Hello and welcome to our blog! We are creating a fun puzzle platformer game called SparkShift, and we will be documenting our journey here as we go!
Download release v0.4 for Windows/macOS and try it out! We want to know what you think!
What is SparkShift?
SparkShift is a 2 person co-op, 2D puzzle platformer set in a factory which the robots must escape. In SparkShift, the players have the ability to teleport to their partner, and if the partner is in the air, then the player gets a temporary platform underneath them when they finish teleporting. We built some really cool puzzles around these mechanics, and we've enjoyed watching players figure out how to use them in creative ways to escape the factory!
What's New?
This week we implemented the introduction scene of our game where our players start as neutral colors and boot up for the first time. We also added a pickup that enables the ability to teleport once collected. In our playtesting, we also uncovered that some of the mechanics of the game such as the insulator walls, lasers, and swapping places by teleporting were not introduced in an order that made it easy for the players. So, we reworked some of the level designs and made a much more direct plan to introduce each of the mechanics in a specific order.
What's the Motivation?
Most of these changes we made in order to make the progression of the game feel more complete. Previously, most of the levels felt like a combination of random ideas, but we want to have them fit together to become interesting unique puzzles for the players to figure out.
What's Next?
We hope to continue to polish the visuals of SparkShift over the next week and add more details to the levels to make them feel more complete. We also hope to add more engaging puzzles as well as progression to make each section of the game feel like it has it's own feel. Finally, we hope to add more unique sounds for different features.
