Q&A with creator George Tavoularis on “Welcome to the Party!” — a 25-level Halloween DLC for Riddle Tower
As the Fix Gaming Channel Indie Games Showcase wraps up, we step into the quirky world of Riddle Tower by our friend and showcase partner, George Tavoularis. With Halloween fast approaching, George is introducing a festive DLC that blends brain-teasing puzzles with spooky fun.
Game Overview
Riddle Tower is known for clever puzzles and charming humor. This unique 3D puzzle game has you navigating intricately designed levels, each offering distinct challenges that test both wit and resolve.
Trailer
Source: YouTube
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Riddle Tower
Release: July 22, 2024
Developer & Publisher: George Tavoularis
Platforms: PC (Steam)
About the DLC — “Welcome to the Party!”
This Halloween, Riddle Tower expands with “Welcome to the Party!” — 25 new levels packed with spooky themes and eerie surprises. Players venture toward a mysterious castle, solving puzzles that are as challenging as they are haunting. George’s signature humor shines throughout, with stand-up-style comedy bits rewarding successful solves.
Interview
Here’s our conversation with George, the creative mind behind Riddle Tower. We explore how classic challenges and modern solutions come together to create an engaging puzzle experience — plus what’s next for the game.
Origins and Inspiration
George, what sparked the idea for Riddle Tower? How have classic puzzle games influenced your approach to game design?
George: “The idea for Riddle Tower stemmed from my desire to recreate the feeling I had as a kid playing really challenging riddle games on the internet, like NotPron and GodTower (sadly, GodTower was a Flash game and is no longer available).”
“These days, it doesn’t carry the same “romantic” feeling as back then, when the only way to get past a challenging level was to figure it out on your own. Now, with guides and walkthroughs readily available, it takes discipline not to peek. However, I’m doing my best to recreate that original experience.”
Development Challenges
Developing a game with 800 levels is no small feat. Could you share some of the hurdles you encountered during the development process and how you tackled them?
George: “Creating 100, 200, 500, or even 1,000 levels (if you have a rough idea of them) is not the hard part, as it’s just a repetitive task. The biggest roadblock was figuring out how to implement features I had no idea how to create, such as loading levels from a single scene and developing a hint system that remembers which hints the user has used. Thankfully, I was blessed with a friend who is a C++ prodigy, and he helped me overcome these challenges.”
Puzzle Mechanics
The game incorporates a variety of puzzle types including text, math, and rebus puzzles. What was your process for designing these puzzles, and how did you ensure a balanced difficulty curve for players?
George: “Being part of almost every Discord, Reddit, and forum about riddles, puzzles, and brain teasers, and having experience with many live escape rooms, made it quite easy to come up with the first puzzles for the game. Some might feel repetitive, but I did my best to mix them up between levels.”
“Adjusting difficulty was something I had to refine many times before finalizing the “roadmap” for the levels. It’s challenging to maintain balance across so many levels, but I’m continually making adjustments based on feedback.”
Community Feedback
Since the release, how has player feedback influenced your views on the game? Are there any changes or updates planned based on community response?
George: “I learned quickly that when you release a game, you should be prepared to fix bugs. This has been a great experience and continues to be. People who care about the game want to see it improve, so I can’t thank them enough.”
“Almost all updates after the release have been based on community suggestions. I recall an epic bug I saw when a streamer played the game. I had forgotten to remove a button that led to the unreleased DLC at the time.”
Future Developments
With Riddle Tower now launched, do you have any plans for future projects or expansions to the game? Can players expect new puzzles or perhaps a sequel?
George: “My roadmap for the game is to keep building the community and make it as polished as possible.”
“As for extra content, I plan to release three DLCs themed around Halloween, Summer, and Christmas. The first one is scheduled for October 1st and is almost finished.”
Related on Fix Gaming Channel
More puzzle goodness: Super Puzzled Cat — launching January 2025.
Spooky picks for October: Oct 24th Indie Horror Showcase — 60 new trailers.
As we wrap up our Fix Indie Games Showcase, George leaves us with a thrilling Halloween DLC for Riddle Tower. This may mark a festive end to the series, but stay tuned for updates and future expansions from George’s workshop.
Written by Ronny Fiksdahl, Founder & Editor of Fix Gaming Channel.
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