I ended up simplifying the particle-particle interaction a bunch and adding an attractor. Easier to tune and solves an issue where the emitter gets stuck in the middle of a pile of particles.
I had the thought that it’d be cool to have to launch the particles around to the far side to hit particles that are farther away. If I were to go that route it’d be best to simplify the physics a bunch. Just use rigid bodies for collisions but instead of using the game engine’s gravity, apply a small force toward the center.
That’s been done, though. Check out Sputnika.
And done well! Looks like they released on Steam and Android and iOS.
It’s fun!
Sometimes the game over detection fires prematurely which is a little painful, yeah, but it’s a nice simple game with nice art and well done.
I remember this same developer’s game Blueprint Hell got mentioned in the GMTK 2024 Game Jam video as well so this person definitely knows what they’re doing. The game is built in Unity but references an Unreal
Inspiring!
Found another relevant idea in Suika Game Planet for Nintendo Switch.
In this variation the cloud is now a spaceship which revolves around the outside of a planet. Still dropping fruits but then it wouldn’t be Suika without Suika.
So do I lean into the particle collider aspect of the game?
It’s a casual game so the aesthetic would need to fit that. A very scientific data visualization style is not going to fly. That’s not to say it can’t be science-related, though.
I was considering the possibility of allowing particles to fly off into space, never to return. But that defeats the puzzle mechanic where you need to figure out where to place unwanted pieces so that in the future, as they combine, they’re well-positioned to combine further.
The attraction-repulsion setup I have now also messes with that because particles can be shot past other particles if they have enough velocity. I also end up with a bunch of particles on the board before things get interesting, which means there are always a lot of options for things to shoot at.
This system has some interesting properties, though.
As more and more particles are attracted to the center, they exert force on the particles at the core and will eventually force them to collapse.
Also larger particles get squeezed out to the surface because their repulsion distance is bigger.
Those particle sizes start growing a little too fast. Maybe I should be using log scaling. Or maybe scale the area instead of the radius.
Went back to 2048 as well. Such elegant design. As you get further along in the puzzle the amount of space required to build toward your solution increases. At the beginning you don’t feel the space constraint at all. At the end you have to be very organized.