Working on a Christmas game is close to working on a licensed game. The theme is rich and full of possibilities but it also implies a lot of restrictions in the sense of player's expectations. Be it mood, soundtrack, elements (Santa, elfs, presents etc.), color palette, dynamics etc.
The theme can be tackled on different levels.
It can be a close-up experience about searching for the right present for the right person.
Or a stealth game with a specific house you try to infiltrate.
If we zoom out a little bit, it can be about one street or a city block. You can still know who lives where, who's asleep or awake, or who's on the naughty list.
My main inspiration for the overall concept was the opening scene from the movie Arthur Christmas. Here they try to depict the act of presents giving as a smooth and professional operation which requires a lot of manpower.
That was the image I wanted to recreate. So my level usually takes an area with a dozen towns.
Tactical and partially passive gameplay (inspired by tower defense)
You control only your own sleigh, so you can only be in one place at a time. To solve it, the player has to deploy "helpers" through the level to compensate for it.
Challenge in searching for the right approach (inspired in Plague inc)
Fun is not limited to the first playthrough of a level. The player is motivated to revisit previous levels for 100% runs.
Exploring how the layout exactly works, thinking about the currently most useful upgrades and in which sequence to execute them, to minimize wait time.
For that, each level is on average 2 - 6 min long with an option of up to 4x time speed.
Working on a Christmas game is close to working on a licensed game. The theme is rich and full of possibilities but it also implies a lot of restrictions in the sense of player's expectations. Be it mood, soundtrack, elements (Santa, elfs, presents etc.), color palette, dynamics etc.
The theme can be tackled on different levels.
It can be a close-up experience about searching for the right present for the right person.
Or a stealth game with a specific house you try to infiltrate.
If we zoom out a little bit, it can be about one street or a city block. You can still know who lives where, who's asleep or awake, or who's on the naughty list.
My main inspiration for the overall concept was the opening scene from the movie Arthur Christmas. Here they try to depict the act of presents giving as a smooth and professional operation which requires a lot of manpower.
That was the image I wanted to recreate. So my level usually takes an area with a dozen towns.
Tactical and partially passive gameplay (inspired by tower defense)
You control only your own sleigh, so you can only be in one place at a time. To solve it, the player has to deploy "helpers" through the level to compensate for it.
Challenge in searching for the right approach (inspired in Plague inc)
Fun is not limited to the first playthrough of a level. The player is motivated to revisit previous levels for 100% runs.
Exploring how the layout exactly works, thinking about the currently most useful upgrades and in which sequence to execute them, to minimize wait time.
For that, each level is on average 2 - 6 min long with an option of up to 4x time speed.