Could the game feel fair while also being extremely difficult? These opposing concepts proved challenging because they require constant refinement to find the right balance.
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Timing jumps appeared to be the true test for players. This meant adjusting the speed at which oncoming platforms and obstacles approached. The question became how fast these could go before people would quit out of frustration. The game was tuned so they had just enough cushion to make it to the next safe landing area. To balance this small margin of forgiveness, the stakes were raised by implementing permanent death upon failure, as shown in the image above where the player’s character collides with an obstacle.
Result
Before the public release, players expressed that it felt like they were narrowly escaping obstacles, which created a constant dopamine rush. After launch, the game’s addictive nature became clear as several people requested an online leaderboard to showcase their scores, proving that they were actively engaged.
During early pre-production, exploration was done to decide if a player should be able to jump in multiple directions to reach platforms, similar to what is displayed in the above illustration.
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A brief prototype was developed to test the feel of the more dynamic jumping. To do so, a player would have to slide their finger on the screen to fling their gear character to their desired position.
Result
The sensation of flinging a character provided a tactile enjoyment but the process was lengthy and too complex for the desired fast-paced environment, which led to the mechanic being abandoned.
The goal was to create a game that would satisfy casual players while also appealing to retro enthusiasts. It was a challenge to merge these two elements into one enjoyable and cohesive experience, especially given the abundance of similar content already available.
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Inspiration came from mobile games like Geometry Dash and classics such as Super Mario Bros. These games highlighted the jump mechanic as a core gameplay element. The question became how to make this feel more unique. The solution was to alter the idea from hopping over enemies to a motion that allowed the player to spring back and forth between two fixed positions.
Result
The back-and-forth jumping offered a fresh take on a commonly used mechanic. When first implemented, it naturally led to the idea that players needed to watch for obstacles approaching from both sides of the landing points. This feature was incorporated into the final version of the game.
A personal goal was to design the tutorial without handholding, inspired by games like Megaman X, which teach players through self-taught methods.
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By observing how people interact with their phones when something is not working, it was clear they tend to tap the screen randomly to provoke feedback. This instinctive behaviour among mobile users was expected to occur when players were suddenly introduced to the gameplay. Therefore, the game begins abruptly with no on-screen instructions. When players tap, their character immediately jumps in response, as show in the above illustration.
Result
This self-guided learning approach worked better than expected. Even players with little gaming experience quickly understood what to do within the first few seconds of gameplay.
The very first game ever designed was initially planned to be more involved, featuring a player exploring carefully crafted levels with unique abilities introduced along the way. However, the question arose whether being so ambitious early in a career was a wise choice.
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Research was conducted into advice from other designers about creating a first game. It was commonly recommended to start by building around a single mechanic. This approach to generating meaningful gameplay has even been used in complex AAA titles such as Portal. Additionally, a one-button experience is considered an effective test of creativity. These lessons formed the foundation of the project and ultimately shaped it into the version roughly displayed above, which features a simple jump mechanic controlled by a single input.
Result
Simplifying gameplay provided a solid introduction to game design. Creating a game with only one input was still challenging but taught valuable lessons about deciding what elements were important enough to keep in the final product.
