GAME DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Initial Development

When discussing the assignment, we initially chose mini golf as an inspiration for the game. We then started creating the first few levels that just introduced the player to moving around a level and slowly showed each challenge. At first we chose a pull-back and release touch input for the game, but then realized that it felt confusing for players to use that mechanism and also we weren't able to get the gameplay to feel very good. So then we ended up basing the ball movement on gyroscopic movement. 

At this point, there are 15 levels that consists of spikes, ramps, and moving platforms. 

Game Playtesting Changes

After the first week of playtesting, we were given feedback to make the early levels easier. Players had troubling getting the ball into the putt so to help them, we made the hole larger and gave more platform space around the hole to prevent them from falling. We also added a small picture in the start screen to hint to players to tilt their phones.

We also received feedback on the spikes in the game since restarting the level immediately can cause confusion. So we added a vibration when the player touches the spikes so it subtly indicates that the spikes caused their death. 

The last piece of large feedback was to keep our levels short and focus on creating as many levels as possible. So we bumped the level count from 7 to 15.