During my work on the Winterbud game, I had to cut back on my very ambitious original idea which had too many elements that I wouldn't know how to add, or I wouldn't have the time for.  Mechanically I would definitely add a few puzzle mechanics so the player can further interact with and even influence the environment such as complex timed events, searching for hidden objects to move the game forward and strategically escaping enemies.  Figuring out puzzles, some of which can be quite difficult, is my favourite aspect of modern video games and I would like to figure out how to come up with entertaining and unique mechanics. Another thing I would upgrade is the visuals, especially the lighting within the underground building, to make it both appealing and more accurate. The original intent with the visual design was a semi-medieval atmosphere with futuristic elements in a frozen waste, which I would love to expand upon with a longer game run time so a story could unfold using peculiar visual elements. I’d even extend it to continue not only further below ground but also on the surface and in different buildings above ground.  

In order to make the most of this possible, much more time would certainly be necessary, especially for planning out the entire experience and how every aspect would fit together properly. Creating my character model from scratch was arguably the best idea since it allowed me to design them according to my ttrpg and given more time, I would add more to them to make them more mobile and interesting design-wise. More animations would be necessary in order to immerse the player and properly perform the actions they would need in order to complete any puzzles such as picking up items and interacting with buttons.  The third person aspect of my prototype also didn't really give the model justice so I would either implement different camera movement or redo it as more of a side-scroller third person camera or just pull the camera further away from the character with no camera clipping. This would also be helpful in taking in more of the environment to make it easier for the player to see where they're going. Though I quite like the visuals as they are in their current state, they would likely need a fix to also look more natural and the same because while the platforms in room 2 fit with the table and rocks in room 1, the plants, walls and outer world don't exactly fit with the less detailed vibe I was hoping to achieve. The last big point I would also elaborate on in a more complete game would be the plant mechanic. Though plants are just humble guides in this iteration, I would try making them a more active part of the player's puzzle-solving experience in ways such as using the plants to resolve problems by planting them in certain spots or giving the player temporary powers.  

As I listened to the talk by Jenova Chen about the game Journey, I was further inspired to consider giving my prototype a much more stylized and emotional feel while improving the actual gameplay.  Like Chen, I made my prototype with the intention of filling the void of a kind of game that I would love to see/be able to play more often, which in my case would be a minimalistic, visually appealing and puzzle driven platformer. Though my game idea was in no way entirely original, I would invest time into making the story worthwhile, while allowing the player to enjoy their surroundings. I would also consider how the gameplay and mechanics would play into the overall experience to make sure it is enticing and not a mechanically over-simplified eye-candy with nothing to do.  Little to no dialogue, emotive music and simple scraps of story make games like Journey so impactful and enticing and I would get quite a lot of inspiration from that.