This project was the perfect opportunity for me to prove how much more streamlined my workflow had become from planning methodical systems and iterating on puzzle designs to implementing assets and addressing playtester feedback. 

The video above shows my puzzle design process using various tools I made specifically for this project. This was important to ensure I could design systems that would be intuitive for other designers to use. The test level in the video didn't trigger the win state properly as it was excluded from the build, but otherwise all the main features worked. 

Firstly, it's very easy to change the lines on each hexagon tile and the win detection automatically updates the solution (which can be seen when all tiles become saturated). To add more to the puzzle, I can simply duplicate some tiles and drag them into place using my custom grid snapping. 

The cog, bound, unclickable and toggle mechanics are all automatically updated by various checks on the script, even stacking with each other. Additionally, I made judicious use of prefabs to facilitate the workflow, ensuring changes to common buttons like the timer and arrow are automatically copied over to all levels. 

Despite making the game non-linear, I was able to give it a smoother difficulty curve than the original with more incrementally challenging puzzles. By using the lore as rewards for the puzzles, I also fixed a small issue of jarring dissonance between gameplay styles that some players experienced with the first game. 

I also improved a few assets that I felt were lacking in the original, including the text box, fonts and hexagon tile sprites. For the audio, I repurposed but didn't alter the original sounds, created by Emily Tran.

Further details of my process can be found in my development blog below.

Despite being a redesign of my first game, I didn't have enough time to improve every feature. Although longer, this game has a less complete narrative, which I'd want to expand given a larger scope. This game also doesn't include any of the accessibility features that made the first game so unique, so given more time I'd love to redesign and implement more accessibility features to further polish this version.