as an artist over the course of this project. When I first started doing the art, I really didn’t know if I’d be up to the task. I’ve done some dabbling in visual art through my life, but I’ve never considered it something that I was particularly strong at. But through a combination of thoughtful art direction choices and just churning away for years on end, I think I’ve achieved something that looks nice and works well for the game.
So, What’s Next?
As I mentioned in the previous post, the next major task on the list is the artwork for the Mill area. I also need to re-think the structure of the area significantly. The current implementation is too straightforward and boring:
As you can see, most of the area is just a straight line. Although there is a bit of branching in the middle, the puzzles on the left side there are completely optional, so the main thrust of the area is totally linear. This structure, combined with the sheer number of puzzles in this area (44 essential, 25 optional), can be pretty exhausting for players to go through, and although adding artwork to the area can help significantly with the fatiguing aspect of the experience, I also want to try some other things.
I’ve experimented a bit with the structural designs for each area as I go along. I always try to do something a little different. Some areas are very linear, with a straight line of puzzles you have to all do in order. Some are mostly linear but with a few splits that you can do out of order. Some are almost entirely non-linear, with many options that are equally challenging.
One of the things I’ve thought about doing with the Mill area is designing it a bit “backwards”, with the player finding the hardest puzzles in the area before the introductory panels. This could backfire horribly, since some players may assume they should be able to solve anything that’s accessible to them, but it fits into my plan to go for a much more non-linear and knowledge-gated approach to this area than I have achieved with any of the others.
By “knowledge-gating”, I’m referring to the concept that the only barrier to progress is that you don’t understand how to do something, rather than requiring the player to obtain some item, or solve a long set of puzzles elsewhere.
Perhaps the area will be split into several buildings which can each be entered by solving a difficult puzzle. Each of these difficult puzzles will require some knowledge gained elsewhere in the area. This means that the player will have to explore around a bit when they first enter the area before they find a puzzle they can gain some traction on, but hopefully it will create that fun experience where the player realizes, after learning some new concept: “Aha! I know how to do that other puzzle now!”
I always try to push myself to do better with every new thing I add to the game. It’s what keeps this project engaging and enjoyable for me over such a long development cycle. (coming up on 6 years now!) Unfortunately this does mean that each new area has tended to take longer than the previous one, but I’m excited to get started on the Mill, and I think it has potential to be one of the better areas in the game.
Taiji 