Navigating strategic tiles amid the rising waves of Land Above Sea Below

gamedeveloper.com:

Land Above Sea Below is a puzzle game about building up islands above a rising tide. Players need to carefully place various tiles to keep their island above water, all while steadily building a beautiful waterside place that defies the tides that aim to constantly drag it down.

Game Developer sat down with Péter Takács, co-founder of Glasscannon Studio, to talk about how the striking look of fall by the seaside inspired the game’s creation, the thoughts that went into creating a tile system that was striking as well as useful for knowing gameplay information, and how the game was carefully designed around the capabilities of the studio to ensure it was something they could deliver.

Land Above Sea Below is a game about keeping islands from getting flooded. What inspired you to create a game around this concept?

The primary goal was to develop a chill game that is relaxing but has depth and provides a sufficient challenge for those who seek it. We based this on both visual and audio elements and, of course, the gameplay loop.

What drew you to the specific concept of working with a flooding island? Why this particular environmental situation?

I love nature very much, especially its two extremes. The meeting of the ocean and the mountains has always captivated my gaze for some reason. Only one thing could surpass this: the color palette of autumn forests. The way objects submerged in the water stand out in the sea provides a truly unique and somewhat mystical spectacle. These things mostly determined the direction in which I started developing the visual theme of the game.

The game sees players placing tiles on an island to keep it above an ever-rising sea level. What thoughts went into creating this gameplay mechanic?

The