Chicken VS Foxes

There's a game I want to make because it's close to my heart (I'll hold the suspense, you'll hear about it when the time comes!) and this one has a puzzle gameplay mechanic. So of course without knowing anything about it, I thought it would be a piece of cake...

In truth, once I was faced with the document to be written that had to describe the mechanics in detail, I had to admit that I didn't master the codes. So I decided to go and learn from our peers, experienced in puzzle games, in order to learn from their experience. And I must admit that doing puzzles is an art.

With this in mind, I had to adopt a strategy: I would have to create prototypes of puzzle games progressively in order to master their design, to implement the "eureka" moments, the "fiero" moments while avoiding to frustrate the player too much and lose him.

In short, the game I'm presenting to you today is the first step in my learning of puzzle games.

I have chosen the Akari puzzle, well known by the readers of daily newspapers, first because I like to play it and also because it presents simple enough rules, to start well.

So even if you don't recognize it as an Akari puzzle, my Foxes VS Chckens is one of them, the result of my work, hoping that you will like it.

As it is a postmortem, I have to answer those two questions: 

What didn't turn out the way I wanted it to? Definitely the controls. You know the 3Cs rule in game design, well, as much as I'm happy with the camera, the characters too, cubic, touching, but as much as I'm not satisfied with the way to interact. Indeed, the friends to whom I played my prototype almost all complained that they didn't understand how to do it. They expected to play a fox and I gave them an experience a bit like Casita from a well known animation movie... I thought it was nice and I liked the visual effects of the cube that rises up with the impression that we are underneath. I have to admit that I didn't succeed on this very precise point since it is the criticism which returns very often...

What went as I wished?  The puzzle mechanism works very well. And it will be very easy for me to add more and more entertaining and complex levels to solve if you, the players, ask me in the future.

I'm now going to the second phase,  a match3 game with, I hope, a good gamefeeling and some innovation.

On these words I leave you, don't hesitate to play the twenty or so levels that my game offers and if you want more, don't hesitate to tell me in the comments!

See you soon!

   Thierry