MoonSpice Games, the creators of the upcoming collectathon Dillo’s Dilemma, featuring an innovative and inventive armadillo, gave us the opportunity to ask some questions about the new game to their Project Lead, Zakhar Sheyko, and their team. We “rolled” our way through the areas presented in the demo, enjoying Dillo’s fun game design and creative puzzle solving challenges, and are excited to learn more about what went into designing this indie adventure!
Joshua Wyld, GF: Thanks again for introducing us to Dillo’s Dilemma! So, when it came to choosing what kind of game your team was going to create, what drove you to choose this type of game?
MoonSpice Games: One of our main focuses when selecting what type of game we wanted to create was to provide an exciting experience for our audience. We really strove to create a game that was both entertaining to play through clean and satisfying controls, as well as exciting to spectate through outlandish and whimsical interactions. We believe that the appeal of a collectathon is the creative nature of the genre - it really allows players to explore the world at their own pace, find hidden easter eggs, and discover all the secrets Dillo’s Dilemma has to offer!
GF: The design of Dillo the armadillo is really splendid! Plus, using an armadillo’s natural ability to roll up into a ball to facilitate a unique gameplay element in your game was a nifty choice. What went into his design and going with an armadillo for your main character?
MS: We were actually able to collaborate with Discovery Cove Orlando and get real life inspiration for our game! In the ideation phase of the game, we took a team visit to interact with armadillos and explore what makes them unique. We were able to see and feel them and we learned a lot about this interesting species of animal. Did you know that each armadillo has a unique armored pattern, much like a human fingerprint?
Armadillos also are extremely crafty and have surprising agility, which we drew on as the main characteristics of our main character, Dillo. Throughout the game, the player has to creatively place BLINKOs to reach hard to get to areas and traverse difficult terrain.
GF: We love focusing on independent and up-and-coming developers here at GF. What are your favorite parts of game design as an indie dev team?
MS: As an indie dev team, I think we really capture the best parts of game development that you might not get at a larger studio. Everyone on the team is extremely excited to come in every day and put their best work forward for an exciting end product. We really are able to channel all our passion into a game that feels good to both play and watch. The ability to iterate on new ideas quickly and efficiently, without being overly bureaucratic also has a lot of upside. We are able to respond immediately when something about the game “feels” wrong and fix it right away.
The ability to iterate on new ideas quickly and efficiently, without being overly bureaucratic also has a lot of upside.
Lastly, as most of our team is new to this industry, it just feels really awesome to put out a product we can all be proud of. It has been awesome seeing the growth and professionalism of everyone on the team throughout the course of the last year and we definitely look forward to putting out more exciting products in the future!
GF: The levels within the demo of the game are a great mix of cozy and spooky, with a story we’ve only begun to uncover. What kind of gameplay loop can we expect in the full release of Dillo’s Dilemma, and what can you tell us about the story within?
MS: Dillo’s Dilemma takes place in a wooded area with sentient and civilized woodland creatures. Dillo is an engineer hailing from the Armadillo Village. Energetic, optimistic, intelligent, hardworking, but naive, Dillo has plans to revolutionize armadillo locomotion and make life easier for his community. Lacking the funds to do so himself, he accepts a research grant from the Rat King, Tack, the leader of the nearby Rat Kingdom. Over a few months, he develops the BLINKOs which are seen in-game as housing for fireflies as well as tools to make traversal of the area easier. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes as Tack betrays Dillo and commands his army of rats to steal his inventions and kidnap all the armadillos and fireflies residing in their village.
Throughout the game, the player controls Dillo as he races around both the Farmland and the Rat Kingdom, rescuing armadillos trapped inside Rat Forts, and collecting fireflies along the way. Our two main types of gameplay are forts and open-world platforming challenges. Forts provide a small area where players are asked to creatively place BLINKOs and complete objectives as quickly as they can, in order to get the best score! On the contrary, the open world areas allow players to explore at their own pace, finding hidden areas of the map and discovering fireflies tucked away in secret corners.
The open world areas allow players to explore at their own pace, finding hidden areas of the map and discovering fireflies tucked away in secret corners.
For those daring enough, they can take on Tack’s final challenge and confront him in his own palace. I don’t want to spoil too much here, but this multi-part boss fight will ask players to put together all the skills they’ve learned so far in their journey and avoid all the dangerous traps Tack has awaiting for them…
GF: We know how much passion goes into designing games of all sizes. About how much time has been spent on crafting Dillo’s Dilemma and getting it ready for release?
MS: We first started prototyping and coming up with the main idea back in November 2024, around nine months ago. We were able to have a clean Vertical Slice of our game, which showed off all our mechanics and first completed area by February 2025, and we spent the next few months creating the second area and polishing our gameplay controller, as one of our main goals was to have satisfying movement. Finally, in the last two months of production, June and July, we’ve mostly focused on bug fixes and putting the final touches of polish. So, all-in-all, Dillo’s Dilemma took 9 months to create from start to finish, and it has been wonderful seeing the tremendous work that has been put in throughout the whole process,as well as all the fun each and every member of the team has had together.
GF: What’s the plan for the team after Dillo’s Dilemma launch? Any other projects in your sights?
MS: One of the biggest features in the game that was cut due to lack of time was multiplayer. We really think that being able to play Dillo’s Dilemma with your friends via local co-op would be a huge add and allow players to fully embrace the whimsical nature of this game. Similar to the feel of popular titles such as Overcooked and PEAK, the chaotic nature of Dillo’s Dilemma is well-suited for the addition of friends rolling around the world with you!
In terms of other projects, we’re floating the idea of a lovecraftian roguelite detective game, centered around being stuck in an infinite time loop, solving a mystery one step at a time. This is definitely a departure from the current feel of Dillo’s Dilemma, but variety is the spice of life! We also believe that the best way to create an extremely popular hit game is through trial and error, so in the next year, our plan is to prototype a lot of different ideas quickly, see what sticks, and iterate on the best one.
We appreciate MoonSpice Games taking the time to answer our questions, and we’re looking forward to spending more time with Dillo collecting all the fireflies! Here's a teaser trailer to whet your appetite until the full release!
