This document provides an overview and production details for the puzzle detective game "Another Case Solved". It summarizes the core gameplay mechanics which involve solving major story cases and smaller newspaper puzzles. Updates are planned to expand the story and improve based on player feedback. The development process utilized instant prototyping over 9 months with a small team. Both the puzzles and additional mini-games like crime scene investigations evolved iteratively prior to the game's 2014 release on mobile platforms.

1. Another Case Solved
post mortem

2. Another Case Solved
Detective puzzle game set in the interesting
times of the Sugar Prohibition.

3. Another Case Solved
• Game: story-driven, puzzle, F2P
• Development: AT Games
• iOS: Chillingo
• Android: Noddlecake
• Windows 8,Windows Phone 8: Syzygy

4. Core Gameplay
Big Cycle: strategic, I-must-go-back factor
• story progress,
• office and character development.
Small Cycle: tactical, I-cant-put-down factor
• earning in-game currency,
• unlocking story progress.

5. Big Cycle
• Major Cases:
storytelling,
earning stars and cash.
• Your Office:
investment,
spending cash.
• Your Character:
unlocking skills,
spending stars.

6. Small Cycle
• Newspaper Cases:
easy, repeatable, grinding
in-game currency.
• Tools: useable, buy
them with in-game
currency.
• Story Progress:
unlock Major Cases
with newspapers.

7. Scope of the Game
• Release Day: 3 chapters = 50 Major Cases
• Full Story: 5 chapters = 90 Major Cases
• About 200 newspaper cases.
• Release Day: at least 30 hrs of gameplay.

8. Rules of Investigation
• Connect Puzzles:
to solve a case gather clues,
different for every witness.
• Long Chains:
get bonus puzzles,
use them to max. the case.
• Limitations:
number of moves, target
numbers for puzzles.

9. Advanced Investigation
• Hard Evidence
• Candy Truck
• Bonus Candies
• Bonus Cash!
• Challenges

10. Other Mini-Games
Major Cases = Puzzles + 3 Extra Stages
collected evidences help in solving extra stages.

11. Witnesses
Inspired by
„Guess Who”.
Find the person,
who matches all
criteria.
Number of
questions depends
on photos
collected.

12. Crime Scene
Hot or Cold,
limited no. moves.
Find the ”hottest”
item.
Max. ”hotness”
shown depends on
Fingerptints
collected.

13. City Search
Find the place that
matches all hints.
Some icons are
hidden.
Number of hints
depends on Maps
collected.

14. Failed Investigation
• Failed puzzles
= failed case.
• Failed extra stages
= less stars.

15. Monetization
• Candies
premium currency.
• Detective $
grind currency.

16. Spending Candies
• Unlocking Major Cases,
• Faster delivery of furniture
and newspapers,
• Extra moves,
• Character customization, decorations,
• Premium tools, skills upgrade.

17. Earning Candies
• Bonus candies, candy truck,
• Long chains of Coin puzzles,
• Daily bonus,
• Candies hidden in extra stages,
• Challenges, achievements,
• Ads.

18. Production
From Puzzle Craft to Another Case Solved

19. Starting Point
• Something from Puzzle Craft,
• Something new,
• F2P design,
• Known risk:
less casual, more text-heavy.

20. Production Screenshots
Puzzle
Craft
Another Case Solved

21. Team and Methodology
• Code: 3,Art: 3, Design: 2, QA: 1.
• Instant prototyping, iterative development,
working game with placeholders,
improving-as-you-go.

22. Time Frame
• Start: October 2012
• Release: 20 March 2014
• At the same time:
to Jan. 2013 still working on Puzzle Craft,
from Nov. 2013 a new project.

23. Production Cycle
• 2 months - preproduction,
• 9 months - production,
• 3 months - pre-release & polish.

24. Technology
• Cocos2dx
• Tiled
• Superanim
• EziSocial framework
• External configuration
files

25. What went OK?
• A game bigger and more complicated than
Puzzle Craft, in the same time.
• Merging puzzles with new mini-games.
• Updateable and portable.
• Lessons learned from Puzzle Craft.
• How ads were implemented.

26. Character Creation
This also went ok!

27. What went not so OK?
• Testing balance: difficulty peaks, unplanned
frustration, exploits.
• Secret cases too secret.
• Polish localization.
• Facebook integration.
• Interface sometimes a bit clumsy.

28. Story vs. Gameplay
In a case, when we are
looking for Lucy...
... we can ask Lucy for
help.
Awkward.

29. Curious Case Studies
• Slotmachine
• Lipsync
• Guess Who
dilemmas

30. A cautionary tale
about Bostimore.
Sweet City

31. Good Practices
• Separating balance from code:
config i localization in .xml and .csv files.
• Game state re-created on load,
no hard saving.
• Analyzing data and feedback.

32. Reception
• 2 mln downloads (first week: 1 mln)
• Average AppStore rating: 4,5 stars
• Metacritics: 67 „because IAPs”
• 100K likes
on Facebook
Our very first
fan-art!

33. Mr. or Ms. Detective?
• Different clothes
& face elements.
• Dialog
modifications.
• Separate
personal plots.
54%
46%

34. Let’s Talk Business
• F2P was a good decision
• Ads well implemented
• Better than Puzzle Craft
• Break even after 2 months
• Flurry is ok. Player has control over
if and when to see ads.

35. Let’s Talk Business
Downloads

36. Let’s Talk Business
Top Grossing

37. Plans
• Support planned from the beginning
• update: 1.1 ready
• update: 1.2 in development
• next updates subject to demand

38. Big Fish
• Release v.1.1
• Many aspect ratios
• Scroll bars
• Mouse-friendly

39. Another Case Solved
Play it on your
favourite device.

40. Join Our Team!
• Programmers
• Graphics
• Designers
We are looking for:
Contact us: job@atgames.pl

41. Appendix: Iterations
From first concepts to the final game.

42. Puzzles
Puzzles
randomly
flipped
Tools/
Skills

43. Puzzles
Case
description
„Adventure”

44. Puzzles
Upper
menu bar
Board: 6x7

45. Puzzles
Puzzles
to collect
Tools and skills

46. Puzzles
Tabs
Moves
left

47. Puzzles
Bonus
candy tasks

48. Puzzles
Next
tasks

49. Puzzles
Final
tabs

50. Story Bar
Puzzles
to collect
”Something
nice”
Final game:
”sth. nice”
shows puzzles
to collect

51. Story Bar
Bonus candy
Next
tasks
Final game

52. Hard Evidence
Concepts
Final game

53. City Search

54. City Search

55. City Search

56. City Search

57. City Search
”Fog of war”

58. City Search

59. City Search

60. City Search

61. City Search
Breakthrough:
only blocks
with icons
are hidden.

62. City Search

63. Interface
Side
tabs

64. Interface
Toggle button

65. Interface
Swipe

66. Interface
Upper
tabs

67. Interface
Final game:
swipe
& buttons

68. Newspapers
First try:
recommenda
-tions
Final game: solved
newspaper cases

69. Office

70. Phone in Dialogs

71. Detectives’ Club

72. Balancing Bonuses
Theory

73. Balancing Bonuses
In practice

74. Balancing Bonuses
Problem solved:
bonuses add, not multiply

75. KeyVisual
• Inspiration
• Main Menu
• Promo
• Trailer

79. Game Icon

80. Game Icon

81. That’s all folks
ag@atgames.pl