It’s no secret that we really loved Downwell ($2.99) here at the TouchArcade lair, with Eli giving it a full 5 stars in his review and many of the writers including it in their Best of 2015 lists. And it’s no wonder why since, as Eli put it in his review, the “gameplay is easily among the best arcade action platformers I’ve played on iOS, potentially ever." In other words, we really like the game. So, I was excited to hear that Downwell‘s developer, Ojiro Fumoto, gave a GDC talk describing how he developed the game’s mechanics and how he went from discovering a fun “gimmick" to designing the entire game around it by trying to maximize its use in gameplay.

He talks about how the game was inspired by the fantastic Spelunky and how he went about translating what works for Spelunky into a 2D platformer for mobile. If you enjoy Downwell, you’ll really enjoy this talk as Fumoto shows off videos of earlier iterations and demonstrates his design process. If you’re a game designer, this is a must-watch; if you’re just a fan of the game, this video will give you a much deeper appreciation of the game and of all the thought that went into what looks like a simple game.