As soon as we realized that we didn’t really know how to make this game to appeal to casual players, especially after the frustrating first launch. We quickly decided to tailor the game to meet more hardcore puzzle players’ needs. Actually it was quite simple to do: simply adapt to the feedback from these players and continue to polish the game to the level where it provides the best Picross puzzle-solving experience among its competitors on iPad.

A few big changes were quickly applied to the game. Firstly, we double checked every puzzle and fixed every one we found that has multiple solutions. Secondly, we optimized the UI responding speed to achieve a smoother and more comfortable touch control. Lastly, we implemented the “free mode” in expert (20×20) and maniac (25×25) levels to ensure that player won’t be punished and auto-corrected when a mistake was made. This feature was among the most requested ones from player. Continue reading →