> Any other dev would just make it a static image and call it a day.
You think so? Games are often full of little things like that. That's a good thing to point out, but it certainly doesn't seem as unusual as you paint it. Letting the user be playful is generally what games are good at ;)
I agree that good games give you things to play with, but this is literally the toggle to slide out a UI element, and only exists because a phone screen was too small for the original design to fit. If it had been a little triangle that you tapped, no one would have said anything. Instead it’s got realistic chain physics and jingles around as you move the card.
I’m trying to think of another instance of “sliding out a control” being given this level of attention, and I’m drawing a blank. It feels like an unusually high level of effort to put into a UI concession for a port that was going to sell well anyway.
Granted, this game is mostly about sliding UI elements around, so maybe it is more integral to the experience than in other games.
There is barely any external UI in this game (at least when you're actually playing), most of what you see is in universum. Had the game chosen a different art style, those could be 3D models that you would interact with in 3D space. You can easily imagine putting a VR headset on and having all these documents, stamps and pullchains around you, so it's only natural for them to behave in a realistic way - just like, say, SUPERHOT VR is started by pushing a floppy into the drive, when it could be just a simple button.
You think so? Games are often full of little things like that. That's a good thing to point out, but it certainly doesn't seem as unusual as you paint it. Letting the user be playful is generally what games are good at ;)