“Awesome job! I really look forward to working with the guys again very soon!”
Modernising and Porting a Live Mobile Puzzle Game
Three months updating Foil Hat Games' iOS block-blasting puzzler, adding new content, extending its level editor and preparing it for Android.
Summary
- The challenge
- In 2020 Nova Blast was on the App Store only, its engine and packages had fallen behind, and Foil Hat Games wanted new content and an Android release.
- What we did
- Over three months David moved the project to Unity 2019, built the new tiles and power-ups, extended the level editor and ported the game to Android.
- The result
- An Android release alongside the updated iOS version, a level editor the designers could keep using after handover, and a 5-star client review.
In brief
Overview
- Timeline
- 2020 (3 months)
- Platform
- iOS, Android
- Genre
- Puzzle Game
- Engagement
- Android Porting
Built with
- Unity
- C#
Nova Blast is Foil Hat Games' block-blasting puzzle game. Players aim an alien's blaster at a grid of coloured blocks, chaining power-ups and combos to clear each level's objectives within a limited number of moves. In 2020 the game was live on the App Store, but its engine version and packages had fallen behind, and Foil Hat Games wanted both new content and an Android release.
Ocean View Games joined as a co-development partner, with David Edgecombe working alongside the Foil Hat team for three months. Foil Hat Games supplied fully designed new gameplay ready for implementation. Our job was to bring the project up to date, build that content, extend the level editor for it and port the game to Android as part of our mobile game development service.
| Area | Before | After the update |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Unity 2018 | Unity 2019 Long Term Support (LTS) |
| Platforms | iOS only | iOS and Android |
| Gameplay | Original tile and power-up set | New tiles, new power-ups and a reworked level select |
| Level editor | Original tile types only | New tile types, faster workflows and validation against invalid levels |
Bringing the Project Up to Date
Before adding anything new, the project needed to build cleanly on a supported engine version with current packages.
Unity 2018 to Unity 2019 LTS
We moved the project onto Unity 2019 LTS, an engine version that would stay supported through both the iOS update and the new Android release.
Package Updates
The project's packages and libraries were brought up to current versions, with the breaking changes that came with them resolved across the codebase.
Obsolete and Deprecated Code
We fixed code that relied on obsolete and deprecated application programming interfaces (APIs), so the project compiled cleanly on the new engine version.
Preparing for Android
Android brought a far wider spread of devices than the game had been built for, at a time when display cutouts were becoming common on mainstream phones.
Display Cutouts
We adapted the interface so the heads-up display and controls stay clear of display cutouts and notches, which were spreading across mainstream Android phones in 2020.
Wide Device Support
The layout and gameplay were checked across the range of screen sizes, aspect ratios and hardware that an Android release has to support.
Building the New Content
Foil Hat Games arrived with the new gameplay already designed. We implemented it in the existing codebase.
New Tiles
New tile types expanded the puzzles the designers could build, each with its own behaviour on the board.
New Power-Ups
We added new power-ups to the game, giving players more ways to chain combos and clear the board.
Reworked Level Select
The level select screen was reworked as part of the update, alongside a general polish pass across the game.
Extending the Level Editor
Nova Blast has 250 levels, so any time saved building or fixing a level adds up quickly. The editor work focused on making the design team faster and safer.
Support for the New Tiles
The level editor gained support for every new tile type, so the designers could use the new content in levels without engineering help.
Usability Improvements
A set of usability improvements made building levels quicker, with the time saved multiplied across 250 levels.
Level Validation
The editor now validates levels as they are built, catching invalid layouts before they can reach players.
The Results
5-Star Client Review
“Awesome job! I really look forward to working with the guys again very soon!” Jacob Behunin, Chief Creative Officer at Foil Hat Games.
Released on Android
Nova Blast launched on Android alongside the updated iOS version, reaching a much larger audience than the iOS-only release.
A Faster, Safer Content Pipeline
With new tile support, usability improvements and level validation, Foil Hat Games' designers could keep building levels themselves after handover.
What the Client Said
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