This is The Mechanic, where Alex Wiltshire invites developers to discuss the difficult journeys they underwent to make the best bits of their games. This time, Iconoclasts [official site].
Iconoclasts is a platformer that feels great to play. As Robin, a daring mechanic armed with a wrench and a stun gun, you ll run, jump and shoot your way through sprawling multi-level areas, enjoying precise movements which balance detail and nuance with smoothness. It s a feel that s down to developer Joakim Sandberg s taste in games. Something I always enjoy in a videogame is that feeling, usually when you ve played it a few times, of being able to push through, he tells me. Flow, essentially.
Almost all of Iconoclasts design features are directly about maintaining this sense of flow, of momentum in which you feel like nothing is getting in the way of your intention. And one feature you ll notice when you first start playing the game is kind of shocking. (more…)