WHAT IS THE JELLY JAR?
The Jelly Jar is a new blocker that was first released in episode 643, level 9621. It is a static blocker, meaning it will not fall to the bottom of the board when elements beneath it are destroyed. It can have up to two layers and will explode in a diamond shape that damages any candy, blockers, or other elements in the area. After the explosion, the previous area will be occupied with a single layer of Jelly that can stack to two layers if the explosion areas of multiple Jelly Jars overlap.
BACKGROUND
Levels that include Jelly in combination or solo not only seem to be the favorite game modes among the players but among us Level Designers as well. From adding a simple additional goal to easy levels to being placed at strategic positions that can only be reached after specific conditions have been fulfilled: Jelly is a pretty versatile element in Candy Crush and can easily be combined with other game modes (such as Order or Ingredient). Additionally, the Feature Design team within Candy Crush had already begun a shift towards the creation of positive blockers that don’t simply halt your progress but give you some kind of reward on their destruction.
Like these
The Bubblegum Pop is a layer that can have up to five layers and will explode once it is destroyed. This can allow result in explosive chain reactions.
The Licorice Shell can have up to three layers and only takes damage from Special Candies. Once destroyed, it will release a Color Bomb.
The Bonbon Blitz is a relatively new blocker that was introduced before the work on the Jelly Jar began. Hitting it with a match will result in the effect of the Special Candy that is displayed on the element. It can have up to four layers with each layer holding a charge.
To combine the idea of positive blockers with the popular Jelly game mode to make the latter more complex and challenging came up as a natural conclusion.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
While the core behavior of the Jelly Jar - an explosion that spreads Jelly on the board - was already determined before the production began, its visual design could have taken a couple of different shapes. The lineup of possible visuals ranged from a disco ball to a machine similar to the Magic Mixer or Chocolate Fountain that would stir the Jelly, a jiggling pudding, a closed marmalade jar, and, last but not least, some kind of creature. In the end, it became a combination of the latter two with the jellyfish actually being the result of a wordplay.
Mainly, there were two main areas that my leading designer and I had to decide
on were:
The shape of the explosion/Jelly area - which ended up being the 5x5 tile diamond shape that is also shown on the jar’s lid (and the first element that uses diagonal directions as well).
What would happen to Jelly that falls outside of the game board or Jelly on a tile that already had the maximum number of layers. In the end, we decided on the easiest way and just counted those Jellies as automatically collected.
Wheee
RESULT AND RECEPTION
Before the feature was finalized, we had a small audience to playtest in order to give us feedback. Overall, people liked the mechanic and found the jellyfish cute but observation also showed that the players consistently overlooked the explosion that the Jelly Jar caused. So making the explosion VFX more obvious was the last change we did on this feature.
Overall, the reception of the Jelly Jar was positive. People liked the visual design and color of the jellyfish (except for those who were afraid of jellyfish in general) as well as the sounds and overall innovation. In terms of critique, players had the concern that spreading Jelly just to clear it up later would cost them too many moves since it technically created an extra step to finish the level. Others wanted to know if Jelly what would happen if the Jelly spread under indestructible elements (such as Chocolate Fountains or behind a Licorice Fence). This is a valid concern that the Level Design team will have to keep in mind when it comes to future levels that include the Jelly Jar.
Read more in the official Jelly Jar thread here:
