Triple Take Development
Initial development
Triple Take holds a special place in my heart. While it isn’t the best game ever made, it was my first major project, with development starting in early 2021 and culminating in the final update in late 2023.
Originally, the game was created as an entry for the 37th GM48 game jam, a jam specifically for games made using the “GameMaker Studio” IDE.
The theme of the jam was “Falling Apart,” and we had 48 hours to create a functional game based on that theme.
My idea was to make a simple platformer with a twist—a manageable scope for the time limit that still allowed for creativity.
The concept I came up with was a game where the player must beat each stage three times, with parts of the stage breaking away on each pass.
This revealed more obstacles, alternative pathways, and gradually increased the difficulty. I used degraded-looking platforms to signal the sections that would break, and by the end of the weekend, I had put together 10 stages.
The game ranked 34th out of 56 participants. As an amateur developer at the time, I was pleased with this outcome. After reviewing feedback, I decided to improve some of the frustrating levels and refine the game’s movement, which was rough in places. While it was fine for a 48-hour competition, I wanted to see if I could make it genuinely fun.
Over the next few months, I reworked and added levels, eventually programming a boss fight into the second world. At that point, I began to think about the bigger picture: what did I want this game to be?
Narrative development
I’ve always loved unconventional storytelling—games that subvert storytelling expectations have left a big impact on me. I decided to experiment with a meta-narrative in Triple Take, creating simple characters and a story about a “ghost in the machine” figure.
I spent hours going through GameMaker documentation for tricks to make this narrative come alive for the player, adding text files to their desktop or requiring them to move files around in their documents folder to progress.
I drew inspiration from frequent fourth-wall breaker Hideo Kojima, as well as Johan Huizinga’s concept of the “magic circle”—a term describing the separation between the real and fictional worlds within a game. By pushing these boundaries, I aimed to add something unique and memorable to a genre that often feels saturated.
Whenever I wasn’t studying for my A-levels, I was working on the game—playtesting levels with friends and constantly iterating to make each level distinct. I added bosses at the end of each world, each inspired by a different game genre.
For example, the third world boss turns the game into a shoot-’em-up, the fourth involves speedrunning while avoiding clones that mimic your every move (like Cosmic Mario in Super Mario Galaxy), and the fifth transforms the game into a match of Pong.
World 5 Boss – Pong
Publishing the game
Eventually, I set up a Steam page for the game. Though challenging at first, I learned to use Steam’s SDK tools and became fluent at pushing builds and managing the store page.
After participating in the 2022 Steam Next Fest with a demo and receiving feedback, I continued to refine the game and started looking for a publisher.
I learned to create a pitch deck and, after some effort, successfully partnered with the Scandinavian publisher Bonus Stage Publishing.
They helped polish the game’s trailer, managed its promotion, and continue to support its sales, even getting it bundled with popular titles like Will You Snail? by Jonas Tyroller.
In October 2022, as I began my university studies, Triple Take launched with moderate success. Seeing people engage with my game through online articles and videos was incredibly rewarding.
Triple Take: Forever
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet, though, and decided to add a mode that would give the game more replayability: Triple Take: Forever, a procedurally generated mode.
This update, released in December 2022, was an opportunity to test my skills as a developer and programmer. The response was positive, and with that, Triple Take was complete. I’m incredibly proud of what I created. While it has its flaws, the game helped me grow as a developer, define my own style, and create something uniquely mine.
An NPC ‘Sickleer’ added in the Triple Take Forever update
Gameplay screenshots
Character Designs
Reviews
“It’s not often that I find a game that catches me off guard, but the few times I do, they’re usually pretty memorable. Triple Take is exactly this type of game, as it’s more than what it appears to be on the surface, and there’s a lot of charm hidden in this game with a tiny price tag.”
nichegamer.com/reviews/triple-take/
“All in all this game is an all round masterpiece. It has to be one of the best games I have played in a while that has and will keep me coming back to it – With a solid story line, beautiful yet simple art style and unforgiving spikes, Triple Take takes the cake.”
thatvideogameblog.com/review-triple-take/
“Triple Take felt like an absolute joy to play..”
gamegrin.com/previews/double-take-triple-take-demo-preview/
“In short, Triple Take is outstanding. I have had a blast with this challenging and creative game that tests my muscle memory and grit by daring me to try just one more time. The formula of try, die, and try again is so addicting.”
gamechronicles.com/triple-take-review-pc/
“Triple Take is exceptional, to put it briefly. This difficult and inventive game has been a delight for me, stretching both my memorization skills and tenacity by daring me to try it yet another time.”
hgunified.com/home/review-triple-take-pc.html