As the game went through several iterations, with different ideas and designers, we saw that it is a much needed move to start on a clean plate, and remake the game from scratch.
Part One: The Glaring Problems
Gameplay
Gameplay in current builds lacks a lot in player feedback and effects, and it is weak on how natural it teaches the players about the game mechanics.
Also, some game mechanics like Level system and Other special puzzles felt like it does not belong to the overall feel and style of the game, and it is only there as a plain mechanic of level gating, instead of the intended design goal of engaging the player in different activities.
Art
Because of a lack of Art Direction in prior releases, and the fact that three different art designers each contributed to the Art with little communication between them, it caused the Art to be somewhat off putting for a fair amount of people.
Also, the lack of Art Direction created many problems, such as that there is no Harmony and Unified Style for the game Art, and a lack of a design goal, both in UI Layouts and the Art itself.
Story
The game saw not intended to have a story that is shown to the players, however, there is a complete story written for the world and characters, and we have tried to include some subtle implications in puzzle design, items, collections, achievements, etc. throughout the game.
But now, we will try to include the story, even if as in a simple presentation way. Of course, we don't like to do anything in half measure, so we are intending to be creative about it.
The Technical Side
The technical side of a game that went through several design changes and iterations, along with an inexperienced team, to say it, suffered a lot. The game became a mess, several systems was redesigned, while others were still in the Jurassic era.
Overall, it became hard to modify or add new features and gameplay ideas, and the extensibility of the game have reached a low point
Continuing the Story
The technical side will be discussed in the next blog article in some detail, on how and why the game became the mess it was.
