Hello,

there are a few things i would like to talk about today, one of them being a sucessor to this game.

*The original ReThink will also get such an Announcement, but a ddifferent one, because there are a few other things to adress.

Contents

- Link to the new game (for all the People who dont want to read my "bla bla".)
- Changes and additions to the new game (in comparison to this game)
- Personal Message

Besides that, feel free to follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/YaekoGames

Link:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/820600/ReThink__Evolved_2/

Changes and additions:

The following changes are in comparison to this game, and include all the improvements made from "ReThink" to "Rethink | Evolved".

Things that got removed

- The "Floor Tiles"
They were a "leftover" from the 1st game that only appeared a few times in the 2nd game.

- The "Orange/Blue Cubes"
Mainly used to pull around the floating platforms, which were experimental.
Since the Platforms are now controlled by lasers, there is no need for these cubes anymore.

- The "music" puzzles
Was an experiment, removed.

Things that got changed

- The "Light Bridges"
They were meant to replace the Cubes from the 1st game, and are now part of the room itself. (you cant place them anymore, they technically work like a door that can be enabled/disabled.)

- The "Floating Platforms"
These Platforms are now controlled by "Anchors" that can be activated/deactivated with lasers.
This properly connects them with the core gameplay-mechanic of these games, the lasers.

- Movement
The initial acceleration of the Player is now gradually, not instant.
This allows for a better control of movement over very short distances (a few centimeters)

- Shortened Tutorial
The "Tutorial" is now a lot shorter than it was in the 2nd game

- Higher difficulty
The difficulty (should) be higher than in the 2nd game, at least that is what i am aiming for.

New Stuff:

- Reflections
Lasers are now reflected from specific surfaces

- Two new Cubes
Both interact with the lasers, one of them can be seen in the Trailer, the other is experimental.
This makes a total of 8 cubes.

- Additions to controls
There are now two seperate mouse-speeds which allow you to switch between them for mor precise alignment/aiming. (Both can be adjusted freely)

Cubes can now be rotated in place, without picking them up again.

- It is possible to move around freely (again - was possible in the 1st game, but not in the 2nd.)
You can walk back and forth between puzzles as you desire. (This allowed for a more intricate architecture with "puzzles inside puzzles" etc.)

- Jump pads do affect Cubes now
Pretty self explaining: Throw cube on jump-pad, cube flies away like you would do when you step on the jump-pad. (There are no jumping puzzles! These pads are used to get the Player to a higher position without having to use elevators and/or stairs all the time.)

- Up to twenty "targets" per room (technically more is possible, but for now this will do - need feedback on this)
Targets do now have different symbols, which allows for more of them.

- New Visuals
Almost every single Asset the game is made of has been changed, including the cubes, walls, floor, background-city etc.
There are also a lot of new Objects, Effects and Textures/Materials that replaced existing ones.

- Sound changes
This is still work in progess, but i want to replace a lot of the sounds in addition to the new ones that are needed.

- Narrative
Currently working on it, my goal is to have at least 10 times as much as the older games have, combined.
This is something i will say a few words about further below.

Personal Message:

The following text is a personal message, not marketing-blabla.

When i made the 2nd Game (ReThink | Evolved), my goal was to create better gameplay, which required to completely recreate everything related to it.
I later added a lot of the newly created stuff to the 1st game, which is why they do now have the same Menus, Visuals etc.

Due to all the problems that appeared when i recreated the gameplay, this time involving physics and the changes that were needed in they way the levels were built, some things fell behind. (The most crizised thing here is the "Ending", which i simply had no time left at the end because some major bugs were found two days before release.)

I then had to choose:
- Fix the bugs and leave the ending as it currently is
- Move the release-date and probably upset a lot of people
- Change the ending after Release

I chose the first one, because the 2nd option would have upset people, and the 3rd option would lead to the problem the 1st game currently has.
If you go through the Screenshots/Videos of the 1st game, you will notice that they often look completely different, this is due to the "visual rework" from mid 2017. (The 1st game also had its ending changed from the initial version, on top of everything else)

I decided that it would be the best to go forward and build on top of the newly laid foundations. (ReThink | Evolved 2)

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This time i had the time to change the visuals, and add new features because the core-mechanics were already working. (i worked for 9 months on the 2nd game, no holidays, no weekends, and definitely not "9 to 5" either.)

And this also is the reason why these games do not have a Story on the levels of Portal 2 (for example), there are simply limits to what i can achieve as a single person, in a given timeframe.

I have to do everything in these games:
- Technical stuff
- Visuals
- Content
- Gameplay
- Sound-related things (i cant do sounds, so i have to buy/get them from others)

On top of that, someone actually has to come up with the puzzles, which also is me.
And then there needs to be a "Story", or at least a Narrative.
Oh, and of course someone has to support the older Games too :P

To put things into perspective: Portal 2 had a total of 3 Storywriters (according to Wikipedia), they already had 3 times more storywriters than i have for everything, including story.

I simply cant compete with them, at least not for a price of 9.99$ (this price includes VAT and a few other things, just in case you thought i would get what you pay.)

But i dont want to raise the price either, because i think that a price of 9.99$ is "enough" for a playtime of 4-10 hours. (what i see on the reviews)

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TL:DR:
I try my best to deliver Games that are worthwile for their respective target audience, given the limitations that i have to overcome.

The Player/Customer always comes before the money, which also is why i am not using DLCs at all. (or any of the other money-grabbing things that are currently trending with indie-games)

I read through all the Feedback, i watch people play, because i care, and this wont change in the future.

Thank you.