Editing Limbo (section)

==Development==
''Limbo'' was originally conceived around 2004 by Playdead's game director Arnt Jensen, according to Playdead partner Dino Patti and lead designer Jeppe Carlsen.<ref name="gamasutra interview">{{Cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27043/Road_To_The_IGF_Limbos_Dino_Patti.php | title = Road To The IGF: Limbo's Dino Patti | first = Leigh | last = Alexander | publisher = [[Gamasutra]] | date = 2010-02-18 | accessdate =2010-07-22 }}</ref><ref name="rps interview">{{Cite web | url = http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/02/22/igf-factor-2010-limbo/ | title= IGF Factor 2010: Limbo | first = Kieron | last = Gillon | date =2010-02-22 | accessdate = 2010-07-22 | publisher = Rock Paper Shotgun }}</ref> From the game's inception, Jensen set out three goals for the final ''Limbo'' product. The first goal was to create a specific mood and art style. Jensen wanted to create an aesthetic for the game without resorting to highly-detailed three-dimensional models, and instead directed the art towards the minimalistic style as to allow the development to focus its attention on the gameplay.<ref name="exclaim patti">{{Cite web | url = http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=147&csid2=807&fid1=49037 | title = Arty For the Ages | first =  Joshua | last = Ostroff | date = September 2010 | accessdate = 2010-08-24 | work = Exclaim! }}</ref> For the second goal, Jensen wanted the player to only need two additional controls, jumping and grabbing, outside of the normal left-and-right movement controls to keep the game easy to play. Finally, the final game was to present no tutorial text to the player, requiring players to learn the game's mechanics on their own.<ref name="gamasutra gdc">{{Cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29934/GDC_Europe_Limbos_Carlsen_On_Making_Players_Your_Worst_Enemy_And_Your_Best_Friend.php | title = GDC Europe: Limbo's Carlsen On Making Players Your Worst Enemy And Your Best Friend | first = Brendon | last= Sheffield | date= 2010-08-16 | accessdate= 2010-08-16 | publisher = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref> The game was purposely developed to avoid revealing too many details of its content; the only tagline the company provided for the product was "Unsure of his sister's fate, a boy enters the unknown".<ref name="escapist pax"/> This was chosen so that players themselves would have to determine what the meaning of the game is.<ref name="escapist pax"/>

Jensen started working on the art design of the game in 2004, and by 2006 had prepared an early trailer demonstrating the game's premise.<ref name="exclaim patti"/>  Jensen used inspiration of several films, including works of ''film noir'', to set the art style of the game, while the team's graphic artist Morten Bramsen is credited with digitally recreating that art style within it.<ref name="wsj interview">{{Cite web | url = http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/08/04/limbo-a-videogame-that-blends-art-puzzles-and-dreams/ | title = Limbo: A Videogame that Blends Art, Puzzles, and Dreams | work = Wall Street Journal | date =2010-08-04 | accessdate = 2010-08-04 | first = Jamin | last = Brophy-Warren }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url =  http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/games/blogs/screenplay/split-screen-looking-good/20100730-10yc8.html | title= Split screen: Looking good  | first = James | last= Dominguez | work = The Age | date = 2010-07-30 | accessdate = 2010-08-04 }}</ref> Playdead used the art style trailer on a teaser site for the game<ref name="gamasutra interview"/> and went on to secure development funding without having to commit to any major publishers, giving them full creative control in developing the title.<ref name="rps interview"/> They also chose to ignore outside advice from investors and critics during development, such as the addition of multiplayer play, adjustable difficulty levels, and extending the game's length. According to Patti, Playdead felt these changes would deter the game from the integrity of Jensen's original vision.<ref name="torontosun interview"/> The game underwent numerous iterations during a two-and-a-half year development cycle, including additional iterations that Jensen had demanded to polish the title.<ref name="torontosun interview"/> Patti stated that they "trashed 70%" of the content they had developed for the game due to it not fitting well in the context of the game;<ref name="gamasutra interview"/> The core development team size was about eight programmers, expanding to sixteen at various stages through freelancers.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/03/igf_finalist_limbo_to_release.php | title = IGF Finalist Limbo To Release On XBLA This Summer | publisher = Game Set Watch | date =2010-03-10 | accessdate = 2010-07-22 | first = Eric | last= Caoili }}</ref> ''Limbo'' used internally-developed tools built in Visual Studio; Patti commented they would likely seek third-party applications for their next project given the challenges to create their own technology.<ref name="gamasutra interview"/> 

''Limbo'' was designed to avoid the pitfalls of major titles where the same game play mechanic is used repeatedly. Carlsen stated that the puzzles within ''Limbo'' were designed to "[keep] you guessing all the way through".<ref name="rps interview"/> The choice of providing little information to the player was an initial challenge in creating the game. Early playtesters would have no idea of how to solve certain puzzles. To improve this, they created scenarios prior to troublesome spots that highlighted the appropriate actions; for example, when they found players did not think about pulling a boat onto shore to use as a platform to reach a higher ledge, they presented the player with a box-pulling puzzle earlier to demonstrate the pulling mechanic.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/> The team developed the game's puzzles by first assuming the player was their "worst enemy" and made puzzles as devious as possible, but then scaled back or added enough visual and audible elements to aid and gain the friendship of the player.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/> One example given by Carlsen is a puzzle involving a spider early in the game; the solution requires pushing a bear trap to snare the spider's legs within it. Early designs of this puzzle had the bear trap on the same screen as the spider, and Playdead found playtesters focused too much on the trap. The developers altered the puzzle to put the trap in a tree in a prior off-screen section when facing the spider; the spider's actions would eventually cause this trap to drop to the ground and become a weapon against the spider. Carlsen stated that this arrangement created a situation where the player felt helpless when initially presented with the deadly spider, but then assisted the player through an audible cue when the trap had dropped, enabling the player to discover the solution.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/> Playdead included gruesome death sequences to highlight when a player's attempted solution was far from the correct approach, discouraging players from repeating dead-end solutions.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/> While they expected players to run the boy into numerous deaths while trying solutions, the team made sure that the death wasn't a penalty in the game, and made the deaths "entertaining" to keep the player interested, according to Carlsen.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/> Carlsen noted several early puzzles were too complex for the game but they would end up using a portion of these larger puzzles within the final release.<ref name="gamasutra gdc"/>

''Limbo'' was released on 21 July 2010 on the [[Xbox Live Arcade]] service as the first title in the yearly "Summer of Arcade" promotion.<ref name="bostonherald">{{Cite web | url = http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/lifestyle/view/20100726summer_games_dark_limbo_provides_cool_action/srvc=home&position=also | title = Summer games: Dark ‘Limbo’ provides cool action | first = Garrett | last = Martin | work = Boston Herald | date = 2010-07-26 | accessdate = 2010-07-26 }}</ref> Though the [[ESRB]] had listed entries for ''Limbo'' for the [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Microsoft Windows]] platforms, Playdead has confirmed that this was a mistake on ESRB's part, and that they have no plans for the game on these systems.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3179556 | title=  Developer Playdead Says Limbo Not Coming to PS3, PC | first = Kris | last = Pigna | date = 2010-05-29 | accessdate = 2010-07-22 | publisher =  [[1UP.com]] }}</ref> Part of their decision to not release for the Windows platform was to avoid issues with software piracy, something they could control on the Xbox 360, according to producer Mads Wibroe.<ref name="escapist pax">{{Cite web | url = http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99483-PAX-East-2010-Hands-On-Limbo | title = PAX East 2010 Hands On: Limbo | first = Logan | last = Westbrook | date =2001-03-26 | accessdate = 2010-07-23 | publisher = ''The Escapist'' }}</ref>