Turn Based Puzzle Games

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Jyaw3, Jul 28, 2009.

  1. Jyaw3

    Jyaw3 Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2009
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    Ontario
    Hey all so while in between trying to promote my first game and starting my 3rd game, I've been writing levels for my second game.

    So for those of you who know/play gridlock, or like those kind of games this is a question for you.

    How long/difficult do you like each level/puzzle to last?

    And how many puzzles do you think would make for a good starting number?

    Atm, I've got 60 levels planned.

    I don't plan to include online leaderboards for these base 60 games, simply for the fact that I have it such that I have included the optimal number of moves to solve a level. In essence highscores wouldn't really work since there's already a known limit to best score possible

    I DO however plan to have something like puzzle of the day/week, where you can just download the content and then upload your score.

    But before I do that, I need to find what's "doable" by the public, ie so they don't complain about it being too hard =)
     
  2. snow_mani

    snow_mani Well-Known Member

    Oct 20, 2008
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    I have many games from this genre. Because everyone has slightly different capabilities, particularly when it comes to solving these types of puzzles, you would be best to offer a range of difficulty levels. If you do this then your game will have broader appeal. Some games in this genre let you choose the difficulty level and others start on easy and progressively get harder as you solve each puzzle. A quick look in the iTunes App Store and you will see that this is already a very full genre. There are many gridlock games competing for purchases. Several offer 100 levels and most offer levels that are a mixture of difficulties. Something you didn't mention is an undo button. Nearly all have an undo button. The big sellers or standouts in this genre offer new game features that their competitors don't. Like an "action" replay in Kitten Escape or the hint feature in Square Master. Blocked has notepad paper effect for the blocks and several of the other games show car dashboard style controls and vehicle themed sound effects. Hope this info helps! Best of luck with the game.
     
  3. Jyaw3

    Jyaw3 Well-Known Member

    Jul 9, 2009
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    Ontario
    Cool thanks, the undo button hmm...I'm not exactly keen on that, as I personally think solving puzzles in general shouldn't have an undo function. Like part of the feel of solving a puzzle is saying, "oh I should have done this instead" and partially going back to it, or starting over.

    Ya, I know gridlock was like..out with who knows how many clones, mine isn't gridlock, just a type of puzzle game where it's go from A to B with X, Y, Z obstacles in your way. Should be done soon to be honest, just waiting for art
     
  4. astrosaurus

    astrosaurus Well-Known Member

    Jun 10, 2009
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    Portland, OR
    Yeah, I prefer not to have an undo button either. Once you have that you start taking a lot more risks than you would have otherwise. Which can be fine for some games, but people start getting sloppy and not "caring" as much about every move.
     
  5. pluto6

    pluto6 Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2009
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    Jyaw3 -

    I am not familiar with Gridlock - that I can remember - I have played so many games, that I don't always remember their names - so I googled it - and it looks like Rush Hour? I don't know which came first, but I remember playing rush hour (I still have 3 of the Binary Arts sets and cards) for many hours...

    Is this the type of game it is?
     

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