COCOON - first prototype (2017) vs final game (2023). In this video we compare a simple pipe puzzle where the player needs to follow the orb.

The final puzzle gains a lot from its scene complexity with multiple platforms in different heights and multiple routes. It becomes a part of the challenge to simply "parse" the landscape as you run.

This is actually quite fascinating to see The progression of the prototype in 2017 - to one of the best puzzle games in the last 5 to years I really enjoyed COCOON and I have said it multiple times my only issue is the game was short 🥺🥺💔 I wanted moren

How was that change from 2D to 3D? Was the prototyping always intended to be in 2D?

I think the transition was relatively smooth since the final game is still mostly 2D gameplay (navigation on a plane). We switched to 3D due to the art direction, not for the sake of gameplay.

@arboresis Wow amazing. Well done for having the vision to get from the prototype to what looks fantastic.

Cocoon is such a fantastic game and it's amazing how much different the atmosphere is from the prototype but NES demake when?!

There is something just inherently fun about watching a marble roll down a track. :D We may have tried something similar for Islands, but replayability was a bit limited for how involved it was. Perfect puzzle for Cocoon though.

This inspires me to really stick to programmer art and bare bones when designing gameplay systems - I always get stuck (my own fault) falling into assets and plateauing. Thanks

What was the prototype you reached out to a publisher with? Was it still that 2D or maybe something 3D already?

No. We started talking to publishers much later.