Hey there! Thomas here.
As a programmer myself, I found the concept of the game really interesting and honestly, very brave to try and realize. As a designer too, I noticed some issues that I think are worth mentioning.
The core-mechanic is cool, but they felt a bit underused in this prototype. In the end, it plays more like a puzzle game focused on movement and avoiding monsters, rather than one that truly leans into creative eventing and scripting. The level design could definitely be improved, there’s often no clear direction on where to go, and I’d suggest replacing the current monster chases with platforms or obstacles that require event-based puzzle.
The orc puzzle was decent, but having enemies detect you even when they’re off-screen was a bit frustrating. Personally, I’d look to something like ‘Baba Is You’ as a reference, full-screen maps where you can see all the pieces and plan ahead.
In my playthrough, I set all my commands at the start, never changed them, and was still able to finish the game even without using the portal event.
That said, the idea is really cool, don’t get me wrong! I hope you keep developing this incredibly original concept. There’s a lot of potential here, but I think it needs tighter tuning especially in the maps and puzzle design to really let the eventing mechanics shine, rather than relying on fleeing from monsters.
The theme was surprisingly well executed. I wasn’t expecting what happened at all, and that unpredictability worked in your favor. In a final version, I’d love to see a small but coherent narrative to support the gameplay contextually. I wasn’t too into the villain shenanigans but hey, it’s a jam, and those things are less critical at this stage.
I don’t know if this is one of your first projects or if you’re already experienced, but either way, trying something original with a well-known engine is something I truly admire. Keep at it, this could evolve into a truly unique indie puzzle game!