Game Concept

Fail Fail Succeed is a puzzle platformer that encourages players to reconsider the meaning of failure. The game was inspired by my own experiences with stress, burnout and coping with mental health issues. I wanted to make a game that takes the concept of failing, and encourages players to start thinking of it as a stepping stone towards success.

The game blends precision platforming with head-scratching puzzles centered around method rather than execution. By picking up transformation orbs, players change what they leave behind when failing to pass through traps, making it possible to progress further.

To avoid frustration when failing, the game incorporates quick respawns, a reset function that does not affect your current position in the level, and no Game-Over screens. Furthermore, challenges are never built on timing or fast paced executions.

This game appeals to those looking for a calmer, more reflective, and analytical experience. It is not for players who are looking for fast-paced action or complicated controls. However, it will appeal to fans of classic old school puzzle platformers, featuring snappy controls, engaging and active puzzle solutions, and a retro minimalist pixel art style.

Designed for Emergent Behaviours

The game was designed to encourage players to explore, discover, and be creative in their puzzle solving. I did this by adding systems that allow players to experiment with different strategies and solutions. For example, dropped heads reset with a delay, while transformation orbs reset instantly. Another example is resetting orbs and dropped heads not resetting the player position. 

Design details like this provides players with more freedom to experiment and discover different solutions, leading to emergence of new player generated strategies. The possibilities are endless, and there is never just one solution to a puzzle. The great upside of allowing players to use their imagination and ingenuity in such ways is that it  leads to great moments of learning, growth and delightful discovery. And besides, who doesn’t love that feeling of “out-smarting the designer” when playing games?

Puzzle Design

Puzzles were designed with three guiding principles in mind, the first of which is about counting the minimum number of steps required to finish a puzzle. This was used to keep track of how hard a puzzle would be - sort of like making a password longer..

Secondly, puzzles are all themed around the illusion of an impossible task. “To climb the height, you need to go into a hole. Once in the hole, you can’t get out”. Build a solution to the impossible task, and then subtract as much as possible of the solution, until what’s left sells the illusion.

The last principle that guided my design has been to keep mechanics systemic. The logic needed to be persistent and predictable. The challenge lies in how to apply it to a problem - i.e. no making up contextual solutions. I even chose to sprinkle in possibilities to complete levels in ways that had not yet been fully introduced - allowing a player to discover a branch of the system before the game told them about it, making for some lovely moments of joyful discovery.

Up next - progression

Going forward with the game, my primary focus lies in designing and developing the progression system. While the mechanics of the game allow people to figure out their own way of beating levels, there are inevitably times when they will feel stuck. To avoid this, the game will include the possibility to choose the order in which you do the puzzles (with some restraints). It will also come with a number of balancing tweaks to how the blocks interact with the world, and character movement.