Down the abyss: From action rpg to puzzle

So I've finally decided to write my process while creating a game and how I started with an action RPG and ended up with a puzzle/exploration game.

I wanted to make a game and I have 3 weeks. Let's start with the initial process. I created a GDD for a totally different game “One more time” (yep, I was inspired) this will be a challenging game. The main mechanic: Hp and time are the same. If you kill an enemy, you get some time back. If an enemy hits you, you lose some hp. Simple, and probably quite funny.

Due to the fact the game will be a 2d experience I searched for some assets for blocking and prototyping and I came across a package by @s4m_ur4i. It was so complete and the aesthetics suited my idea.

I implemented basic movement, jump, move.... and then I felt like it was time to mess with the enemies, so I quickly created an enemy actor with movement and player detection. Then I created the basis for attack and faced a great problem: there was no attack animation in the pack. That was bad, but I could always create something with aseprite but something catch my eye... was that... a boomerang?

Ok, I have a throwable weapon. For prototyping that's good enough.

Of course, it was a boomerang. I could throw it and get it again, thus creating a neat mechanic. If you catch it, you will have no cooldown. I was thinking on changing the approach from my original melee idea to a ranged game but for some reason it doesn't feel good using the boomerang  against an enemy.  I then started messing around and thougt it will be funny to use it against obstacles you couldt interact otherwise, maybe a button on the roof or hidden behind a wall.

And it worked. And suddenly it was no longer an action game, but a puzzle game.

After creating some interactions and starting creating the tile maps I realized the world was only for the player, and it felt empty. Maybe if there were some secondary characters to interact with…

It worked like a charm. It went from a game to a world.

What have I learned?

• A game is alive. Details are important
• The GDD is not written in stone. Iterations are important, and you have to keep an open mind