Block Twist!

Game Link

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sporty.blocktwist  

Project Context

Block Twist is an original concept I conceptualised during our company's pivot back into casual, F2P self-publishing. The game is an original concept that blends traditional Match-3 gameplay with unique rules of rotating groups of four blocks, known as clusters, to form matches, or swapping clusters using drag and drop mechanics for entirely new grid configurations.

Detailed Contribution

MVP Content Design

• Defined all core gameplay design, including gameplay loops, rotation mechanics and swap mechanics

• Designed all block and grid data: total colours, points per match, grid size, etc.

• Designed all level data in-engine: Level score threshold values (randomised between a range), level Moves values per threshold (with post-FTUE generosity), difficulty curve balancing

• FTUE design: Guided animated hand big match, instructional text, FTUE target level score generosity and Moves generosity

• UI/UX design, including buttons, top and bottom bars, settings, slider designs and big match text callouts

• Sourcing all sounds, music and other audio files

Full Project Content Design

• Expansive gameplay mechanics design, including match chains (incremental score multipliers per match) and power-up design

• Detailed meta combining fog-clearing elements seen in newer Match titles, combined with asset build & upgrade meta as seen in titles such as Tetris Block Party

• Accessibility design to better cater for colourblind players. This includes a settings toggle with design that assigns symbols to colours that are readable across all degrees of rotation

• Extended core loop, session meta loop, and progression meta loop outlines

• Detailed narrative elements, including pre-game world context, world themes and world asset designs, character designs and details, plot points and narrative explanations tied into meta elements, such as post-level rewards, fog and desolate lands

• Soft currency and IAP store design

• Detailed onboarding integrating core loop, progression, store and power-up screens

• Extensive data planning, including block matches, chain multiplier values, economy planning (city element unlocks, city element upgrades, number of upgrades required to complete a world, total number of worlds required to be completed to finish core game), level completion rewards and defining daily and weekly objectives

Results

The game entered soft launch ahead of schedule, much to the delight of Production. Whilst more time is required to evaluate stickiness, early signs show we're tracking slightly above the casual genre average for session lengths. Early retention numbers are tracking significantly below the casual genre average. A second update introducing an MVP meta will give us a better indication of whether or not we will continue working on this title going forward.

What Didn't Go So Well

It was great being part of a small, nimble team, but after getting the green light to proceed with a fog meta with asset unlock and upgrades, conflicts arose as my scaled-back MVP still required a huge investment in 2D and 3D art, and code support for 1 big map comprised of 5 assets that could be upgraded 3 times. This resulted in time wasted as our MVP soft launch instead pivoted to level-based sequential gameplay. Whilst an even softer meta will be introduced should early metrics look good, removing fog and asset upgrades for simple 'tap to unlock' meta gameplay, merging two metas was too grand for an MVP.

What I'll Do Better Going Forward

I know now that whilst meta innovation is important, we'll never get there if early metrics aren't good enough. Sacraficing innovation for an even simpler MVP whose scope was doable within a 4-week window would have ultimately meant that we would have soft-launched with the meta, giving us the best possible chance of having good retention numbers, instead, this meta (if early numbers show promise) will be introduced in our first big update.