We announced Matchy Star in early 2018 and people have started reaching out to us about the game already. We have no official launch date just yet because we want to finish up the game first, so we decided to share game game development notes to talk more openly about Matchy Star game design as it comes along.
When we decided to create Matchy Star, we were hoping to build a casual yet charming match 3 experience with a little bit of personality. It has been a continuous process of design, in which we are still trying to find that just right balance of elements. At first, we experimented with having the game strategically place new gems based on how the board is laid out, we wanted to make it much more fun though. After letting some time pass, found more games like Lemmings and Chu Chu rocket to get inspiration from, and finally a lot new ideas were implemented in Matchy Star making it an interesting ‘Match-Them-All.’
In Matchy Star, it is possible to move pieces around unlike other match 3’s because it is not about matching a set number of matches to get through the level. Instead it is about doing the massive matches on the ship's path, and keeping up the ship's fuel which is what determines if you make it through the level. It is not a linear swap and match. Instead, it is a puzzle to optimize the best way to match given the grid opportunities per level and the paths that the ships will travel on. These design choices make Matchy Star a challenge that demands skills, rather than luck.
Matchy Star is not a single-dimensional Match 3, it has the core mechanics of a Match 3 and at the same time it has multiple elements from different genres. There are advancements that come with content, from the typical bonuses and itemization, all the way to clicker mechanics to interact with the game differently.
We continue to work on the different layers fleshing out ideas till the game feels as fun as it gets. Matchy Star is still in development and you can support us by wishlisting the game right here on Steam ～☆
https://store.steampowered.com/app/782430/Matchy_Star/