This devlog post you’re reading is not actually about any ongoing development of the game, but rather a little summary of it’s history. I didn’t want to clutter the game page with this wall of text, so I decided to use this devlog feature instead. If you haven’t played the game yet, don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers.

Dimension 55355 isn’t a new game. It dates back to 2010. I was 15 when I started developing what would become my first finished game.

I had been tinkering with Game Editor for about a year and made multiple little game demos, but always abandoned the projects to start new ones. Often it was because I was so interested in trying to find out how much I can achieve - what programming challenges I could conquer, how far I could push the limits of my ability to use the software, could I replicate something I’d seen someone else do. I was in it for the challenge, and when the particular challenge that a project was all about - realising a game mechanic for example - was defeated, I was not able to stick to the project anymore and finish off all the parts of the game that were less interesting for me.

Another thing that I struggled with was creating graphics for my games. I wanted to make visually impressive and diverse games, but didn’t have the skills nor the patience or the will to learn to create proper computer graphics. So, overwhelmed by the mere thought of having to spend hours upon hours making graphics, I ended up burying many of my games before really getting even started.

In late 2010, I began working on a new project. I had played a browser game that had it’s basic gameplay revolving around changing the main character’s color and solving puzzles by how it affected the characters movement. Inspired by that game I started developing my own game where changing the character’s color played a role in the gameplay. Games by some other Game Editor users were another big influence for the game, especially graphics-wise. Some of my favourite Game Editor games utilized simplistic, pixelated old school graphics. And with my lacking skills in computer graphics a simple pixelated look was an efficient choice for me.

At some point of the development process I decided that this time I wouldn’t let myself leave the game unfinished. I set myself a goal of making at least 20 - 25 levels before I could call the game complete. I kept pushing towards those numbers and eventually decided to even add five more levels, ending up with 30. Other Game Editor users assisted me by beta testing the game, and one of them even offered to compose some music for it - an offer that I very gladly accepted! The song that plays on loop from the beginning until the end of the last level is made by Hblade from the Game Editor forum.

After a couple of months the game was ready. I was very proud. I had actually finished making a game - for the first time in my life! And the game was almost perfect, it ran smoothly and there was only one or two minor bugs I hadn’t been able to iron out.

Looking back through the years I still feel proud of my work here. Sure, I see much room for improvement in many aspects of the game and today I’d do lots of things differently, but I’ve also learned very much since early 2011. Back then this was top-quality work for me, and that’s why I can still be proud of it.

I hope you enjoy the game!

lcl

Oh, and it’s pronounced “fifty-five three fifty-five”.