Posted June 29, 2025 by BountyByte
The core mechanic depends on letting players grab, place, and retrieve their movement keys smoothly — so the drag-and-drop interaction had to feel natural and intentional.
I wanted players to feel in control, not frustrated by slippery or imprecise UI. Some key design decisions:
Click and hold to drag — this prevents accidental placements from a quick tap.
Visual feedback during drag — a translucent “ghost” platform shows exactly where the key will land.
Snap-to-grid positioning — placed keys align neatly to the world grid for predictability and easier platforming.
To avoid frustration, keys can only be placed on valid ground areas. The system checks:
Does the position collide with solid surfaces?
Is the space free from other platforms or obstacles?
If a player tries to drop a key in an invalid spot, it snaps back to the UI bar — no penalty, just a gentle nudge to try again.
Retrieving keys needed to be just as simple and satisfying:
Clicking a key platform in the world instantly removes it and unlocks the corresponding input.
Pressing Shift lets the player reclaim all keys at once, a handy “panic button” if stuck.
Visual and audio feedback confirms the reclaim action.
Even simple mechanics can be twisted. Some cases I had to carefully design around:
Preventing infinite jumps by spamming platforms below the player.
Disallowing placing keys inside walls or unreachable places.
Handling mid-air retrievals gracefully, without breaking player movement.
These constraints preserve challenge without compromising player freedom.
The drag-and-drop interaction ties the whole system together, making the player feel the cost of each movement — and the reward of careful planning and reclaiming.
It transforms movement from a given to a resource management challenge — exactly what this jam’s theme inspired me to create.
Next time, I’ll talk about polishing feedback — sounds, visuals, and small touches that make the resource mechanic emotionally engaging.