Devlog · Episode 22
I made the maps lighter
Some maps were too heavy for simple computers. Here is how I trimmed the weight without losing the look.
I tested the game on a weaker computer and saw what I did not want to see: on some maps, it stuttered. Not always, but enough to spoil the experience for anyone without a powerful machine.
The problem
A browser game has to run on lots of different machines. If it only runs well on my computer, I made the game for me and not for the people who play it. And those with simpler machines feel it first: the character chokes, movement slips, fights lose their rhythm.
I did not want to solve this by asking the player to lower the quality and accept a uglier game. I wanted the game to stay pretty and simply ask less of the machine.
What I did
I went through every map, piece by piece. For each one I asked: does this really show on screen? A lot of it had too much detail for a camera that looks from above. Nobody sees it, but the computer still has to draw it.
I cut what nobody can see and kept what shows. That was the rule, no exceptions: if you cannot tell, it does not need to be heavy.
It was tedious work, going through piece by piece, map by map. But it is the kind of work that decides whether the game is good for everyone or only for those with a good machine.
Before and after, side by side
I do not trust my eye alone. After each adjustment I compared the old version with the new one side by side. Most of the time I could see no difference at all. The only thing that changed was the game getting smoother.
What it means for you
The game runs well on more machines. If you play on a simpler computer, you should feel less stutter when walking and fighting. If you play on a good one, almost nothing changes, and that is on purpose.
This kind of work does not give you a pretty picture, but it is one of my favorites. It is when the game gets better and you do not notice why.
In the end, the rule that guided me was simple: the player should never notice the work, only feel that the game got lighter. If optimizing shows up on screen as lost beauty, I did it wrong. That is why I compared every piece before and after, side by side, and only accepted what looked identical to my eyes.