Puzzle Ptuesday: Time’s (Almost) Up!

I’m late! I’m late for a very important (up)date!

We have been busy playtesting Episode 4’s game and finding ways to make the gameplay more clear. One of the ways we did this is by hiding the other keys that don’t need to be pressed - we found that the game was already challenging enough without the extra keys floating around to obscure the keys that need to be pressed.

Additionally, more of the art has been integrated, which not only makes the game look awesome, but it also gives the player a lot more feedback about what’s happening.

Chez made the time tunnel between levels look good! We’re also highlighting the goal object more clearly on this screen, and letting players decide when they’re ready to start the level. (The art for the buttons and text is temporary)

We’ve also added some in-game text to help teach the player how to play the game. Here’s a screenshot of one of the early levels:

Not EVERY screen will have this text, but we made sure to teach the player everything he/she needs to know in order to play the game.

Another problem players were having was that they weren’t sure how, why, or even IF they were failing. So, we stepped up the feedback to be absolutely clear. Now, not only will the screen will flash to red, but it will also explain what went wrong so the player can try to avoid that mistake in the future.

The remaining work to be done some level tweaking, bug fixing, and last second polish to make the game as solid as possible before we launch.

Tick tock!