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[alexandre-szybiak]

Puzezl - Level Design Process - part 4

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Undo Power

Here I introduce the last main ability which is similar to the “ground pound” learned earlier. It allows you to break up all connected pieces. It’s basically a safeguard to prevent you from being stuck. This ability exists mainly because I wanted the game to have no fail state, you never need to retry a level because you got stuck. This added a big constraint on level design.

Release the tension

You immediately have to repeat the new mechanic in a simple but cathartic level. You get to use it on a lot of pieces since I realized it was a pleasing action to do. Like in the previous level I used an existing mechanic in an alternative way, but in this case just to create mindless fun. Overall I tried creating rythm with easier level after hard ones to manage the tension. Also this level is basically a reshuffle of the very first one, to create a feeling of rememberance and familiarity.

Mastery

The last levels concludes the game by asking the players to use everything they learned throughout the game. They contain more pieces and are bigger to give a sense of threat and challenge.

Conclusion

With this game I tried to apply what I learned playing Nintendo games, how they let you toy with the mechanics in a safe environment, then develops them further and mixes them with other mechanics.

Breaking every mechanics and ideas into smaller chunks helped me a lot. I mapped out every level design building blocks and rationalized my process, allowing me to explore a large number of interesting combinations. While rationalization is effective, I also used experimentation and intuition to find the crazier ideas and sometimes use them as rewards for players.

In the process I did some playtesting with friends and colleagues to adjust level order and confirm theories about some harder levels, to see if they are understood.

Download the game on itch.io Watch a playthrough on youtube

[alexandre-szybiak]

Puzezl - Level Design Process - part 3

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New core mechanic

This level introduces a new core mechanic, the “ground pound” which allows to disconnect pieces and thus fix mistakes. I used the environment art to communicate where the mistake is with an obvisous mismatch of clouds and mountains.

Practice new mechanic

Then you get to practice and enjoy your new power. Reinforcing your skill to spot and fix mistakes.

Using environment art as clue

This is another level that relies on identifying what are the pieces relationship, but this time, you cannot use your character position, since it cannot jump high enough. I wanted the players to observe and look for clues in the environment art, also this time, unlike the first levels, I removed the safety net. You can make mistakes, connecting the wrong piece, but you learned a mechanic earlier to fix that.

Level design joke

With this one I wanted to play a joke on the players, using similar piece border and the initial layout I designed a path that seems natural, but if you follow it you’ll realize that the two central pieces are mixed up and you have to use your new power to fix your mistake. For careful players, I added a small clue in the environment (the small cloud) on the border of the mixed up pieces. Since the last levels made you practice your mismatch-spotting skills, you may spot the trap and feel smart.

Mixing previous ideas

This one reintroduce an idea already met earlier (separate bridges to progress) and mixes it with the newly learned “ground pound” mechanic. Again I wanted the players to feel stuck at the end, to make them think “What did I do wrong !” before thinking about their newly learned mechanic that will help them get free of the pit at the end.

Think outside the box

Now with this level, I wanted to create the famous “ha-ha” moment I like so much about puzzle games. To activate the ladder you have to move the piece on the top left, to do so you must temporarily connect two pieces wrongly. This in an alternative use of a known mechanic.

When I think about mechanics I always try to think about their opposite, like the bridges, you have to connect them but sometimes you must disconnect them to progress. Until here the game taught you to connect the right pieces together, but this level subvert that knowledge and wants you to think outside the box. It feels like a new idea, yet it only uses mechanics you learned earlier.

Continue to part 4

[alexandre-szybiak]

Puzezl - Level Design Process - part 2

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New mechanic

Introducing ladders which adds a layer of verticality to the gameplay, the tall shape of the level reflects that idea.

Practice

Here you can practice ladders and vertical gameplay.

New mechanic mixed with core mechanic

Now that it is well established, the ladder mechanic is mixed with the core idea of the game, which adds a new rule: ladders can be broken, becoming ghost ladders that can’t be climbed. I kept things very simple because the idea can be tricky to grasp. However, I made sure that:

You have to break the ladder, so you see the effect

You have to fall through it, so you experience yourself the fact that it’s now a ghost ladder

All of this increases the odds that you understand the mechanic.

Practice

Here you get to practice the new ladder mechanic.

Combining building blocks

Possibilities in level design starts to open here since I now have enough small building blocks to combine and create interesting situations. Usually, playtesters after applying the learned method of fixing ladders took a bit of time before realizing they have to move the whole level around the smallest piece on the left, creating a small “ha-ha” moment.

New building block & scenery

Introducing bridges and the fact that they have a “ghost” state like ladders. I thought it was a good time to use dramatic scenery as a reward, since bridges are good at that. Crossing a bridge usually means taking a big step in an adventure and gives a feeling of progression.

More practice

Bridge mechanic reinforcement

Twist

Another twist, after a puzzle with a lot of piece, this one only has two. The layout of the level force you to complete the puzzle and the doors open. But you can’t go through fixed bridges, preventing you from reaching the door. You have to take a step back and break the puzzle apart again. It’s a very simple level to solve but introduces the idea that sometimes you need to use mechanics in opposite ways.

Wow moment

Here I wanted to give the player a greater challenge but also a wow moment, so I set up this huge piece group that feels like a tool or key to activate the ladders. While experimenting, I found it was quite entertaining to use so I put it here to reward the player for learning many new mechanics. 

Continue to part 3

[alexandre-szybiak]

Puzezl - Level Design Process - part 1

Puzezl is a game mixing puzzle-platformers and jigsaw-puzzle solving.

You move a character around levels broken up into pieces.

To progress you have to fix the puzzles.

To do that you have the ability to move the piece you’re in.

Pieces that have connectors can be grouped and moved together.

Here I will explain my design process and intentions for each level.

Affordance

At first I wanted to make an even simpler level with only two pieces, but it didn’t look like an actual jigsaw-puzzle, so I built a level that looks like a puzzle about to be completed so you instinctively know what to do. I wanted the objective to be understood visually. Also I think a game should open with something familiar (here the traditional image of the incomplete puzzle) to create a kind of “home” and from here lead the you into uncharted territory.

Repeating the main mechanic

I make you repeat the piece-moving mechanic for practice

Practice

Practice again, this time with more connectors to make you practice recognizing the different connector shapes. I wanted to add a little emotion here by putting you in a small closed room and showing other room that obvisously can’t be accessed, so you feel more relief when you realize pieces can be chained together.

Opening up the play space

This levels opens up the possibilities, the first levels offered only one way to proceed, now in this one you can choose to start with the piece on the left or the one on the right, which adds a tiny bit of player agency. Note that while there are now more possibilities there is still no way to connect pieces wrong, at this point you still have a safety net to learn the mechanics safely.

Twist

Now at this point I wanted to create surprise, so I designed a level that looks and plays differently without adding any new mechanic. First, no piece can be connected and most of them looks the same, then the puzzle looks almost complete, but as you walk to move the offseted piece, you realize the puzzle is shuffled. The only way to solve this puzzle is using your character’s position in the world as a tool to identify the pieces relationships.

Continue to part 2

[alexandre-szybiak]

I made a new game, it's a puzzle game and you are some kind of creature that lives inside a jigsaw puzzle and you must reorder the puzzle to win.

https://alexandreszybiak.itch.io/puzezl

[alexandre-szybiak]

An arcade game made for Ludume Dare 35. The theme was “Shapeshifting”. Made with GameMaker: Studio.

https://alexandreszybiak.itch.io/two-jobs

[alexandre-szybiak]

World Pro Rock Paper Scissors is a 2 player game of rock paper scissors with a twist, you can read your opponent’s next move and change yours at the last moment to beat him.

https://alexandreszybiak.itch.io/world-pro-rock-paper-scissors

[alexandre-szybiak]

Puzzle game prototype

[alexandre-szybiak]

Art for a mini-game prototype.