Umbral Idle: Last Salvage #2

Hey all,

Back again for another update. Play testing has been an eye opening and insightful experience. Handing the game over to people to test is both nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. It's funny how many little things come up but the real thing that it's made me ponder is game design vs balance.

How long do I want players to be engaging with the game? How long is too long to leave between content? These questions have left me spending a lot of time modelling and tweaking numbers in the game to try and strike the right balance. After all, this is an idle game. So progress can be naturally slower than something you're playing all the time. However, you can't just expect players to open the game once or twice a day, doing the same thing for weeks without losing some.

I made a tough decision to remove a "slowdown" mechanic I had added to try and pace the game out more due to one simple fact. It wasn't fun. That's why we're all here right? The game needs to be fun. It feels obvious to say that out loud but it can easily be lost when trying to strike balance into a game.

I'm grateful for the play testers feedback. I genuinely believe I found a more natural and enjoyable way to pace the game without forcing players to wait X hours to do a thing. One that is somewhat unique to idle games, in my experience.

I hope you enjoy! Once Google approves my game, it's go time.

James