"Release"

I'm finally releasing this version of the game! It's been "in development" for maybe about ~4 days total. I started this the week of the Global Game Jam 2025, with the intention of finishing it before heading out to my MAGFest trip later in the week. Time caught up, though, and I didn't quite get to uploading it before my flight took off. Oh well! Here it is, in all its soundless glory.

The design of the game changed drastically, as they often do. Originally, the game was meant to be played in "levels", where you would either have a time limit or a score limit to reach in order to progress. As I started playing with the bubble popping mechanics, I found myself having a lot more fun going for high scores than just arbitrarily surviving for as long as I could. Therefore, why not just leave the "goal" to the players, and let them make their own fun?

Another plan I had after following this train of thought was to make "Achievements" for the game that added unlockable things like player skins and new bubbles. Time restraints obviously didn't let that happen, but I still managed to sneak two (2) extra bubbles in there for fun.

Playtesting was constrained as well- I had my friends try it out, all of which are not "avid gamers", pointing out that the initial movement options and lack of direction really wasn't as intuitive as I thought. I feel this feedback is crucial in creating an experience, since I am so lost in the idea that "left is left, right is right, and up is jump" I just automatically assume everyone is hardwired the same way. I dedicated my last couple hours to adding a tutorial of sorts and a "lives" mechanic.

Overall, I had a blast distracting myself from my main project and challenging myself to actually "finish" something within the time allotted. If there's anything I could improve, it's definitely time management and scoping. I'll take these lessons and use them to fuel my upcoming ideas. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the game!