Productivity and Puzzle Update blog - Fluidia

Hey, I have been pretty quiet for a while now. I wanted to check in and update everyone. I actually have been very unproductive over the last month, hence the lack of update. I have made some updates on the Music, working on a track for the main game, and I have been fiddling around with designing some areas in the game and puzzles. I have a clearer sense on how all of these elements will mesh, and what the feel of the game will be. Unfortunately, it has been just too hectic for me to be very productive lately: I got over an illness, applied to some pretty neat math programs, dealt with midterms and a visited family, and somehow, the time just disappeared.

I guess I can tell you a bit more about how some puzzles in the game function. I am designing the game to have a flavor of 3d platforming (which is funny, as I much prefer 2D platforming, and generally don't play as much 3D platforming) and exploration - what makes it different is that the platforming is directly connected to the puzzles in the game. There are many movement based type puzzles, where your goal will be to connect/reach lights that move in a reactive manner. A simple example, is suppose you stumble upon a light that moves in a simple circle (and is not reactive to your presence or movement, which is uncharacteristic of the puzzles in the game); then, to "solve" the puzzle, you would navigate yourself so that your path intersected with the movement of the light. To make it more interesting, and to connect the game's nonlinear nature of exploration and platforming/puzzle solving, when you solve puzzles, it increases the area in which you can explore by giving you small ability boosts - so, returning to the earlier example, something will happen (I will leave that for you to find out), and you will be able to jump slightly higher. I feel like having these discrete changes wil give some connection between the game's open-world exploration play and the system of puzzles and puzzle solving.

If the above sounds interesting to you, or you have similarities to other games or suggestions, I would love to hear them. I will probably write more on this in a little while because there is a lot more to be said, but for now I just wanted to be able to let you all know more about the puzzle type, as well as get some update out there, because it has been a stressful, hard, and slow month, and you guys and girls that are wondering what is going on and why I have stopped posting updates deserve to know what's up.
Anyhow, I am collecting most updates into a list so that I will write a more in-depth article about them soon, and at that point, I will probably write more about the puzzle mechanic that I talked about briefly here. Lastly, I know I have been very concretely giving hints about this, but there is another, much more up to date build coming soon! I just want to establish some of the features in the game a bit more, but then I want to get a newer build out and available to you all. Well, thanks for reading, talk to you soon (and I will make myself, even if I have nothing interesting to say, never fear)!! 

Bonus: New images uploaded - links below!