Following an impressive hands-on demo with the team behind Forgotten Fragments at Gamescom 2024, we knew we had to dive deeper into the creative process behind this upcoming indie title by Binary Phoenix. The game, which features two distinct campaigns designed for solo and co-op play, caught our attention with its unique approach to gameplay and intricate level designs. We wanted to understand the motivations, challenges, and inspirations that fueled the development of Forgotten Fragments, so we reached out to the developers to discuss everything from balancing its 120+ levels to creating visually distinct worlds and adapting the game based on player feedback. Here’s what they had to share.
Forgotten Fragments features two separate campaigns with unique stories and levels. What motivated the decision to create distinct experiences for both solo and co-op modes?
From the first moment we wanted people to enjoy the game in all formats. So we made the decision to make the game an experience that you could enjoy solo or playing co-op with a friend.
What were some of the biggest challenges during development, especially with balancing over 120 levels across two campaigns while ensuring the game stays fresh and engaging throughout?
The biggest challenge was getting the players to understand the controls of the game during the first levels, since some of the mechanics are new to players, like aiming with the sphere. So I would say that getting the first 10 levels right for each campaign is the biggest challenge there has been.
To create levels for 1 or 2 players you also need the right mindset, because they are played very differently: in the 1 player campaign you have to introduce the mechanics and make it challenging enough but not impossible to complete, but for the 2 player campaign you also need to balance the amount of actions that every player executes, so the other player does not get bored, so it can be tricky at times.
With the time limits and emphasis on precision in launching the spheres, how do you ensure the gameplay feels challenging yet fair to players across different skill levels?
We had a lot of discussions about this threat in the last months. As a team we managed to get a gradually challenging experience through the game (with a lot of testing and hit & miss); but we still found that some players were not ready for this type of challenge but wanted to enjoy the game anyway.
So in the end we decided to add an “easy” mode (very similar to assist mode in Celeste) which will erase/reduce the ball timer and add some aim mechanics for the ball. This is not the way that we want people to play the game, but in the end we want the game to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
The worlds in Forgotten Fragments are visually distinct, and each campaign spans multiple environments. Can you share your inspiration for the game’s art style and how it complements the puzzle-solving mechanics?
This came very naturally as we developed the game; themes/biomes mostly were based on the final bosses of each level (as well as the new powers you get). So the short answer is that we adapted biomes to the idea of the bosses that we had. As for the art style – we’ve been developing this game for years and it changed a lot. But our latest inspirations came from games that we love, like Eastward or Bloomtown.
The game also features boss fights – how did you approach designing these?
So after each boss you gain a forgotten fragment that gives you a new power based on the boss behavior, so they are designed around those powers (breaking blocks, creating blocks…). Also they have to be puzzles and not only based on skill (moving/aiming fast), so a key point is when and how do you get spheres from the environment/boss projectiles.
Have you made any major adjustments based on what you’ve heard from players so far?
Yes of course! We love to receive feedback and we 100% take it into account when improving the game. We made lots of changes based on player feedback. For example we changed the way you aim with the sphere from being on the right joystick to using the 4 trigger buttons to have more precision and speed when aiming. Other changes aim to provide more visual clarity by changing some objects like buttons and levers (they were all buttons before) and also the difficulty curve has decreased a lot since we began showing the project to players.
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