[G25] - Mimical

A unique spatial puzzle game about overcoming creative challenges. You solve puzzles by drawing brush strokes which come alive and travel through space and time, mimicking every move you made.

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Inspiration

Main inspiration is the 2013 mobile puzzle game “Blek” by Kunabi Brother. The game's aesthetic is inspired by Japanese Calligraphy and Bauhaus minimalism. (See: http://blekgame.com)

The basic idea for our game prototype Mimical is trying to translate Blek’s main mechanic from 2D touch-screen to 3D spatial XR gameplay in a meaningful way.

What It Does

Players need to learn and recreate certain forms/patterns through their strokes in a precise and fluent way. Brush strokes come “alive” and continue to loop as an exact clone of the original stroke, keeping its direction and velocity pattern, reflecting off of some surfaces. The animated stroke seems to take on a life of its own, becoming a sort of rhythmic snake-like creature. Players try to create a stroke that will “touch” all the colored circles and avoid all the black circles on its way. The level fails and resets if the stroke is swallowed by a black circle. The level is successfully solved when a stroke manages to touch all the colored circles on its path. There are many solutions to each level. Sometimes players will solve a puzzle by “accident” in unforseen ways, by playing around and trying out a lot of variations in a short time. Puzzles become gradually more complex and difficult to solve, with new mechanics being introduced step by step.

How We Built It

We developed the main mechanic by integrating it with the MRStylus, enabling drawing in space using Line Renderers. To optimize the play area, we utilized the room’s scene data. The drawings can clone themselves, interact with, and bounce off the environment. We also added visual and auditory feedback through color and sound effects.

Challenges We Ran Into

Designing levels and puzzles that work effectively in a 3D space was challenging. We discovered that creating and solving puzzles in 3D is more complex than in 2D, but it also presents exciting opportunities, such as the ability to approach puzzles from multiple angles.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

The experience of drawing in the air is both smooth and enjoyable. The drawings can replicate multiple times and interact dynamically with the environment. We successfully adapted a 2D game into a 3D environment and developed a level system that ensures smooth transitions between levels.

What We Learned

We gained valuable insights into game design and how to integrate virtual elements with the physical room environment.

What's Next for Mimical

We plan to create more levels and mechanics that fully leverage the unique possibilities of Mixed Reality.

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