When thinking about the theme, my first thought was the image of two people touching hands. I wondered: what would happen if two NPCs touched hands? Would they instantly trigger a "soul swap" like the main characters in a cheesy romance novel?
That got me thinking—this could make the world incredibly interesting! Players could change the behavior of any NPC: make a sleeping guard start walking, force a patrolling NPC to start jumping, or even turn an enemy blocking the path into a devoted follower... It sounded like a lot of fun!
With this concept in mind, I started developing this mechanic-driven puzzle game. It helps that I’m a huge fan of puzzle games myself.
Building the Mechanics
I quickly built the game's underlying logic: using the "E" key to target different NPCs, using a LineRenderer to draw their "hands," and pressing "F" to trigger the "soul swap." This instantly swaps the AI scripts attached to the NPCs in real-time!
Completing the first level validated that this core experience was indeed fun. So, I created more AI behaviors and introduced enemy entities, explosive traps, and "death zones" that only NPCs with specific color tags could pass through.
The Challenge
Some of the later levels are actually quite challenging! They require you to carefully manage the order and timing of your swaps, combined with precise platforming to succeed.
A Happy Accident I also had some "unexpected" inspiration during development. For Level 6, I originally intended for the Enemy and the NPC to move at the same speed. However, I made a configuration mistake: the NPC moved very fast, while the Enemy was slow.
During testing, I realized this accidentally created a fun "reaction speed" challenge: the player has to swap AIs rapidly to prevent the fast NPC from catching up to the slow Enemy and killing themselves. I decided to keep this speed difference. The fact that uncertainty and even "mistakes" can turn into fun features is the greatest joy of game development!
Reflections & Future Plans
There were many technical challenges, too. For instance, the level save and undo system required constant refining to prevent infinite loop bugs as I added new mechanics. I grew a lot as a developer through this process.
I’m also aware of the game's shortcomings—the UI, level pacing guide, and art polish still need a lot of work. However, I believe this is a creative and fun prototype, and I’m confident I can make it even better!
Thank You
Thank you to every player for your recognition and encouragement. The path of an indie developer can be lonely, so your support carries so much weight.
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Comments
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非常可爱的游戏！感觉游戏机制很新颖 设计风格也很温馨！
非常感谢！！
Behind the Scenes: The Idea & Development
The Spark of Inspiration
When thinking about the theme, my first thought was the image of two people touching hands. I wondered: what would happen if two NPCs touched hands? Would they instantly trigger a "soul swap" like the main characters in a cheesy romance novel?
That got me thinking—this could make the world incredibly interesting! Players could change the behavior of any NPC: make a sleeping guard start walking, force a patrolling NPC to start jumping, or even turn an enemy blocking the path into a devoted follower... It sounded like a lot of fun!
With this concept in mind, I started developing this mechanic-driven puzzle game. It helps that I’m a huge fan of puzzle games myself.
Building the Mechanics
I quickly built the game's underlying logic: using the "E" key to target different NPCs, using a LineRenderer to draw their "hands," and pressing "F" to trigger the "soul swap." This instantly swaps the AI scripts attached to the NPCs in real-time!
Completing the first level validated that this core experience was indeed fun. So, I created more AI behaviors and introduced enemy entities, explosive traps, and "death zones" that only NPCs with specific color tags could pass through.
The Challenge
Some of the later levels are actually quite challenging! They require you to carefully manage the order and timing of your swaps, combined with precise platforming to succeed.
A Happy Accident I also had some "unexpected" inspiration during development. For Level 6, I originally intended for the Enemy and the NPC to move at the same speed. However, I made a configuration mistake: the NPC moved very fast, while the Enemy was slow.
During testing, I realized this accidentally created a fun "reaction speed" challenge: the player has to swap AIs rapidly to prevent the fast NPC from catching up to the slow Enemy and killing themselves. I decided to keep this speed difference. The fact that uncertainty and even "mistakes" can turn into fun features is the greatest joy of game development!
Reflections & Future Plans
There were many technical challenges, too. For instance, the level save and undo system required constant refining to prevent infinite loop bugs as I added new mechanics. I grew a lot as a developer through this process.
I’m also aware of the game's shortcomings—the UI, level pacing guide, and art polish still need a lot of work. However, I believe this is a creative and fun prototype, and I’m confident I can make it even better!
Thank You
Thank you to every player for your recognition and encouragement. The path of an indie developer can be lonely, so your support carries so much weight.