GumTrix is a mobile game produced and released by Schell Games in late 2014, now available for iOS and Android.

The History of GumTrix

GumTrix started out as a prototype for Puzzle Clubhouse, an internal Schell Games project. Puzzle Clubhouse was made up of animated shorts with an equally short game between the intro and conclusion.

GumTrix, originally dubbed GumTris, was a prototype for Puzzle Clubhouse. The idea was to put a simple spin on the classic grid-based, match-three game. This spin: what if one axis of the grid wasn’t linear, but instead, parabolic and dynamically adjusted based on the number of items in the grid?

To extrapolate, each columns’ blocks simply stack upon one another, but the vertical position of each column is determined by its horizontal position as well as the number of blocks on the grid as a whole.

This resulted in a dynamically changing board. Blocks that were once adjacent, were no longer, and by limiting the distance between connections, gameplay changed over time.

In retrospect, this could have been designed to be more accurate, making blocks in the center influence the line more than those on the edges, but this was something that was never really noticed.

Jam Week 2011

GumTrix was themed for Puzzle Clubhouse’s opening episode. The center line was a banner tied between two palm trees. This banner was supporting crates of varying colors that had been projected from an exploding zeppelin.

During Jam Week 2011, a small team decided to port GumTris from PC to iOS. New, candy-themed art was made, and the game, renamed GumTrix, was built using CoCos2D. People loved the adorable candy art and new challenges presented with power-ups, such as freezing the line, swapping color, and infinite stretch!

Unity3D and GumTrix 2014

In 2014, another Jam Week arrived, and I decided to work on the project myself. Essentially, I ported the game to Unity3D. I did this so the game could be built to a variety of platforms — particularly iOS and Android.

The Jam Week 2014 version performed rather well. All of the game’s previous functionality was preserved. Online multiplayer, allowing several players on the same board to compete or cooperate, was even added. It wasn’t a perfect mode, but was a great introduction to the challenges presented with synchronous online multiplayer.

Final Version

A month after Jam Week 2014, we decided to finish GumTrix and release it! I had some additional help from artist Derek Hetrick and designers Shawn Patton and Yotam Haimburg. We made a few changes to the game: removing the online multiplayer feature, reducing the number of pieces from nine to six, and reconfiguring the level structure.

In 2015, we decided to implement some semblance of a monetization strategy, this being the utilization of UnityAds. UnityAds was a great fit; since it was designed by Unity, it was made integrating ads into our game quick and easy.

Retrospect

In retrospect, I think there are a few things that could have been done to make GumTrix more successful.

1. Shorten gameplay sessions. The average gameplay session can last anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, which is a broad range, but also a long time for most games on the mobile market. The game has a great ramp-up curve, but shortening it might have made the game more enjoyable for people who want to pick up and go.

2. More variety. Levels were constructed to help teach the player, but after awhile, the first few levels became predictable and a little boring.

3. Utilizing ads earlier. Though GumTrix’s first players appreciated the fact there weren’t any ads, not having them in prevented us from advertising the game as well as profiting from advertisements early on.

GumTrix’s Future

There are some new features I would like to implement in the future. Right now, the only goal in GumTrix is to survive as long as possible and compete for the highest score. Despite being a match-three game, GumTrix is more action-oriented, similar to games like Jetpack Joyride or Temple Run. Two elements missing from GumTrix that Jetpack Joyride has are a missions and a store.

Missions in GumTrix could be things like “Match ten pieces” or “Match 300 red candies.” With each mission earned, the player would earn currency they could use in the game’s store to buy new content: artwork, music, even new power-ups. Adding these features would give the game more depth and life. It is something we will have to consider for the future.

GumTrix was a fun game to make and is a great addition to the studio’s portfolio!