Resists water and fire, supports growth, and represents completion.
03 / Project
Mechanic-first Unreal Engine puzzle system
Taiji and Life
Transforms Yin-Yang balance into playable rules through gravity inversion, split-and-recombine states, elemental interactions, and life-growth mechanics.
- Timeline
- About 6 months · spare-time solo project
- My Role
- Solo Game, System & Level Designer
- Outcome
- Six-level playable Unreal Engine prototype
My contribution
All concept, gameplay, system and level design, visual direction, environment composition, and environmental onboarding.
Tools & workflow
Paper level sketches and rule diagrams → Unreal Engine mechanics, scene composition, and playable level iteration.
All design is mine. Unreal Engine implementation included one-on-one programming mentorship; visual assets were sourced.
Gameplay premise
One player controls a changing state—not two characters.
The project began with a mechanic: a character could split into opposing states, share one input, invert gravity, align spatially, and recombine. Yin-Yang became the theme because it explained the opposition, transformation, and unity already present in play.
A / D MoveSpace Invert gravityS Split / recombine
Core mechanic
Split. Invert. Align. Recombine.
Affected by water; can cause life to wither.
Affected by fire; can cause life to burn.
Both separated states receive the same input. The puzzle comes from their different properties and the requirement that they meet before becoming Taiji again.
World response
Balance changes what the environment allows.
State-specific effects
Taiji resists water and fire. Yin is affected by water; Yang is vulnerable to fire.
Transform state
Environmental fields can move an extreme toward its opposite and create another route to balance.
Reveal the consequence
Incorrect transformation can damage existing life. The right answer is balance, not change for its own sake.
Six-level progression
Six documented stages of mechanic introduction and application.
Feedback showed that Yin-Yang fields arrived with a sudden difficulty spike. The original five-level plan became six by separating teaching from application.
Explore all six levels
Flipping and splitting
Get familiar with flipping and splitting mechanics.
Shui / Water
Learn how to handle Shui (Water).
Huo / Fire
Learn how to handle Huo (Fire).
Yin-Yang force field
Understand the significance of the Yin-Yang force field.
Level 5
Flexibly apply the Yin-Yang force field.
Level 6
Integrate all previous puzzles.
Environmental onboarding
The world carries the instructions.
Cave-painting-style markings communicate controls, state relationships, elemental interactions, and balance rules. They function as an environmental onboarding system, not only as decoration.
View onboarding evidence
Design ownership
The system came first; the theme made it legible.
I created the concept, gameplay systems, level progression, visual direction, character concept, environment composition, and tutorial system.
Software copyright registration
I am the first-listed author of Taiji and Life V1.0, registered in China on February 18, 2025. Registration number: 2025SR0274604. Beijing University of Technology is the registered copyright holder.
A planned ending in which balance restores a barren environment was not implemented and remains a future concept.