When Jim Crawford first set up a Kickstarter for Frog Fractions 2 in 2012, he warned that the game’s launch would be anything but typical.
Now, after four years and a unapologetically strange ARG, Frog Fractions 2 has been discovered hidden, and literally buried, within the game Glittermitten Grove.
Both Frog Fractions 2 and its predecessor are games that reward unconventional exploration similar to how video games released in the ‘80s might have, and there’s a lot game developers could learn from paying attention to some of the series’ more eccentric quirks.
According to Kotaku, an update pushed to Glittermitten Grove on December 24 unlocked Frog Fractions 2 within the game. Following the patch, players were able to start Frog Fractions 2 either by using fireworks to dig for a door hidden underground or by progressing enough in Glittermitten Grove to reach a door in the sky.
“I created Frog Fractions explicitly to evoke the air of mystery that all video games held in the 1980s, before the era of endless preview coverage and official strategy guides took that feeling away from us, seemingly permanently,” said Crawford in the original 2012 Kickstarter campaign for Frog Fractions 2.
“Frog Fractions 2 will evoke that same feeling even more strongly. I can’t describe what I’m going to make in detail, but I can tell you that I’ve been thinking about how to properly follow up Frog Fractions for the past year, and I believe I can make something genuinely awesome.”
For more on Crawford’s take on game design be sure to check out both his presentation at GDC 2014 on developers should cultivate a sense of mystery and this 2012 Gamasutra interview on Frog Fractions and the joy of discovery.
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2016