I ran into a bug right at the start where I could walk off-screen (or out of bounds) and get stuck. I hope this gets fixed! That said, I really like the art style!
This game truly blew me away! I love how it combines Minesweeper-style gameplay with timing and reflexes, all wrapped in such a clever setting.
I think it’s absolutely perfect, and I look forward to seeing more strategic depth. Honestly, this is the only game so far that I want to follow for future updates! You did an amazing job.
I think the concept is really interesting! It would be great if the skills were more closely tied to the theme. For example, regarding the dash ability, I initially expected it to let me pass through the soil (or burrow), similar to how the mechanics work in Celeste.
The level of polish is incredibly high! The puzzles, interactions, and art are all well executed.
It would have been even better if the initial guidance was a bit clearer—I didn't realize it was a 3D space at first! However, I managed to figure it out on my own pretty quickly. It’s a very artistic game, and I really enjoyed it.
This game is very creative, though it does require some knowledge of color theory principles.
My suggestion is to associate the colors with familiar information, like numbers, to make the gameplay more intuitive! Overall, it’s a great attempt at combining art theory with gameplay!
I think the concept is really interesting, but the controls feel a bit unintuitive. For example, having to run far away to drop the diamond just to lower the wind intensity feels like a hassle. Also, dragging stones with the mouse is a bit tedious—it would be much better if we could use keyboard controls for that instead!
I think the concept and creativity behind this game are brilliant! The idea of using two hands to control a human and God separately is innovative and fits the theme perfectly. I really love this concept.
However, regarding the actual gameplay, the mechanics for the right hand feel a bit too simple. There is definitely potential to create much richer gameplay mechanics there! Also, I absolutely love the visuals and art style!
The art style is really cute and definitely catches the eye! Just a small suggestion: it might be good to further polish the movement and jumping feel, and make the interactions a bit clearer!
This is a really exciting suggestion! In fact, I was actually considering using aiming mechanics similar to shooter games for interaction too! Thank you so much!
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.
I really love the art style! It’s such a fresh and cute game. There are a few small bugs, but nothing major!
By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate it: https://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
This is a really cute idle game! The art style feels very healing, the controls are simple and easy to pick up, and the colors are bright and vibrant.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that this game—like another entry I saw—is based on the concept of The Creation of Adam, yet it offers a completely different interpretation. It really showed me a very unique perspective. I loved this entry!
By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate it: https://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
The animation and art are stunning! This is exactly the kind of theme I enjoy—it feels very philosophical. Making choices in response to the in-game questions brought back memories of playing the Rusty Lake series.
I chose to believe that 'everything is real' and successfully made it out of the desert in the end. Perhaps there are other endings worth exploring? This is a very meaningful and deep game! By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate it: https://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
I think this is a really cool co-op game concept! The introduction of the magnet mechanic, in particular, really enhances the interaction between the two players. The only downside is that I played it solo, haha. Also, the camera angle sometimes limits the view of certain areas. Overall, though, it's a very fresh theme! I hope to play more levels.
By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate ito(*￣▽￣*)ブhttps://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
I think this is a really cool co-op game concept! The introduction of the magnet mechanic, in particular, really enhances the interaction between the two players. The only downside is that I played it solo, haha. Also, the camera angle sometimes limits the view of certain areas. Overall, though, it's a very fresh theme! I hope to play more levels.
By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate ito(*￣▽￣*)ブhttps://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
I think this is a really cool co-op game concept! The introduction of the magnet mechanic, in particular, really enhances the interaction between the two players. The only downside is that I played it solo, haha. Also, the camera angle sometimes limits the view of certain areas. Overall, though, it's a very fresh theme! I hope to play more levels.
By the way, here is my own project: a puzzle game based on the mechanic of swapping NPC AIs. Feel free to play and rate ito(*￣▽￣*)ブhttps://keerzhu.itch.io/handshakeprotocol
