Skin Change

Once again, a major shift is in the works, and it’s likely our most exciting change yet.

Our team of scientists concluded that Lifted needs a more original look.  Specifically, it looks too much like Mirror’s Edge (... something about using their concept art as our visual target?).  Mirror’s Edge was an AWESOME game, and a huge inspiration for our gameplay and visual direction - but it’s rarely a good sign when players are distracted by how much your game looks like another.

Light Bulb Moment
While considering where else we could go visually, we did some research, and brainstormed... a lot.  Our biggest light bulb moment came when we acknowledged that our game takes place in a virtual network - essentially the internet.  This is visually significant, because no one knows what the internet looks like.  We realized this gave us a relatively huge amount of freedom.  Which was both exciting and terrifying...

Theme is Everything
As far as creating experiences goes, having a theme is crucial.  Your theme is basically the filter through which all other creative ideas flow.  It’s the frame of reference a team can use to determine the validity or relevance of a design idea.  And with our original direction out the window, we were left without one.
Lucky for us, other people have tried to imagine this stuff before... namely the makers of Tron.  The vision for Tron was ground-breaking when it first emerged, and the recent re-imaginings by Disney and crew are just as awesome.  Which is why the sharp contrast, highlights, and strictly geometrical architecture found in that universe are making their way into Lifted.
We also looked toward games like Mass Effect, Portal, and Assassin’s Creed for inspiration in the “futuristic design” department.  

The new visual direction will affect both Story Mode and Pro Mode, either of which can be found on our new landing page (Just click “PLAY”).
Be sure to check them out, and let us know what you think!

World-Changing Decisions

Through tons of playtesting, and feedback from our awesome mentors, we’ve concluded that the world layout we’re currently pursuing isn’t ideal for Creative Crates.

A crucial part of making something with a team is finding a path that works best for everyone - so we made a decision that will hopefully make Lifted an even better fit for us all...

Lifted is getting chopped in half. (It’s not as gory as it sounds!)

Story Mode will feature a more linear style of play, with narrative written by Leelee, and sets of challenges made by Spencer.  Our new plan for the layout of Story Mode will also give them both more time to focus on visual details.  Lifted is going to look fantastic, and we’re super excited...

Pro Mode is going to be a procedurally generated arcade mode, which Thomas is creating almost entirely by himself! (Have we mentioned Thomas is awesome?)  
The main goal behind Pro Mode is to retain some of what we first loved about our prototype... open-ended, fast-paced, challenging exploration.  It’s going to have all the features we’re designing for Story Mode, but in a randomized vertical tube - you’ll be able to climb to your heart’s content, and even race against your friends! (details on that later)

This split will allow Spencer and Leelee to focus on what they do best - designing, handcrafting, and painting a beautiful world - while letting Thomas and Zeb explore random generation and the nuances of free-form gameplay.  It’s still all tied together by our core mechanic, as well as the story universe Lifted takes place in. And the end result will be different content for different types of players, more of that content, and more polish all around.
(We call that an epic win :)

In short, Lifted is evolving.  We love the new direction, and we’re sure you will too!