Scramble Legends rewards you for spelling longer words with additional time and bonus letters. When you combine multiple bonus letters in a word you unleash an extra powerful attack on your opponent. I’m quite happy with this gameplay as it encourages you to plan ahead and play well. That being said I wanted to reward you for spelling words quickly as well. To that end I created “Overdrive Mode”.

Overdrive Mode is a special game mode in Scramble Legends. When you spell twelve words your board flips and you are presented with a word puzzle. Flipping the right letter will trigger bigger and bigger chain reactions! These chain reactions drop more and more letters on your opponent.

Overdrive Mode in action!

In my opinion Overdrive Mode succeeds for a few reasons:

  • Rewards you for spelling words quickly
  • Adds additional variety and excitement to the game
  • Enables multiple play styles

That being said, creating Overdrive Mode was no easy feat. In particular it was challenging to randomly generate the puzzles. In particular, because words are automatically found and collected I needed to make sure that when a chain reaction started it did not form any unintended words. Accidental words would mess up the chain reaction down the line and ruin the puzzle!

The algorithm behind the word puzzle generator for Overdrive Mode
The algorithm behind the word puzzle generator for Overdrive Mode

In the end I wound up writing a program which works backwards. I start with the final word in the chain reaction and push new words up underneath it one by one. Along the way I have to make sure there are no accidental words. As long as words are added at slightly different offsets the result will be a captivating chain reaction!

Keep reading the "Making of Scramble Legends" series:
  1. User Interface: a look at how the user interface was designed
  2. Avatar Style: follow the evolution of Scramble Legends' art style
  3. Making the Avatars: guest post by Kyle McGill artist for Scramble Legends
  4. Avatar Design: learn how the avatar art style was finalized
  5. End Game Condition: explore the thought process behind the game's end game condition
  6. Attack Design: understand why Scramble Legends is all about burying your opponent
  7. Overdrive Mode: a look at the design and technical considerations behind this special game mode
  8. Sound Design: guest post by David Kizale sound designer for Scramble Legends