Suzy Cube Update: September 22, 2017

#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity 

A short update this week. Mostly spent my time decorating levels and watching tester replays.

Dressed to the Nines

I finished a decoration pass on World 3 this week, including work on the lava themed Level 3-3.

Hot stuff

Suzy Cube uses a rather simplistic art style, so decoration is all about adding a little visual interest while breaking up some of the straight lines and silhouettes.

Handle with care

Most importantly, though. When decorating a level, I try to ensure that the added details don't interfere with gameplay or navigation. When possible, in fact, I try to enhance these aspects of the level, like with the dark rock patches, here, which help to highlight the way forward.

Cool digs

For the World 5 boss level, the narrow walkways posed a challenge since they do not offer much room for decorative props without getting in the way of players. Alas, I had to content myself with some rocky blocks along the back walls and a few snowy patches along the path. At least, as seen up top, I was able to decorate the goal area a bit more to compensate.

Isn't that Special

I went through the latest tester videos which mostly helped to confirm the need for some of the changes I had already implemented last week. Otherwise, no glaring issues, which was kind of bittersweet. On the one hand, it's nice to see players getting on with the game so well, but on the other, it feels good to address issues and feel like I'm really improving the game for future players. I know, I know... Woe is me!

Finally, I've started work blocking out the Special World levels. I haven't spoken much about the Special World, mostly because I don't want to give too much away to those aforementioned future players who might follow my blog. Without spilling the beans on what these levels will actually turn out to be, levels in the Special World will be unlocked by finding all the Stars in the game's regular worlds. The Special World levels will comprise a mix of remixed regular levels and new, high concept, high challenge levels and are meant both as rewards and tests of skill for Suzy's most dedicated fans. I've been holding off on designing these to concentrate on the game's main levels, but I think I'm ready to start making these a reality.

Next Monday, I'll be touching base with Noodlecake on how we will be moving forward on the project. I'm very excited about them getting more deeply involved and seeing the progress we can make together. And for the curious... Yes... This IS the meeting I was supposed to have with them this week but which I missed due to a timezone mixup... On my part...

Well, on that note. I've decided to lean back, plug a controller into the ol' Macbook and play through the game. I mostly want to focus on the frequency of Extra Lives being earned and opportunities for hiding more little rewards in levels. See you all next week.