With only a few iterations remaining, our team is now seeking to finalize the list of Micro-Games. This has encouraged us to look into balancing the mechanics between all available Micro-Games, and also ensure that we've included some of the most prominent experiences on mobile devices. As a result, this week I created two additional games based on the Screen Unlock functionality of phones, and the tagging process within social media. Both games, once narrowed down to their core mechanics, were relatively simple to implement and test.
The Screen Lock game simply takes into account a 3 x 3 grid, and then randomly assigns an order to all of the nodes. Originally, I intended on having pre-built unlock orders, which could still be possible if the levels needed design balance. However, I discovered that within the 3 x 3 grid, the randomization of the order does not vary the difficulty, and also provides with the maximum potential level structures.
At the start of the game, a single node is lit, indicating that it is the starting node. Once the player taps it, the next node lights up, and the previous node is set to its complete frame. The player must then drag a line from the previous to the next node. This functionality was primarily based on changing dragging states and updating node indexes, then checking if all nodes had been reached. The line drawing was primarily an external creation to the game logic, which basically just draws and sets line according to the current drag state.
This game functions similar to Locate Your Homies, in the sense that it involves taking into an account a list of potential characters, selecting some of them, and hiding the searched characters within the group. The main difference is the fact that the game allows for the searching of more than one character, and there are no repeats of characters within the group. A HUD display on the top right dynamically conveys the current search targets for the player.
Characters are aligned based on a pyramid structure, which essentially allows for a bleacher-like visual. This means that characters in front are standing below each row of characters behind, therefore allowing for all character heads to always be present despite overlapping. With designated backgrounds, it will be possible to create familiar scenes in which people would line up for pictures in this manner.
Each character has a tag image which is toggled based on the player's tap location, and after tagging the correct individuals, the player can submit their selections by pressing the Tag button.
Aside from simply creating these two Micro-Game additions, I also added smoothing to the App Selection screen and resolved a few additional bugs within some of the previous Micro-Games. The next iteration will likely involve finalizing the list of Micro-Games, and then completing the remaining Apps before moving onto achievements, sound, and tuning.