What is Tidying Up?
Tidying Up is a puzzle game, playable on desktop and mobile. Capy needs to clean his whole house, and his friend, Roombella, has agreed to help! Players help them solve puzzles and navigate the cluttered space as the story unfolds, revealing how Capy let his home get so messy in the first place.
Players can enjoy the dialogue at their leisure as they play the game and solve puzzles.
Players can also build and share their own levels! They're given the same toolset used to create the levels in the Story Mode, and they can even create dialogue, adding new life to Capy and Roombella's story, even after their adventure is complete.
The level editor gives players a chance to express their creativity.
First Steps
Shortly after Roxy's Windows finished development, Newgrounds announced their 3rd annual Flash Forward Jam. Developers were tasked with creating a game built in Flash, with the best entries winning awards! Though Flash has been long-removed from browsers, Ruffle allows users to continue enjoying the content in a secure environment.
After Roxy's Windows performed well on the site (36,500+ views and a score of 4.03/5.00 as of April 2023), I wanted to work with the same team again. I got to work on a pitch for the upcoming jam!
After Roxy's Windows performed well on the site (36,500+ views and a score of 4.03/5.00 as of April 2023), I wanted to work with the same team again. I got to work on a pitch for the upcoming jam!
Roxy's Windows was developed for a mobile
game jam in August 2022, and we supported with
post-launch content for several months.
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Ruffle is an open-source Flash emulator built in Rust. .SWF files are run in a secure environment and performance is much better than in the original Adobe Flash Player.
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After development on Roxy's Windows concluded, brainstorming for our next project focused on several pillars.
- New Gameplay
- After the freeform gameplay seen in Roxy's Windows, I aimed for a more arcade-like experience, with clearly-established goals and rules.
- Story
- The story in Roxy's Windows was one of its highest-praised qualities. The next game needed to give our writer as much space as needed to express herself.
- Features
- Newgrounds had some API features, such as sharing user-created levels, that hadn't been used in years. Why not try them out?
Inspirations
For this project, I revisited some of my favorite web games, finding inspiration in a variety of titles.
rob1221 games [various] - Rob1221 is an active developer in the Stencyl scene, and I've always found his approach to level design to be methodical and deeply rewarding as a player. Some highlights of his work include Chessformer (2021), Jumphase (2021), and Math Push (2022).
Time F**K (2009) - This title was the first to use Newgrounds' Level Sharing API, a great fit for its tile-based layouts. The Level Editor greatly extended this game's lifespan, receiving new user submissions to this day.
Additionally, having dialogue in a frame outside of the gameplay window was a great solution to give players the choice to focus solely on the gameplay if they wanted to.
Globule (2008) - Globule was developed by LetsMakeAGame.com, a team in the Flash community once famous for creating titles with robust level editors. Globule specifically had a laid-back, turn-based approach that I found appealing.
The Pitch
After some brainstorming, I thought that a mechanic where the player controlled 2 characters would be fun. Each character would have strengths and limitations that the other does not, meaning they would need to work together to reach their goals.
The video above was presented to the team, and they were on board!
Foundations
The earliest stages of development were focused on the game's groundwork. In these initial stages, development duties were split between Bleak-Creep and myself.
Developing In Tandem
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My work at this stage included a tile-based level design system, character movement, basic logic, and integration with Newgrounds' Level Sharing API.
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Bleak-Creep's focus early on was the color palette, UI, and story. Early on, the team considered a pixel art aesthetic for the whole game, but we opted to use pixel art only for gameplay elements, and vector for the rest.
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Further development after the foundations were in place, such as additional visuals, sound, and level design, were managed by GetterRocka, Taxmann, and Scarfygoose respectively.
Structure
At this stage in development, the menu structure started taking shape as well.
Further Assembly Required
Designing for PC and Mobile
After finding success with releasing Roxy's Windows on both mobile and PC, we knew from the beginning that we wanted to release this project on those platforms as well. Luckily, the turn-based and low-stakes nature of the gameplay lent itself well to multiple input systems. There were a few key principles that guided our development across these platforms.
After finding success with releasing Roxy's Windows on both mobile and PC, we knew from the beginning that we wanted to release this project on those platforms as well. Luckily, the turn-based and low-stakes nature of the gameplay lent itself well to multiple input systems. There were a few key principles that guided our development across these platforms.
Clicks N' Taps
Early on, we knew our game would be turn-based, and wouldn't rely on input that's highly-precise in timing or location. This made it a good fit for touch-screen controls.
Looking at some of the games that inspired development, we saw the sidebar as a great place to put mobile controls, as they wouldn't interfere with the user's ability to see the game or dialogue.
Size Matters
Big buttons with bold text ensured that players could read them well, even on small screens. The strong contrast in tile designs and colors also enhanced readability.
Even at a distance, the characters, items, and UI items are designed to be easily distinguishable.
Cloud Saves
Cross-platform saves were a no-brainer for a game that could be played on mobile and PC. Thanks to the versatility of Newgrounds' Sharing API, I was able to repurpose some functions from the Level Sharing code to save player's progress to their accounts. Players could start the story on one device, then seamlessly continue on another.
Thankfully, the API allowed several groups and visibility options, allowing nuance in the way data is handled.
Building Blocks
As development continued, Scarfygoose and I collaborated frequently on level designs.
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The levels I worked on were sketched in Photoshop, while Scarfygoose typically used the in-progress Level Editor. His input and bug-testing was crucial in refining this major feature in the game.
The alpha Level Editor wasn't glamorous, but it worked for our needs!
Usability Testing
Ahead of launch, we released a beta. This was a great opportunity for us to do some bug testing and iron out as many pain points as possible before the game jam's deadline.
What needed to change?
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Dragging in Level Editor
In the first version of the level editor, tiles couldn't be moved once placed. By allowing the user to drag tiles after placing them, building levels became much easier.
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Setting Dialogue Pace
There were two options for dialogue in the game: allowing the user to manually navigate dialogue or auto-playing dialogue. Auto-play was the default, but users strongly preferred manual control, leading to it becoming the default in the release version.
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Bug fixes!
Plain and simple - squishing bugs related to progression, movement, UI, and more!
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Launch and Accolades
After several months in development, Tidying Up launched on Newgrounds on April 20th, 2023, just in time for the Game Jam's deadline!
Tidying Up: By the Numbers
- 4.29/5.00 score*
- 2nd highest score of all games submitted that day
- 11,750+ views*
- on front page for 15 days
- 8th place in Best Games of April
- 3rd place in Game Jam rankings
* As of June 9th, 2023.
Players gave us plenty of invaluable feedback in the reviews, and a few trends emerged.
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What Worked?
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What Didn't?
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Closing Thoughts
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What's next?
As of June 10th, 2023, we've released several patches. These have included bug fixes, UX/UI improvements, and visual flourishes. We're planning several more patches, including new levels, additional accessibility options, new gameplay features, and an open-source release on GitHub.
By releasing these patches every few weeks, we've been able to keep a close eye on user feedback, making sure the content we release is aligned with the player's wants and expectations. |
Near-Term
Long-Term
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Summary
Tidying Up is a game that I'm proud to have helped make. Seeing people enjoy it so much has been a fantastic experience, and developing it has strengthened my design skills. The project was a great opportunity to building on my knowledge in coding, UX Design, and level design, and I can't wait to put what I've learned into the next projects I tackle.
The Crew