Taking advantage of potential in your design

[jman2050]

Not sure if the thread title is clear enough, so let me explain. I'm developing a game, a puzzle game. The main hook of the game is that instead of a orthogonal, rectangular playing field like people are used to, the playing field is circular, using rotation using the mouse as the main method of play. My problem is that the gameplay method I came up with could be pulled off exactly the same in a rectangular playing field (basically, you have three rings that you rotate with orbs on them. You have to match the orbs together in a line between rings, then destroy them. You can also switch orbs within a line to different formations).

Now the question is, is the fact that the design is rotational enough to differentiate it from a potentially similar game using the same mechanics? Furthermore, would it be beneficial to tweak the gameplay method so it takes advantage of the circular playing field, in a way that you couldn't do normally? Obviously, the gameplay is key to making a game that people will enjoy, so I've been taking great care to make sure the design lives up to its potential.

Not saying it isn't fun, because it is (I have a prototype of the gameplay if anyone is willing to try it to see what I mean). I just can't shake the feeling that I can do more with this than I have been. Originality is important to me, and it's important to those who play a demo of a game to determine if paying for a full version is worth it.

Obviously, this isn't the only case where this can happen, which is why the thread title is so general. I'd like to hear the thoughts of experienced developers regarding this issue, and whether it'd be worth it to change a design that's already fun just to make it more original. Thanks for your time and I hope that someone can understand where I'm coming from (I have a tendency to not explain things clearly enough, so if you need anything explained further, I'll do the best I can.)

[Bmc]

Is this a casual game? There have been a few circle match 3s. I will try out your prototype if you like. I could give a more informed opinion then.

[jman2050]

http://www.cgi101.com/~jman2050/ddprototype2.zip

There are others like it? If so, then I'd like to see them so I can study their design and see what kind of ideas I can gather. I'm not a fan of the 'clone and copy' strategy, so I want to make sure I know of similar projects so I can make mine as original as possible.

The prototype above is very simple, so don't expect anything mindblowing out of it. As for whether it's a casual game? I would like to get it to as many people as possible, and would like it to be very pick-up-and-play in nature, so I guess that qualifies as a 'yes', perhaps.

I'm interested in hearing if anyone else has ever had the same thoughts as I've had in this topic at one point in time. Sometimes I worry that I'm to critical of my own work, so hearing the opinions of others is very important to me. Sorry again, if I'm not very clear :/

EDIT - Found a game on RealArcade called Full Circle. Similar concept, although my game and that play differently. Still, Full Circle seems to also be possible using a rectangular game board instead of a circular one, so that doesn't help much in that area. Nice to see different applications of the circular design though. And honestly, it was pretty fun to play. :) Gonna see if I find more games like this to study.

[jefferytitan]

I'm not sure if it would add much to the mechanic, but I think it would be a cool play on the visual effect of the design to play on the similarity to a gyroscope. Three rings, three axes of rotation. Maybe not as your main mechanic (after all it would be meaningless to rotate them out of the plane) but perhaps a certain combo or powerup or just every x moves it flips one of the rings to spice things up.

[Emmanuel]

There's The Cursed Wheel (http://www.funmangames.com/site/main/index.php), a game from spring 2005.

Best regards,
Emmanuel

[Bmc]

There's also a similar game called Full Circle (http://www.greenapplegames.com/full_circle_game.htm) that was released around the same time as "The Cursed Wheel".

Neither did so hot, but I'm guessing Full Circle made more money because it was on several of the portals.

It's not a bad idea at all, but it will need something special to compete. Some type of twist on the game play. Especially since the concept has already been tried with lackluster results.

It will also need some type of story and above-average graphics.

[jman2050]

Understood, definitely. I haven't found anything that has the same gameplay as mine yet, but as of now, I'm not convinced it would sell, even with excellent graphics and music and gameplay modes.

The one common thing I found with all the games I played are that they're circular for the sake of being circular, not for any other reason than because it gives an interesting input mechnic and requires the player to think a little differently. My game in its current state falls into the same category, and the reason I made this topic was to see if it needed to be rectified.

As for Full Circle and The Cursed Wheel? The former is actually a pretty good game, and I was willing to play it more than for a few minutes. Would I buy it? That's a good question. It seems to miss any motivation for me to continue playing it. Puzzle mode is a nice feature generally in that regard, but not much of a deal-maker for me. I'll have to play more of the demo to see. The latter's gameplay, however, didn't seem to gel with me at all. It's definitely not something I would pay for.