The videos below show two versions of level 9 from the game's main track: the "original" version and my revision of it. 

While working on Aqua Blast, one of my main tasks was to improve the player retention and conversion rate for the first 50 levels of the game.

To achieve this, I started by meeting with other members of the team to discuss a change to the order in which the game's mechanics are introduced. In the original version, "anchor chains," obstacles that lock a piece in place, are one of the first mechanics taught to the player. I hypothesized that the slowing effect this mechanic had on the early levels in the game was at least one contributing factor in the underperforming levels. 

To test this, I replaced each level that used anchor chains with one that used barrels instead. These new levels went beyond just swapping the chains for the barrels, as I also designed each one to teach players a specific way in which barrels interacted with other pieces and powerups.

After running an A/B test on these and other changes to the game's early levels, my modifications proved to meaningfully increase player retention, and replaced the original versions in the main track.