(Some special abilitiesythat didn't make the final cut were a freeze bolt that locked trucks in place, and a cannon that obliterated obstacles.)Īll of these powerups are entirely optional, as each stage can be completed without the use of any special skills. They created a range of powerups to help players navigate the treacherous challenges or boost their playthrough time, such as a double jump, air dash, and even a limited duration jet pack.yThen they playtested endlessly to make sure that the power-ups didn't spoil the total experience by making it too easy.

Giant rotating wheels with spokes that you had to dodge.yAmassing several hundred hours of playtime each, the team continuously refined elements of the gameplay, removing the features that they deemed counterintuitive to their vision. They added lasers that could bisect you as you hopped from big rig to big rig. They began to experiment with an array of obstacles that would introduce added chaos and increasing challenges. They had a build that they shared as a free public alpha after just a couple months of development. Obstacles and abilities were introduced by the programming team, playtested, and kept based on consensus opinion.

The team employed a trial and error approach rather than any formal deliberation. And that was it - then he came home and prototyped it.e Experimentation 'There were trucks everywhere, and Wilhelm thought that it would be so much easier if we could just get up and just jump on the trucks and get home, because nothing was moving. 'That drive is super long, like 15 hours long, and it was a hot day, and we were stuck in traffic,' he says. Wilhelm Nyland thought of the idea back in 2015, going from Gamescom back to Sweden,' Henriksson recounts. Petter Henriksson, one of the programmers of Clustertruck, explained more about how they fleshed out their concept. They created a speedrunner-friendly design. They also built a custom map maker. How did Landfall manage to spin out the core concept of truck-hopping into 90 distinct levels?yIn their 12 months of development time, they added a string of abilities and items that can be unlocked. Since its release at the end of September, it's garnered over 65,000 sales (according to Steamspy) and a good critical response, It's unusual premise proved to be a springboard for a much deeper and more lengthy experience that never loses its charm. The recent release Clustertruck from Swedish developer Landfall Games is a clear example of a video game that manages to avoid these missteps. But if it becomes so oversaturated with twists and new ideas, it can lose the simplicity that made it so appealing in the first place.y If you don't find enough ways to elaborate on the central conceit, it can become repetitive. It can be daunting to spin out an innovative high concept into a saleable product.

The clustertruck