Why two players, and only two
Where Through the Prism comes from, what I love about co-op puzzle games, and where development stands.
My name is Alexis, I am 25 and I am making a game on my own, in Montpellier. It is called Through the Prism. It is a co-op escape game for two players, and this devlog tells how it is coming along.
For this first note, I will start with the simplest question: why this game.
A genre I cannot put down
Since I was very young, I have loved co-op puzzle games. Whenever I see one, I buy it and finish it. We Were Here, Operation Tango, Escape Academy, It Takes Two, Portal 2's co-op mode: I have played them all.
The ones that stayed with me most have something in common. They force you to think differently. A game that runs through your voice, a mechanic you have never seen anywhere else, a rule that changes how you talk to each other: that is where I have the most fun, and that is what I want to make.
Why exactly two
Through the Prism cannot be played alone, or with three. Every puzzle relies on what one player has and the other does not: a piece of information, a point of view, a sound, a way to act.
With two players, that difference is sharp. Each depends entirely on the other, and nobody can hang back. You have to describe what you see, listen, realise you are not always talking about the same thing, then pull it off together.
Voice as a rule of the game
Voice chat is built into the game, and it is part of it. You hear each other as you would in a real room: less well from far away, and not at all behind a pane of glass.
Making voice a rule adds a dimension to the puzzles. Communication can be cut, made one-way, or reversed. Each time, the pair has to invent another way to understand each other. I will come back to this in a later note.
Where things stand
The tutorial is completely finished. It teaches the basics: moving, carrying and throwing objects, making gestures, talking, and solving your first trials together.
I am now moving on to the game's zones. I work level by level: each one is first built in grey blocks, with no scenery, to check that the puzzle works. Textures come afterwards, once the level is validated.
The release is planned for the first half of 2027, on Steam.
What comes next
I will write here about designing the puzzles, about what works and what does not. The devlog's RSS feed lets you follow new notes, and the contact page gives the address to write to me.