We are at the 35% of the year — just before the summer start, this period just take me shortly to those times when I was a teenager and I was playing Pokemon with my Game Boy Color. It was really exciting back then…

Playing fantasy console games (Pico-8, Picotron, etc) just take me to a similar momentum, just you and your tiny game.

At this series of articles, I want to share the best games/concepts or just in-development cartridges. You can actually take as inspiration for your next prototype/concept during your gamedev sessions.

You are welcome to share your projects with me, so they could become the next ones here.

Not only looking at the Top 5%, but actually looking at Top 20% games and other experimental ideas to provide visibility and support small individiuals — Let’s go!

Pod Journey by Whetticus (Pico-8)

Some days ago I discovered Pod Journey created by Whetticus. I had to do a force quit to stop playing it, at the end is a really simple game loop, but quite addictive. You are kind of a paper airplane that can just swim without dying in the process and your goal is to obtain as much score as possible meanwhile you keep your pods alive.

Play Pod Journey

It's author

Aesthetics

I can’t see a complex art direction at this game, but every individual aspects is polished enough to create a really good statement that I like:

The whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts

The smooth scrolling effect when the small airplane is moving, the UI effects (colors) to indicate the flow state of your session (AKA pod), the dithering effect at the water creating that deep feeling, those refinements combined greate a solid first impression.

Mechanics

Right cursor = flip pod to right

Left cursor = flip pod to left

Really simple control, this is something that will always help to come-up with new ideas. What if you create a game that only have one button?

Design Decisions

Those are the ones I can see, but there should be more under the hood:

Water immersion slows down a little
Water inmersion slows down a lot when you land with the side of the Pod
Pace of counter increase is based on Pod speed.
360º flip of the Pod increase the score multiplier, creating a tiny incremental risk system, if you touch water in the middle of the flip speed is decreased, your multiplier is back to 0.

Looking at those actions you can see they are incrementally connected between them to create that flow state on a videogame, easy to play, difficult to master.

Tier S: Game Feel

By far, the best aspect of the game, it feels solid, smooth and most importantly engaging. You really want to flow with the waves and increase the score of your session, is that kind of dopamine boost effect that you can experience with Balatro it’s somehow here — Just give it a try

Gamedev Pills

Cartridge of the week - 8th May