Hi there, Terraforming Friends,
We have released version 0.2.8 of the demo addressing many usability issues learned at PixelCon.
Watch this 1.5 minute gameplay video!
We decided to boost players up the learning curve with a focused tutorial level and a less cluttered base. A major issue was that the game takes too much time to unpack itself, so in the new version you start out with all 3 robots unlocked and 8 terraforming units so that you can get what the game is about, even if you can only give it 15 seconds of attention. Some other usability improvements include:
1. the HUD shows how much resources are on a given level, so you don't have to guess whether you collected everything
2. the game now always shows an arrow pointing at your next objective (terraformer unit or exit), so you don't have to guess where you have to go.
The game designer is the player's advocate, however, sometimes it is hard to find the fine line between an enjoyable challenge, and a tedious grind. Also, it varies between players.
Change #1 is straightforward - players were uncertain whether they could leave or not, and this anxiety makes the experience worse while being forced to carefully explore every nook and cranny is only moderately enjoyable, so the fun vs. tedium math works out in favor of change #1.
We are less certain about change #2 - maybe finding where the exit was used to be an enjoyable part of navigating the maze, while not having a clear indication of your objective was only slightly frustrating.
Anyway, let's test it!
Watch this 1.5 minute video, try the new demo, tell us what you think. You can join our Discord server (Discord.gg) to get insta-access to the download link, or just send us a private message and we'll send the link to you directly.
Enjoy!
