Half way reflection

So, we're half way, how do I feel I am doing, how do I feel about the game and what can we accomplish? These thoughts I will be exploring here.

I feel as though I am doing alright. What do I mean? Well I feel I am doing a lot better than I was last year, the player knows where they have to go and how to get there is not overly complicated, this is something that I want to carry forward throughout the project. I also feel as though the puzzles I have in mind once practiced by the player can be iterated, creating higher levels of difficulty and combined in different ways. 

Although the level plan works and it is only the first area, I think to myself that it is perhaps a little too simple or narrow. For now this is fine, however later on puzzles and rooms may be a bit more open, and it is then I will need to put in to practice how to compose each area properly and guide the player's interest and eye to where it needs to be. If I am combining different puzzles together or have them so that they follow on from each other in some way, I am going to need to do this well. 

In terms of puzzles I feel as though I have thought of some strong ideas, however looking at classic puzzles in past games and how mechanics where used before, I feel like I have taken quite a departure from them. I do not think that this is a bad thing, I just feel as though if I really pushed to my limit, then even crazier or more interesting puzzles would come out of it, that they would all fit together like a glove and have some really good synergy between them. There is still a lot of time to go, and with that time and the puzzles ideas that I have already created and tested I am going to try and get as close to reaching this point as I possibly can.

So what is there to think about? How interesting the puzzles are, whether the player is having moments to explore, whether the section uses animated environments to it's advantage, how the area is composed both in terms of how it looks and how it guides the player, how to introduce the player to different puzzles and then iterate them in different ways, where jumping, climbing and the grappling hook come in to all of this (which of course I have thought about) and how all of this fits and works together to create a memorable, natural, challenging and intriguing experience. I find this pretty exiting and daunting.

I like the game, in terms of what we have created it is pretty cool, seems to work well, however in terms of the game's potential and what we want to do with it, that's where I really get exited. Even if we only have a few other small areas and one boss, there is so much potential within them. Of course I hope we can do more than that, the more we do, the crazier the puzzles and environments can become, and the bigger story we can tell.

What we have in mind for this game is perhaps the most exiting things for me, I feel as though with a minimum goal there is still a lot of potential, it just takes thought as to what we should include in that. The story of time and space ripping apart, the sands and what we could do with that I feel is also scale-able. 

At this point I am not sure how far we will get. Realistically I do not think we will accomplish three different time periods with three different levels and bosses, though if we are smart about it and re-use things in clever ways you never know. I am confident that we can manage the finished tutorial area, a polished boss and have another area, whether it is another part of the canyon or the castle, with 3 rooms that are a bit bigger than what we have now, which created proper puzzle environments. I do not know how puzzle heavy these could be, but each area could do something clever.

At this point there is a lot of looking forward, planning, implementing and organizing to do and this where we can all really shine and put together something awesome, and for me this is the start of having a lot of fun designing all of these new puzzle areas. I guess we'll see what exactly we'll be able to have within the game in the time to come.

Also, you may be wondering how I posted up 13 blog posts in 6 minutes, that is because I kept them as drafts until they were ready and I had made sure everything was included, I have actually been working on them for the last 14 days.