Hi everyone!

This iteration focused on expanding the rule system.

In the previous version, the player could choose a rule and experience its effect in a single room. This time, I wanted to test what happens when rules stay active and the player can collect multiple rules throughout the game.

Stacking Rules

The biggest change was making rules persistent.

Previously, the player selected a rule and used it for one challenge. Now, selected rules remain active when entering the next room.

I also added two new rules:

• Slow Movement
• High Gravity

The prototype now has four rules:

• Reverse Controls
• No Jump
• Slow Movement
• High Gravity

The player can select different rules as they progress, but cannot select the same rule twice.

This lets me start testing combinations of rules instead of testing every rule in isolation.

Multiple Rules At Once

The player can now have multiple rules active at the same time.

For example:

No Jump + Reverse Controls

Or:

Slow Movement + High Gravity

Each active rule continues affecting the player.

This was mainly a mechanic test. I wanted to see whether combining simple rule modifiers could create more interesting gameplay without having to create completely new movement mechanics.

Active Rules UI

Because multiple rules can now be active, I needed a better way to communicate the current game state.

I added an Active Rules UI that displays every rule currently affecting the player.

The panel also changes its height depending on how many rules are active.

This means the UI can grow as more rules are added without overlapping the rest of the interface.

Rule Popup

I also updated the rule popup to support all four rules.

Each rule now has its own description:

• Reverse Controls changes the direction of movement.
• No Jump removes the ability to jump.
• Slow Movement reduces movement speed.
• High Gravity makes the player fall faster.

The large popup appears when a new rule is selected, giving the player immediate information about what changed.

Staircase System

I also updated the environmental rule system.

The stairs now check all active rules instead of only checking the most recently selected rule.

For example, if No Jump was selected earlier and Reverse Controls is selected later, both rules remain active and the corresponding staircase systems can respond to them.

This was important because the rule system is starting to affect more than just the player controller.

What's Next?

For the next iteration, I want to focus on testing the existing rules rather than immediately adding more.

I want to see how different rule combinations affect the player's behaviour and whether the rules actually create interesting decisions.