Hello All,

Been doing alot of thinking and planning for my latest game development project. In particular, I have thought about how to keep a game interesting while keeping the accessability high, so that more players can enjoy the game without feeling that the game is too easy, too hard, too boring 😛

Now, I am not saying that I found the perfect way to do this… However, I will say that if I can look at my game, play itself, without my interference… for more than 2 minutes, without getting bored… then I am pretty much on the right track, because I tend to get bored very quickly with games that arent skill based.

Having looked more into the concepts of Pachinko (a japanese gambling pinball type game that dates back to… i think… the early 1900’s … I’ve seen Pachinko machines from 1920) and become quite fascinated with the Pachinko-game itself. I have tried to use some of the aspects from the Pachinko game and incorporate them into the game design of my own game. Also, when you see the Pachinko, and then try out Popcap’s game Peggle, you will see immediately where they got their inspiration from.

There is just something oh so mesmerising when it comes to watching little steel balls bouncing around inside an enclosed area with nothing but your own outbursts of ‘GO GO GO LITTLE BALL!!!!‘ to guide it on its way to a successful point-booster! 😉

Anyways, for those of you who havent actually tried out the game-demo-display thingy that I have here on my page, I’ve made a video that you can watch, and it will give you a rough idea where this game is headed 🙂

As you can see, the game now has 4 different colour orbs which I’ve decided to name Fire, Earth, Water, Air. Hitting these orbs will add points to your score, and later on, they will also add Mana (a sort of fuel or energy for powering certain special abilities) to your player.

For example, hitting 3 Water Orbs will add Blue Mana to your player, thus allowing you to use some of your Water Based abilities (I admit, everything is just on the idea stage currently, but I have a feeling this could prove to become quite interesting once i figure out how to code all of that :p )

So… basically what I am aiming for is a kind of Peggle-Clone with Fantasy/Roleplay elements in the shape of gaining Experience Points to level up your player-avatar. Gathering Mana while completing a level, and using said mana to cast spells and abilities that will allow you accomplish your goal of completing a level easier… Think Healing spells that give back lost balls, or throwing fireballs that allow you to target a specific area of the screen and blow up any Orbs in that area of effect. 🙂

A bit confusing in text, perhaps… but rest assured, It will all make sense once you try it… that is… once its done… that is… when its done… that is… ah well… Stay Tuned! I’m thinking and tinkering!

This game will rock when its done! and if you disagree, then by all means, chip in and add your comments and constructive critisism! I would love to hear your opinion on this concept and on my game ideas 🙂

Thanks for reading!