Merge & Blade, a game developed by Magic Cube that combines puzzles, fantasy, and strategystarted asa simple puzzlegame with numbers, which was implemented in a previous game. However, Magic Cube wanted to explore the world of puzzles in a completely new way, through a lens of a fantasy combat system.
As a result, thisTetris-like block game turned into a much more complex strategic autobattler with various units, upgrades, and game modes. The development team is still working hard on making the month-old game better by adding new content and introducing newtwists and turns in terms of the storyline. Game Rant spoke to CEO SangSuk Ha of Magic Cube about the inception of the studio, his love for puzzle games, merging mechanics, upgrades and accessibility, and upcoming updates.The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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Q: Can you start by telling us a little about yourself and your role at Magic Cube?
A: My name is SangSuk Ha, and I’m the CEO and game designer of Magic Cube. Nice to meet you. Magic Cube is a small indie game developer based in South Korea. It’s been around for a while as it was founded in 2004. I’ve made a lot of PC online games andsmartphone games, over 40 in total. With smartphone games, I focused on paid games because I like games that emphasize unique gameplay.
I am the founder of Magic Cube. After my first company, I realized that I wanted to make the game that I like, so I started a company with a bunch of like-minded people with less than $1000 in the bank. The people I founded the company with have since left Magic Cube, but we still co-develop from time to time.
Q: For those of our readers that aren’t familiar withMerge & Blade, can you describe what type of game it is?
A:Merge & Bladeis a hybrid genre game that combines puzzles andautobattler genres. Many people have given it nicknames, such as PuyoChess,TetrisRPG, FantasyTetris, ViolentPuyoPuyo, and so on. I think the nicknames say a lot. I think the most unusual thing about it is that it’s a game that seamlessly flows from puzzles to combat and combat to puzzles.
Q: The game combines puzzle mechanics and strategic elements. How did you come up with this combination?
A: The puzzles in this game are in fact the same puzzles I made for a mobile game calledONESa while back. At the time, I wanted to make an intuitive game using numbers. A lot of people liked the rules of that game, so I thought I’d give it another try.
I like a lot of different genres of games, including puzzle, action, and strategy games. I wanted to represent them all in one, so I just “Merge” them all into one game. I used to loveblock games likeTetris,Hexa, andPuyo Pyuo.
The game iseasy to play but hard to master, as the difficulty naturally increases as the numbers increase, and I love the way the blocks stack on each other and how combining makes them stronger. The idea that I wanted my blocks to have meaning and not just be simple blocks is what led me to createMerge & Blade.
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Q: The merging of units changes not only the power level of the units but also how they interact with enemies (and friendly units). Can you tell us more about that?
A: InTetris(orPuyo Puyo), it’s not about merging. We introduced the concept of merging and making blocks upgradeable. We also felt that it would be too repetitive if progression was based solely on attack and defense stats, so we needed something new and different.
We had already created battles based onthe concept of fantasy combat. We thought it would be better if the fantasy party had a variety of classes and could be designed for solo party play.
So, what we have are 11 basic units. The first is the peasant, which is weak in combat, followed by the blacksmith, which is weak but will stun enemies by using a hammer.
Next up are the combat units. Footmen can attack diagonally, Archers can attack from a distance, and Priests provide healing. As the number of basic things you may do increases, you need to be strategic in battle.
You have to think about who you put where. The same goes for enemies, and the orcs that many people have trouble with have shields, so they take less damage from frontal attacks. This is where the strategy of attacking diagonally comes in. At first, you only care about the puzzle. Later, in combat, you’ll want to run a secondary puzzle to favor the next one. The combat strategies become more important as the game goes on.
Q: The logic behind the merging of units is similar to Match 3 games. How much of the game do you attribute to simple puzzle games?
A: I think it’s actually a little bit less of a puzzle than it used to be. Maybe 30-40%? Even if you can’t do the puzzle, you can still play to some extent, and you can use the swap at the end of the battle to redo the block placement that you failed in the puzzle.
However, bycombining multiple unitsat once or using combos, you’re able to build up a high-ranked unit very quickly. This is where the difference between a good player and a great player comes in. However, due to the small size of the grid (5 x 5), puzzles will be less important in the later stages.
Q: You mentioned that you have made puzzle games before. Could you describe your approach to designing puzzle mechanics?
A: Yes, I’ve designed over 50 games, and I’ve done it in a lot of different ways. But one of my favorite things to do is to combine completely different rules or genres. That is whatMerge & Bladeis. It has similarities toTetrisandPuyo Puyo, but also to number puzzles.
There are many types of puzzles. Some puzzles have a way to solve them, some puzzles are more about moving fast than thinking. I think there are games where you may enjoy the process in different ways, likeMatch 3 games.
My favorite of these are games where you enjoy the process of solving. It’s the kind of game that makes you believe you’re smart. I like to think that once I have a good set of rules, the rules themselves can act as cogs to create different situations. I love puzzle games where you build the system, and it just kind of runs itself.
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Q: Upgrades are important in the game. Can you explain what upgrades are available, and how you approached balancing the costs and benefits of upgrades?
A: I wanted a balanced distribution of puzzles, growth, and combat, and I wanted them to influence each other, not exist in isolation. For progression, I designed an Academy to raise the highest rank available, a Bootcamp, which gives you high-ranked units from the start, and other upgrades that increase your supply of turns, previews, swaps, etc.
There are alsoupgrades that increase the level of each unit. For reference, I created the campaign on a difficulty level that I could complete without losing. But I wanted everyone to be able to complete it, so I added the capability to upgrade and get stronger if they failed.
But I also didn’t want the game to be too easy because you get too strong, so I designed the upgrade cost to be a bit higher. To exaggerate, I think the campaign is a 7-hour tutorial. If you clear the campaign and feel like the Roguelike mode is doable, then the tutorial was good. If the Roguelike feels ridiculously difficult, it’s because you cleared the campaign by using upgrades.
Q: As you mentioned, the core gameplay comes in the form of a campaign. Does the campaign tell a story, and if so, what is it about?
A: The campaign is actuallya very simple story. Someone uses a cursed book to summon demons and endanger the world. The humans find out about merging and fight back to defeat the demons.
I thought it was a good idea to focus on the game rules at first, but I realized there were a lot of people who wanted more. I decided to add some settings that I’d been thinking about. I’ve already worked on some scenarios that are going to be added to the Roguelike mode, including “What the cursed book is” and “Why Seth is the final boss.” I’m going to show you some of those mysteries and conclusions little by little.
Q: The game has a fantasy theme. How important is it for you to have a captivating theme?
A: Yeah. I’m actually quite surprised that so many people enjoyed it and liked it.I don’t think this would have happened if it was just a simple puzzle, but I think it’s because the theme was interesting.
It’s very important to make a good game, but if you don’t play it, you don’t even realize you made it. I think a compelling theme is what makes a well-made game playable. And it’s best if the concept that attracts people works well with the game mechanics.
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Q: You already mentioned that the game has other game modes in addition to the campaign. Can you explain a little about the other modes?
A: As I mentioned, even if you’re not good enough, you can still clear the Campaign with just upgrades. That has its advantages and disadvantages, so we thought we needed a mode where you could test your skills. In Challenge mode, when you lose it’s all over. There are 5 mini-campaigns and an endless defense mode. There’s also a two-player Versus mode, which feels like a completely separate title. It’s a lot of fun to play against a friend with a simple bet.
And thenthere’s the Roguelike mode, which is what we’re most excited about. It’s different from the campaign in many ways, with different rules for each scenario. Each character you choose has different characteristics, and we’re planning to develop it into endgame content. Currently, there is only one scenario and two characters. The update we’ve planned for April will add two more scenarios and eight new characters. And as I said before, we’re going to have a lot of storytelling throughout the Roguelike mode. We’ll be updating the Roguelike mode in about six months.
Q:Merge & Bladewas released less than a month ago, what has the initial feedback been like?
A: We launched quietly, actually. There weren’t many people expecting it. But it gained traction because it’s so addictive on social media, people are comparing it to other titles, and many people liked it.
That’s why there have been no big articles and no famous streamers have played it. The number of users has exceeded 400,000, so a lot of people really like it. Some people dismiss it as a mobile game, I think because Magic Cube has madea lot of mobile games. Perhaps because it looks like a mobile game, and when you lose, it’s not that you weren’t good enough, but that the system is forcing you to grind for upgrades.
However, as the number of people who like it increases, the rating seems to be getting better and better. Also, some people who love the game are frustrated by the lack of content, as all achievements can be unlocked in about 60 hours. We are working hard to update more content faster than our original goal. I think if you work harder, even more people will like it.
Q: Finally, is there anything new that you would like to announce at this point? And is there anyone you’d like to thank or give shoutouts to?
A: To thank you for your support, we’re planning a big update for early April. We originally planned to add one scenario and three characters, but we’ve decided to increase to two scenarios and eight characters. We’re also working on cloud touch support and save file integration between PC and console. If this is not possible in this update, it may be in the next update. For those of you who were disappointed that there was nothing to do, please be patient.
And I’d like to thank Xbox. Thanks to them, a lot of people have been able to play and enjoy our games. It was a title that was easy to be buried, but thanks toXbox, many people found out about our game. I’d also like to thank the people who bought Steam Early Access, and Korean streamers like Brace and Pung Wol-ryang who played at that time. Last but not least, we would like to thank you and Game Rant for doing the interview.
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