Crackle

Crackle is a small proof of concept prototype made in 6 days as a university project.  The game involves solving endless puzzles in a match-three style with a unique spin.  It is heavily inspired by short-casual mobile games and runs on the web.

Candy Crush Saga (2012) is a mobile game where you “switch and match your way through hundreds of levels in [a] divine puzzle adventure.” - excerpt from King’s website. In Crackle, I aim to emulate the basic game flow of Candy Crush Saga and follow the same conventions of a match-three style game. Given the time constraints of this project, I believe that a small scoped concept (such as this mobile game) will prove beneficial; focusing on the quality of elements within the idea rather than the quantity of them.

Balatro (2024) by LocalThunk is a card videogame "where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos. " - excerpt from steam page. With my game, I aim to emulate the minimalist look and dream-like visual aesthetic. I will also be taking note of the games strict top-down view,  showing a full view of the board with only the necessary elements for gameplay being shown.

Both of these games supply an endless gameplay loop that is simple yet addictive. I believe that the main driving factor for this is the motivation given to players via an in-game score. Players chase a higher and higher score which keeps them coming back again and again. I have experienced this first hand in games such as Devil Daggers (2016) by Sorath which includes a global leaderboard that matches your skill against all other player. The inclusion of this leaderboard is what drove me to keep playing the game and achieve the illusive five hundred seconds; an achievement that only 0.3% of players have (I am one of them btw).

I do not claim to own or have created the following creative works used in this project.