Character Crafter
Craft a character, create the world.
Character Crafter is a 2-D crafting-puzzle prototype where every Chinese character is both a recipe and a tool.
Gather radicals together → they fuse into a full character.
Pop the character open → it becomes the object it represents.
Use those objects—bridges, blades, trees—to solve micro-levels in creative ways.
No Chinese required. The game is designed for absolute beginners; the characters teach themselves through play.
What’s in this build?
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3 bite-sized test levels (≈ 5–10 min total).
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Placeholder art, sounds, and UI — focus is mechanics, not polish.
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Keyboard controls (WASD / Arrows to move, Space to pick up/drop down, Ctrl to swing weapon, E to equip/unequip).
Feedback I’m hunting for 👀
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Radical fusion – Does combining parts feel clear and intentional?
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Character → object – Is it obvious why the new object helps you finish a level?
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Retention – After you finish, can you recall what 刀, 木, 桥, and 林 mean?
If not, what would help the meaning stick?
Drop thoughts in the comments or send me mail(patrick.tliu24@gmail.com), or simply fill out this 3 min. form:
https://forms.gle/FFZ9zBjaGA3tXEpX7
Brutal honesty welcome—your feedback shapes the next iteration.
Thanks for test-driving!
Download
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Comments
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Hey, not really complicated. I've thought this was japanese so I get that one symbol + one symbol equals another word. But this demo was a bit too short. What's the gameplay ? This is just a little puzzle so far. And there is one symbol toward the end that I cannot detransform and I don't know what it means. The second part to make "bridge".
I feel the meaning would stick better for most players if when you open the characters menu you'd see the word right in latin characters when you hover over the picture. Not everyone has a big visual memory. Otherwise it's interesting. Even though I thought the game was about designing some robot character, I'm still glad to have tested it ;)
Thanks a lot for the feedback and suggestions! I will certainly include more "symbols" and objects to interact with, structuring more fun levels for future versions. Sorry for the name confusion. I was thinking about "Chinese Character Crafter" but it's too long and still narratively ambiguous. "Symbol Crafter" would also be inaccurate. You are welcome to share if you have a good idea:)
BTW, which symbol near the end whose meaning did you not get? Was it “林”?
The second symbol to make a bridge. On the third level it's the three icons you can't detransform into objects. It's not the forest one.
How about The Pictogram Machine ? Or something along the line.