i decided to simplify the gameplay from my initial design sketch. originally, i had wanted to make a puzzle where the player traced out a path that could complete the aliens' orders. this turned out to be incredibly fiddly. here is where it ended up:
my thought was, since tracing out the paths is a bit tedious, what if there were only two buttons: left and right? you choose the customer and the game automatically connects the subgraph of like plates for you. new plates then fill in from the opposite side.
having plates fill in from two directions instead of one has been surprisingly fun to play. once you get the hang of it, you can think one or two moves ahead and line up a big collect; two options gives you just enough choice to be satisfying.
next i will try to layer some rules on top to create a progression / challenge.
Community
