The Flash game I will make

Taking on the strengths and weaknesses from the last post about Flash games, I have created my game.

The game itself will be similar to a Pacman like maze. You are required to remember the maze walls, as after a few seconds they will disappear. You then have to navigate your character around, trying to reach the 'finish' spot within a specified time. Along the way will be bonus items and death traps. If you finish within time, any seconds spare will be converted to additional points. There will be a 'reveal' button which can be used a limited amount of times should the user forget the map layout.

I believe it will be a success as I intend it to meet the following criteria: 

• Have clear objectives / Sneeze says it all in it's name really, that is the main objective. Meanwhile, Big Battle was only understandable due to prior experience with it's genre, but I had no no-how on achieving the goals. This is needed for those unsure.
• Be simple to play / Again, the controls for Sneeze are the standardised keys used in online gaming, spacebar for fire etc. There aren't superfluous buttons either whereas the weapons available in Big Battle demanded several keys to implement.
• Have a countdown time feature so to increase pace but make the game feel manageable, i.e. the level will only last 30 seconds regardless / This I noticed was lacking from Sneeze, but was implemented in Doeo. In adds an intensity, which is good in games.
• Have reward points, whether that be through achieving a quick time or by collecting bonus items / In the easy setting of Doeo, everything shot was worth the same, so it seemed a little bland. Where bonuses were available in Big Battle, they required a decision of whether it was worthing seeking at a cost to your health level, ammo stocks. This sort of decision is good in games, making them more complex in terms of strategy.
• Have levels of progressive difficulty / It is expected in games that the first level gently introduces, but there needs to be caution of giving a false sense of security. The gradual difficulty increase in Sneeze I think is implemented nicely.
• A challenge that requires thinking / Merely clicking the mouse doesn't require thinking, as is demonstrated in Doeo. The sense of achievement after having thought through an action and then successfully completed the level as a consequence is a major reason people are encouraged to continue playing.

On the other hand, I will be trying to avoid these downfalls:

• Having instructions that are too wordy or complicated / Unfortunately, Sneeze fails in this respect. Online games are quick bursts of fun, so users will not want to spend 2 mins of their 5 reading up on how to play.
• Consistently being too easy, or too difficult / If your users can't use the game, it fails. Extreme difficulty may indeed pose a challenge but the limit needs to be sensible, as I felt for the difficult setting in Doeo.
• Poorly implemented controls / If it doesn't work, they won't stay around long as they haven't invested in the game financially. 
• Uninspiring visuals / Although gameplay is fundamental to success, the visuals help make the piece. It helps with the user's perception of the game, whether it is quality or not.

In terms of the market, I think it will fit nicely within the edu-tainment sector that has gathered interest in the last few years. Brain Age on DS has become a multiple million seller, spawning Brain Age 2 which features more game like brain activites. My game could easily fit in here. 

Such games target a broad age demograph, nicknamed the Touch Generations, by Nintendo. Basically, anybody who is normally scared or deem videogames not for them should find the software interesting, useful, approachable and fun. Any age too, as the levels that increase with difficulty cater, in this respect. Younger users will enjoy the simpler, early stages whereas older, more advanced users getting to the difficult levels will find a challenge too.

@