Our supply of milk is being taken away! Embark on a mission to bring all of our stolen cows back to earth.
Platforms: iOS｜Read Time: 3 mins
Who doesn’t love endless runners? From “Jetpack Joyride” to “Temple Run,” it’s always a delight to see how far you can get while dodging those pesky obstacles. When I began to conceptualize an idea in the genre, outer space immediately came to mind. In the end, space is the ultimate frontier (or the ultimate endless runner).
The initial concept relied on the user tapping to keep the spaceship afloat. Once prototyped, it became evident that the mechanics just did not fit the gameplay I was hoping for. Sure this worked for “Flappy Bird,” and other tap-to-keep-afloat games, but the intent was to keep the players more engaged. I wanted longer gameplay the ability to explore the vast unknown that is space. For that I needed to simplify mechanics.
The original designs also took too much of a serious tone. From having the main goal be to reach habitable exoplanets, to the way distance traveled was calculated, and even the gas meters to which you needed to fuel up along the way. Things just did not feel right.
I took a few steps back and began to think about what I ideally wanted the gamer to experience, not just for this game but for any game.
I came up with three principles to try and deliver the best possible experience for mobile gamers: simple controls, visual delight, and replayability.
With these new principles, I knew things had to take a drastic change.
Enter MilkAway, a game that takes players on a journey to collect as many cows as possible from aliens.
I started by simplifying the mechanics to only being able to swipe up and down on 4 different planes.
Then I took a more whimsical approach and tone. Finally for replayability, the goal was to inspire a sense of discovery for the vast unknown that is space, all the while maintaining the core gameplay of collecting cows, stars, and dodging obstacles.
I introduced a system where the players, through distance and random occurrence, have the chance to discover hundreds of planets.
On top of that, there exists a robust achievement system to further challenge the player.
Finally the store allows players to customize their experience. From choosing a unique ship, to upgrading your boosters, and finally utilities to help you progress if you came across difficulties.
More updates to come. Stay tuned!