Runner3: devlog post about the cannon micro-game

Remember the cannon micro-game in Bit Trip Presents: Runner 2 – Legend of Rhythm Alien? Well, it turns it will be back in Runner 3, though it will be more fun this time around… at least, that’s what the developers are aiming for!

Basically, the developers have made it so trying to go for a Triple Perfect + for the whole game would not be nearly as repetitive as it was in Runner 2. How did they do that? By giving every playable character its own distinct target micro-game! Of course, this brings up a whole new bunch of challenges…

After all, they have to keep the micro-game simple, but add variety… talk about conflicting goals! When working on a game, developers always have to abide to certain constraints, but when what they’re working on is so simplistic (and you need lot of variety), said constraints become overly restrictive. It’s actually fairly easy to start overdesigning something, while thinking you’re actually keeping things simple.

Here’s the constraints the developers chose to go with:

• the micro-game takes one button press
• there’s no on-screen HUD telling you what to do
• there’s only one thing moving in each variation

Finally, the developers explain that, with Runner 3, players trying to go for a Perfect+ will be able to chose which micro-game they want by chosing the right character. No doubt there will also be something for players who want to get a Perfect+ with all characters!