POWER CRISIS · published
That's right, after all this time I am finally restarting development, and with it, I have released a new demo that encapsulates the new design features.
One thing, for better or for worse, is the new demo is a lot shorter. BUT, I think for demos, less is more. It should give you a taste of the game without overwhelming you.
The old demo was 10 levels. This new one is 5 levels. However, while the quantity is decreased, I hope you'll find the quality has increased.
With this change, I have reworked most puzzles. I think only like, one has remained unchanged (chamber 3 my beloved). In the past, I seemed to design with the idea that "complex = interesting". That simply isn't true. You'll find that the chambers are now more "compact" in design, and by and large have all of the puzzle elements on screen without needing to zoom out. This is core to my new design philosophy of trying to make puzzles that do as much as possible with as little as possible, if that makes sense.
In addition, a lot of pain points have been ironed out. Firstly, lasers no longer damage you. I may re-enable this for a challenge mode in the final game, but overall, I found that even if it "makes sense"... that doesn't make it "fun". Dying over and over by accidentally touching lasers was not fun for anyone. So I changed it.
In fact, you can't really die in the demo anymore, as there are no longer any levels featuring the "glooms"... There is technically one spot, though, where you can die by standing in darkness for too long. But you pretty much have to be trying to fail.
I am hoping I can release the game either late 2026, or early 2027. I have rescoped the game to be much more manageable, while also not cutting out anything that I thought was core to the game.
Namely, my initial scope for the game was 3 acts, with 20 levels each. Sounds simple, but I had a lot of issues with it. Namely, the original idea for "act 2", I couldn't ever fully flesh out. I have realized since then that I felt like I needed 3 acts, even if it didn't benefit the story at all.
Now, my scope is 2 acts, with around 15 levels each. I know that sounds like a HUGE downscale, but I think what will come of this is, sure, a shorter experience, but a much higher quality one. I feel like forcing myself to make 60 levels would inevitably lead to some stinkers. But, by keeping it short and sweet, I can dedicate more time to make sure each level is actually enjoyable. I'm actually using Portal as a strong inspiration. That game is beloved by many, yet only has 20ish levels! Just because a game is "short" doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable! Plus, I am hoping I can give this game more length, not by just flooding it with levels, but by making some of the puzzles genuine chin scratchers that take some good thinking to solve.
Furthermore, there will be much more "story" in the final game. Now this will mostly be background features and such you will have to actively search for... my main goal is to make a playable puzzle game that's fun. But, I have had plenty of time to brainstorm the story and world more, so expect to have some things on the side to develop a stronger narrative.
Anyways, I'll get back to work. Do try the new demo, and let me know what you think!
-Brensnorf