Lotters | Devpost

Key Art
Main Menu
World Select
Timed Rewards
Main Gameplay

Inspiration

We wanted to combine the deduction of Wordle with the rewarding progression of Candy Crush. The idea of a cozy word puzzle guided by an otter named Otto felt instantly fun, relaxing, strategic, and social.

What it does

Players try to uncover a secret word through deduction. Each guess provides alphabetical feedback, letting you know if the hidden word comes before or after your guess. Power-ups help refine your strategy as you work toward completing levels and unlocking new Worlds.

How we built it

We started with a simple loop: Spend -> Win > Share -> Earn -> Progress -> Repeat. Then we established gameplay pillars focused on deduction, energy systems, meta progression, replayability, and social play. From there, we focused on quick rounds, clean visuals, and a mobile-first interface to keep it accessible and satisfying.

Challenges we ran into

We set out with a challenge to build the entire game in 1 custom_ui gizmo and after 15,000+ lines and a lot of troubleshooting, we did it! Gameplay wise we found balancing originality with familiarity was also very difficult. Building a word game that did not feel too much like others required several redesigns of the core loop and how the player gained info while guessing.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

First and foremost we made something we have fun with daily. We created a smooth, engaging loop that feels different from similar word games and is still extremely fun. The technical hurdles of building the entire game using 1 custom_ui proved to us just how versatile Horizon Worlds can be when you put your mind to it. We also feel like the art, music, and overall polish really feels like the game we wanted to put out.

What we learned

We learned the value of strong gameplay pillars and quick iteration. Small improvements to both pacing and player experience + fully listening to playtest feedback can make a massive difference in player satisfaction.

What's next for Lotters

We plan to continue adding more worlds, unique level types, missions / quests, seasonal events, and enhanced social sharing. Our goal is to make Lotters the 'I gotta play that again tomorrow' game of Horizon Worlds!