In the beginning, we imagined the gameplay behind IKTA would be as follows:

• The consumption of nicotine would be represented by enemies that the player has to fight away from a specific point
• As the player reduces their consumption, the enemies become fewer and fewer

The major problem with this design is the fact that the game gets easier as the player gets better, which could easily result in the player getting bored and feeling preached at.

We decided to scratch that idea in favor of an inverted scheme in which the gameplay gets harder as the player reduces their consumption. We also changed the basic gameplay style, so that the player has to collect all of the collectibles before the time runs out. 

However, we felt that difficulty was not enough of an incentive to maintain player interest, so we decided to create additional incentives to keep the user playing.

• Reducing consumption gives the player a multiplier to increase the amount of pyris (the currency of the game) they can earn
• The player can spend pyris to unlock bonus levels, new abilities, enemies, and visual upgrades 

As development continues, it is certain that a lot of time will have to be spent on level and incentive design to maintain interest all while encouraging a healthy weaning off of nicotine.