Interview: How Blue Brain Games made The House of Da Vinci 3 the most impressive entry in the puzzle adventure series

The House of Da Vinci 3 is the concluding entry in Blue Brain Games’ majestic Myst-like puzzle series where players will finally discover the fate of Giacomo - the game's protagonist and apprentice to Leonardo Da Vinci - and unravel the mysteries surrounding his master and the secretive Ordo Iustitialis.

Having launched on the iOS App Store last month, The House of Da Vinci 3 is now finally also available on the Google Play Store allowing Android players worldwide to experience the most intriguing and impressive installment in the 3D puzzle series.

We had a chance to speak with Blue Brain Games and discuss their thoughts about the series, what it has meant to them, and what lies ahead now that the great Da Vinci’s story has concluded.

First off, what would you say sets The House of Da Vinci 3 apart from the previous two games?

Our main goal was to make the last game of the trilogy truly “grand‘. We have expanded our team of graphic designers and programmers and included much more animations and cut scenes in comparison with the previous two games. For the first time, we‘ve brought cut scenes to life using modern film technologies and motion capture. Plus the story itself and its conclusion makes the game truly special for every The House of Da Vinci fan.

Do you have to have played the first two games in order to enjoy The House of Da Vinci 3?

While we would suggest anyone to start with The House of Da Vinci, the first game, there is no shame if you’re curious enough to grab the newest game first. My personal recommendation would be to start with the third game, move to the first and second and replay the last game again, to fully experience and relive Leonardo’s story.

When you first launched The House of Da Vinci, did you think it would be successful enough to spawn a series?

We always knew we wouldn’t be able to fit the whole story into just one game and we’re grateful to every single supporter that we’ve been able to finish it. To be honest, we‘ve had enough story & puzzles ideas for several other installments, but it’s time to move on.

Of course there are other factors that determine the success of any project but we‘ve always kept our heads down and kept doing what we know best – and we were rewarded with success.

What lessons were learned from developing the previous two games and how did they influence the course of the third installment?

When we first began, we were inspired by similar games from the 3D puzzle genre. This changed shortly after the release of our first game when we decided to walk our own path and create our own identity. The House of Da Vinci 3 doesn’t resemble any other game when it comes to the combination of visual quality, motion capture and the story itself.

How much of a factor was fan reaction and suggestions in helping to shape the series?

Our fans and players have always been a great source of inspiration and insights. The community has taught us everything: from what kind of puzzles have the optimal difficulty to the correct size of texts and captions. Of course, there are situations when you don’t want to agree in order to protect the spirit of the game. For example, if this would be up to our fans, we would have integrated a „skip puzzle“ feature or create an in-app purchase that would enable players to do so. But we resisted this temptation as this would effectively ruin every challenging puzzle because people would be just skipping the hardest parts of the games.

Now that The House of Da Vinci series has concluded, what's next for Blue Brain Games?

We can assure everybody that we’ll keep the community entertained in the future. In a way, we might even stay with Leonardo for a while... but more on that later. Just make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the most recent news.