Supplementary instructions for game improvement
Based on the feedback given by Professor GDD in the previous stage, I re-examined the core gameplay, game flow and overall design structure of the game, and made large adjustments to the project. The focus of this revision is not simply to add the content of GDD, but to further clarify the actual behaviour of players in the game, so as to form a clearer connection between gameplay, puzzles, narrative and player experience. The previous content was too general and there were no details, and I didn’t record the research process. In the new version, I added gameplay and mechanic, puzzle, story and narrative, UI, Art, s The research part of ound (I will not elaborate here, the full version is in the research section of GDD).
I modified the name of the game. I changed the original project name The World in Loops to Echoes of Luma, redrawn the game poster, art, sketch of the UI part and iteration scheme, and supplemented the new version of Producti. On Asset List and redesigned gameplay, mechanic, gameplay flowchart, world background and other parts.
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1. Redesign of the core gameplay
The old version of the game mainly revolves around “time loop” and “time crack”, and players need to repair cities through different Time Node.
After modification, I cancelled the original Time Loop, Time Node, Rewind Node, Synchronise Node and Echo Node and other systems, and simplified the gameplay to a more specific and intuitive “explore – puzzle solving” – Repair – Memory feedback” process. In the new version of the game, players no longer need to understand the complex time system, but explore Luma to find important objects that have lost their functions in the city and complete the corresponding puzzles.
The new version of the core Gameplay Loop is:
Explore the environment → Find repairable objects → Find environmental clues → Complete puzzles → Repair objects → Play Memory Echo → Restore the environment → Open a new area
Through this modification, players can more directly understand their goals and the relationship between each puzzle and city recovery.
2. The game process is clearer (see the gameplay and mechanic section of GDD for the detailed version)
The new version of the game has been reorganised into three levels, including five main puzzles.
Level one
Players need to repair:
- Fountain
- Withered Tree
Players first find clues through environmental exploration and complete the fountain puzzle. After the fountain is restored, the water source is re-operating, providing conditions for the subsequent repair of dead trees. After completing the two puzzles, the player enters the second level.
Level two
Players need to repair:
- Streetlight
- Clock Tower
The street lights and clock towers resume operation. After completing the second level, the player enters the final area.
Level three
Players come to Energy Bridge, the core area of Luma.
Players first find the energy bridge control system, and then enter the final city puzzle.
After completing the puzzle, the previously restored fountains, trees, street lights and bell towers will reappear in the complete city picture. The energy bridge resumed operation, the city regained its vitality, and the game entered the end. This structure allows players to clearly see the progression from the first level to the final level, instead of relying on the circular structure to drive the game like the old version.
3. Add and clarify Puzzle Design (see the gameplay and gameplay research section for detailed versions)
The new version adds and specifically defines five achievable puzzles.
Fountain Puzzle — Sequence Puzzle
The player observes the order of symbols on the damaged road signs near the fountain:
Fish → Flower → Star → Moon
The four symbols correspond to the four water valves around the fountain.
Players need to observe the environmental clues, see the pattern on the signboard and operate the water valve in the correct order.
After completion:
- The fountain returns to running water.
- Play Fountain Memory Echo
- The environment began to change.
Withered Tree Puzzle — Connection Puzzle
After the fountain was repaired, the player found that although the water source was restored, the water could not flow to the dead tree. Players need to enter the underground pipe system and reconnect all the pipes by rotating the pipes in different directions.
After completion:
- The water flows to the roots of the tree.
- Dead trees grow green leaves again.
- Play Tree Memory Echo
Streetlight Puzzle — Memory Puzzle
After the player interacts with the broken street lamp, several light spots will light up in a specific order. Players need to remember the order of the light points and click again in the same order.
After completion:
- The street lights are re-lit.
- The surrounding roads are illuminated again.
- Play Streetlight Memory Echo
Clock Tower Puzzle — Synchronisation Puzzle
Players need to adjust the hour and minute hands of the two clock towers respectively so that the two clock faces display the same time.
After completion:
- The two clock towers are synchronised again.
- The bell rang again.
- The surrounding environment is further restored.
- Play Clock Tower Memory Echo
Energy Bridge Puzzle
The final puzzle is a complete Luma city puzzle. The puzzle contains important places that the player has repaired before. As players gradually complete the puzzle, these familiar locations will reappear in the city picture.
After completing the last piece of the puzzle:
- The city is fully presented.
- The energy bridge resumes operation
- The city regains its vitality.
The game enters the end
Through these five puzzles, the core gameplay of the new version of the game has changed from a relatively abstract concept of “repair time” to a specific interaction that players can actually execute and understand.
4. Memory Echo becomes the core narrative feedback
The new version redefines the functions of Memory Echo. Every time players complete a major puzzle, they will get a Memory Echo. Each Memory Echo contains:
A static memory picture
A short sentence
For example:
Fountain Memory Echo
“I wished tomorrow would come.”
Tree Memory Echo
“If I forget, let this grow for me.”
Streetlight Memory Echo
“Same place, tomorrow.”
Clock Tower Memory Echo
“Be sure to take photos of my best-looking angle.”
After completing the puzzle, players can not only see the recovery of the object, but also understand the people and stories carried by the object in the past through Memory Echo.
5. Add Hint System
The new version adds a complete two-stage prompt system to solve the problem that players may get stuck for a long time in exploration games.
When players do not move or interact for a long time, or stay in the same puzzle area for too long, the system will provide short tips and let the relevant objects generate slight visual feedback.
For example:
Fountain
The first stage:
“The fountain remembers a pattern.”
The second stage:
“The wall shows the order of the valves.”
At the same time, the relevant fountains or street signs will glow slightly.
Other puzzles also adopt the same logic. The prompt system will not directly tell the player the answer, but gradually increase from more vague tips to more clear tips, so as to reduce the risk of jamming while maintaining the sense of exploration.
6. Add Production Asset List
In order to further match the actual development of the game design, I added the Production Asset List and sorted out the resources needed for the project.
At present, the resources mainly include:
- Steve player role
- Luma City Scene
- Fountain
- Withered Tree
- Streetlight
- Clock Towers
- Energy Bridge
- Water valves
- Broken sign
- Underground Pipes
- Puzzle Components
- Memory Echo
- UI
- Background music
- Environmental audio
- Hint System Related Resources
At the same time, I divide the resources into three stages according to the development priority, so that the design content can more clearly correspond to the actual production process.
7. Re-adjustment of the game scale
The estimated playing time of the new version of the game has been adjusted from the original 3–5 hours to about 1–2 hours. The content of the game has also been adjusted from the originally complex time cycle system to three levels and five main puzzles. This adjustment makes the scale of the project more in line with the current development conditions, and at the same time, it allows me to focus on: clear core gameplay, complete puzzle design, environmental feedback and narrative experience. Compared with adding a large number of complex systems, this adjustment allows me to complete a work with a complete game flow more practically.
8. Project name and overall theme adjustment
The project name was changed from The World in Loops to Echoes of Luma. The change of name also corresponds to the change in the core theme of the game. The old version emphasises: Time Loop / Repetition / Time Fracture
The new version focusses more on: Memory / Restoration / Echoes / Luma
The new version of the game no longer requires players to understand a complex time cycle system, but allows players to experience the process of “retrieving urban memories” by repairing objects in the city, watching Memory Echo, and gradually restoring Luma. Therefore, Echos of Luma is more in line with the core gameplay and narrative direction of the current game than the original name.
9. Sum up
After this revision, the core structure of Echos of Luma has changed from the original:
Time Loop → Time Crack → Time Node → Memory Fragment
Adjusted to:
Explore → Discover Objects → Find Clues → Solve Puzzles → Repair → Memory Echo → Environment Recovery → Next Level
Through these modifications, I hope to solve the problem of “the concept of gameplay is relatively abstract, the player’s goal is not clear enough, and the actual development content is not specific enough” in the previous GDD. The new version of Echos of Luma is more focussed on a clear player experience: exploring a city that has lost its vitality, repairing the city little by little by solving simple and specific puzzles, and understanding the story that happened to Luma through the memories left behind.