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Hi! This is Game Maker's Toolkit, I'm Mark[br]Brown

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So a few months ago I made a video about controllers,[br]and when I said "there is incredible elegance

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to be found in games designed around a single[br]mechanic" I showed this game.

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And way too many people didn't know what the[br]game was.

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So let me introduce you to Downwell: a stylish[br]and brutally difficult arcade game, about

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plummeting down a randomly generated well.[br]And it's also one of the most elegantly designed

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games I've played in a long time.

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And the reason I say that is because almost[br]everything in the game serves two, or even

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three purposes.

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The game's creator, Ojiro Fumoto, was inspired[br]by a Shigeru Miyamoto quote that goes "A good

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idea is something that does not solve just[br]one single problem, but rather can solve multiple

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problems at once" - and boy, does Fumoto run[br]with it.

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Take the jump button. Downwell was made with[br]mobile in mind, so Fumoto only wanted three

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buttons: left, right, and jump. But because[br]the jump button can do something else when

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you're in mid-air, that same button also fires[br]bullets out of your boots.

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These gunboots serve multiple purposes as[br]well. Not only do they kill enemies, and not

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only do they carve paths through blocks, but[br]they also slow your descent and help you maneuverer

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in mid-air.

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Enemies are, well, enemies. They try and kill[br]you from all different directions and you

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can blast them with your gunboots. But they[br]also serve two other purposes.

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Your gunboots have a limited charge, but if[br]you land on an enemy's head you'll instantly

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reload. And this will also start a combo chain:[br]bop a whole bunch of enemies in a row and

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you'll get special bonuses like extra gunboot[br]charges and more gems.

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Landing on the ground also serves a couple[br]functions: it reloads your gunboots, and it

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finishes off your combo.

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The game is full of gems, which are used for[br]a bunch of different things. Gems collected

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during that run can be spent in shops, and[br]your overal collection of gems is used to

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unlock new game modes and visual styles.

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Plus, collecting lots of gems in quick succession[br]unlocks "gem high" mode, where your bullets

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are bigger and do more damage, for as long[br]as you continue collecting gems.

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These sub rooms give you a chance to breathe[br]- especially if you're in the middle of a

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frantic combo. But they also let you pick[br]up some more gems or, sometimes, get a new gun.

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If you've been paying any attention so far,[br]you won't be surprised to learn that the gun

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pickups serve two purposes. They not only[br]give you a new weapon to play with, but the

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pickup also boosts either your gunboot charge[br]or your health. And getting health not only

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boosts your hit points but, if your health[br]is full, starts building up towards boosting

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your max HP, too.

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You can also look at things outside of the[br]main game. The styles, which are alternative

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ways of playing, make the game both easier[br]and harder to play. Boulder style gives you

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more HP but fewer upgrade choices. Arm spin[br]style gives you more gun upgrades but shops

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are now ultra rare.

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And the aesthetics don't just give the game[br]a quirky, retro style but also make the game

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immediately readable at 100 miles per hour.[br]Foes and obstacles show up in red, and enemies

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can also be all red if you can't jump on them,[br]or just red on the bottom if you can.

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So, as you can see, pretty much everything[br]in Downwell is working at least two jobs.

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And this carries some substantial benefits.

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For one, Downwell can offer a huge amount[br]of depth with, essentially, half the number

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of moving parts. It doesn't need separate[br]buttons for jump and shoot. It doesn't need

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a reload button or ammo crates. It doesn't[br]need separate items for gun, health and charge pick-ups

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And this means you don't need to learn loads[br]of obtuse systems and have to figure out what

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everything does because as long you understand[br]the basics, the rest will flow.

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And it also allows Fumoto to nudge you towards[br]playing Downwell in his intended way. Which

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is to play the game at top speed, turning[br]the levels into a barmy dance of jumping from

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one enemy to the next.

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So if you collect gems to use in the shop,[br]you'll also enter gem high mode which encourages

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you to act fast and quickly collect gems to[br]keep that meter going. And if you bop on a

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few enemy heads to reload your gun, or because[br]these jerks turn into evil nightmare skulls

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if you shoot them, you'll want to keep doing[br]this to get a bigger prize, which makes you

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go faster and take more risks.

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These combo systems also act like a difficulty[br]mode, without making you select it from the

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main menu. Want to make Downwell more difficult?[br]Try getting a combo over 20, 30, 40 points.

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And they make the early levels more fun on[br]your 50th go. Oh, Downwell is a roguelike

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with permadeath. Did I forget to mention that?[br]It's basically Spelunky:

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four different worlds and then a boss.[br]And like Spelunky, the first world eventually

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becomes so easy that it's a bit of a chore[br]to work through. But in Downwell, you can

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use this first world to practice your combo[br]skills, and build up a nice stockpile of gems

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and goodies for later stages.

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Fumoto also wants you to make tough decisions[br]and, again, this is reinforced through the

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game's dual purpose design. You might not[br]want to pick up the unpredictable noppy weapon,

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but you do want the health boost that comes[br]with it. Hm! The styles come with tricky trade-offs,

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as do the upgrades collected between levels.[br]Making your bullet casings deadly sounds good,

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but it could screw up your combo game.

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Downwell shows how a game can do a lot, with[br]a little, as long as every part of the game

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is working over time. And it shows how a game[br]can provide a lot of depth without being overly

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fussy and complex. And so all that, is why you really should have heard of Downwell.

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Thanks for watching. Game Maker's Toolkit[br]is funded entirely through Patreon. Thanks

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to all my supporters, including these super[br]special five buck a video heroes.