Aisle Be Back

The prompt

Third game of the evening, typed at 22:18:

We did two games that I like tonight: a flappy bird like and the desktop tycoon. Can we try now one of those vertical speed run? One of those with 3 roads/lane and you have to switch from one to another. Again I’d like a funny theme

Four themes were offered: a snail with a rocket on its shell, an office chair racing through an open space, a runaway supermarket trolley, and a granny escaping the retirement home on a mobility scooter. I picked the trolley. Dodge pallets, free-sample stands and wet-floor signs, collect toilet paper rolls.

The iterations

Five versions, six messages from me. The first three happened in 13 minutes; the last two the next morning, over coffee.

1. Playable core. “The speed seems too fast, I can’t see the details. Except the sides which could use some design love.” Start speed cut by a third, real shelves with cereal boxes and cans.
2. My next message was in French, because it was late: the scrolling hurt my eyes, the top of the screen looked odd, and the obstacles were too small to tell apart. Floor lines faded, a proper store back wall, obstacles 55 % bigger.
3. Next morning, the store banner said “SUPER PRIX” and I didn’t like it. “Can we find a play on words for the supermarket name?” Six puns came back. Cart Blanche was Claude’s favourite. Aisle Be Back won, and became the name of the game.
4. Then the message that made the game:

I’d love the cart to be pushed by a grand-ma with sunglasses (terminator style) and it could be fun to see her face grinning when the game is over. I want a share button with the score too

5. One correction: “ah no don’t show her teeth on the score board, just a grin. Can we make her walk when pushing the cart? Maybe change the grandma obstacles to a kid?” She walks now. The kid has a lollipop and a balloon and yells “MOOOOM!”.

What I learned

The theme was chosen in seconds, but the character that makes people smile came in message five, after sleeping on it. A night between iterations is worth more than an extra hour of them.