-: It might be complicated to implement different timelines, (but also very interesting, go for it)
1 change: maybe you already wanted to do it this way, but: you could have the 1st goal be to "save grandpa". Then a fake-out-ending "yay grandpa survived"-happy end... but then: oh no, this creates a paradox, can I actually save him and the time? Maybe only through the knowledge about grandpa you gained during the 1st playthrough, you can (in a 2nd playthrough) convince him to fake his own death. But without directly talking to him, because that would maybe lead to "you" not existing.
1. Favorite aspect: I liked that you chose a well-known paradox that’s been discussed on the internet for a long time. It fits the theme really well and shows creative thinking. I also liked that the game includes stealth elements, and the concept arts and inspired games looks good too.
2. Least favorite aspect: While the timeline idea is cool, it might get too complex if you try to make it too deep and branching.
3. Suggested improvement: Since it’s a stealth game, I think balancing the gameplay and polishing the enemy/grandpa AI will be really important. Also, I’d suggest keeping the timeline mechanic simple, maybe with a few clear branches that give the illusion of many possible outcomes to the player's actions. That way it still feels dynamic without becoming too much work.
Also, like I said after the presentation, “nephew” might not be the right word here :D I think it should be “grandson”
Good job, I really liked the idea!!
Note: Like I said, maybe you can get inspired for some actions/puzzles/stealth mechanics from this game: "Neighbors From Hell"
I was unable to attend the presentations, so these opinions are based solely on the slides. Please excuse me if something I wrote is wrong or misunderstood:
1. Using the grandfather paradox as the center idea for a game.
2. What is the end goal? How many times do you go back?
3. I suggest making the primary goal less about simple object manipulation and more about complex, domino-effect-style time puzzles.
+ Traveling back in time and trying to not getting caught each time. This way the player themself will increase the difficulty each time based on their decisions.
- There is a possibility of too much past versions in one scene. At one point you may need to hide for extended durations because there are so many obstacles, forcing the player to wait, watch and do nothing or get bored.
I would add savepoints so that the player can easily restart from a certain point and try out many interesting solutions/tactics.
Using the grandfather paradox in the game is a great idea.
Least favorite aspect
"Different timelines that affect each other" is a really interesting idea but this could be challenging to implement, especially if you plan to make it very deep or multi-layered.
Suggested improvement
Based on my previous comment, maybe you could start with a simpler version first and expand it later.
You have 3 parts to implement, the puzzle parts where you have to avoid yourself and the grandpa's death and the story part where the grandpa has to fake his own death. I am not sure if that is manageable in the scope of this course maybe start with two and add one if you have the time
The grandfather paradox suits the theme really well. On top of this, having different timelines and different outcomes reminds me of the interactive movie from Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. I’m really excited about the many ways the grandpa dies. (p.s. Maybe for future considerations, but having this game in co-op mode sounds amazing to me.)
- least favorite aspect and the suggestion combined: As opposed to the general comments, I don’t think creating different branches is going to be a bottleneck for this game. On the other hand, I think there is a thin line for balancing the stealth and the puzzle mechanics. It could be hard for the player to keep track of what to solve in the environment or to prevent Grandpa from dying while trying not to get caught by the past selves. I’d suggest playing each branch and timeline in a sketch in advance to avoid confusing situations and glitches (or maybe this is too early to think about).
The idea behind it super nice! The game overall sounds simple and nice :D
+ The grandfather paradox as the core idea is awesome, I just really look forward to playing this. -- There could be a possible problem with branching the game making the game a bit harder to implement. Also, I didn't get how the core mechanic is supposed to be working. If the player is supposed to save the grandfather or/why is he hiding what he has done? A good idea would be adding some sort of timeline to the game (like in papers please) where the player could pick the point where to continue playing.
I really like how there can be lore explored with this idea, I've always been a fun of movies such as Back to the Future and this reminds me of it. I'm concerned to see how enjoyable the gameplay will be as it already sounds like the biggest challenge developing this game will be handling the timelines and story.
I really enjoy the idea of a stealth-based puzzle game, and the grandpa paradox is a great classic.
You mentioned different timelines affecting each other, but I didn't quite understand how that would present itself in the game. Depending on the scope of that idea, it might also be better to leave it out, as your game already seems pretty solid without it.
Using the paradox as the core of the game is very original. I am not sure how the game is supposed to play. If you need to replay several timelines on the same scenario in such a way that the previous timelines do not see you (stealth style) I think it could be a bit hard to make things match together, mainly because if at timeline t you need to stop cause of death t, then depending on how you play through the house the timeline t + 1 will be easier or harder to play in order to not get caught. This could make for a nice big puzzle in itself but maybe you are forcing the player to repeat the whole game too many times.
Really like the idea, I would like to see how "linear" paradoxically it ends up. Like is every death condition always presented in the same order in a sort of "story mode", is everything a series of triggers that get updated in real time or a mixture of the two? Obviously having the context update in real time can become really complicated if the scope gets out of control, but I think it could elevate the idea so much.
Favorite aspect: I love how you based the whole game around the grandfather paradox. The stealth and puzzle combination also sounds like it could lead to some really tense and interesting moments.
Least favorite aspect: I think managing multiple timelines could get really complicated fast, especially if they all influence each other. It might be easy for players (and devs 😅) to get lost in the logic of it all.
Suggested improvement: Maybe start with just one or two main timeline interactions and make them super polished. If you can make the player feel the paradox without needing dozens of branches, it’ll still be engaging and much easier to manage.
Favorite aspect: Really nice story with a cool paradox concept!
Least favorite aspect: The complexity of different timelines might get out of hand quickly,
Suggested improvement: I suggest iteratively testing different combinations of timelines and how they affect each other and then branching them out more
Positives: It’s a fun idea to base it on the Grandpa Paradox and a good idea to make it a stealth game based on it, as it just makes sense. That and small puzzles make for a fun, interesting, story-driven one-shot game.
Negatives: Extra timelines feel like complexity just for the sake of complexity.
Suggestions: Focus on polishing the story with the puzzles and different scenarios you’re going to find yourself in. There are a lot of movies and stories that have this “time travel, don’t get seen” trope that you could draw inspiration for the different scenarios from.
16 Kommentare
Daniel Abert sagt:
22. Oktober 2025+: I like the idea, concept and inspirations.
-: It might be complicated to implement different timelines, (but also very interesting, go for it)
1 change: maybe you already wanted to do it this way, but: you could have the 1st goal be to "save grandpa". Then a fake-out-ending "yay grandpa survived"-happy end... but then: oh no, this creates a paradox, can I actually save him and the time? Maybe only through the knowledge about grandpa you gained during the 1st playthrough, you can (in a 2nd playthrough) convince him to fake his own death. But without directly talking to him, because that would maybe lead to "you" not existing.
Baran Gürsoy sagt:
23. Oktober 20251. Favorite aspect:
I liked that you chose a well-known paradox that’s been discussed on the internet for a long time. It fits the theme really well and shows creative thinking. I also liked that the game includes stealth elements, and the concept arts and inspired games looks good too.
2. Least favorite aspect:
While the timeline idea is cool, it might get too complex if you try to make it too deep and branching.
3. Suggested improvement:
Since it’s a stealth game, I think balancing the gameplay and polishing the enemy/grandpa AI will be really important. Also, I’d suggest keeping the timeline mechanic simple, maybe with a few clear branches that give the illusion of many possible outcomes to the player's actions. That way it still feels dynamic without becoming too much work.
Also, like I said after the presentation, “nephew” might not be the right word here :D I think it should be “grandson”
Good job, I really liked the idea!!
Note: Like I said, maybe you can get inspired for some actions/puzzles/stealth mechanics from this game: "Neighbors From Hell"
Aleksandar Arnaudov sagt:
24. Oktober 2025I was unable to attend the presentations, so these opinions are based solely on the slides. Please excuse me if something I wrote is wrong or misunderstood:
1. Using the grandfather paradox as the center idea for a game.
2. What is the end goal? How many times do you go back?
3. I suggest making the primary goal less about simple object manipulation and more about complex, domino-effect-style time puzzles.
Louis Sajuk sagt:
24. Oktober 2025+ Traveling back in time and trying to not getting caught each time. This way the player themself will increase the difficulty each time based on their decisions.
- There is a possibility of too much past versions in one scene. At one point you may need to hide for extended durations because there are so many obstacles, forcing the player to wait, watch and do nothing or get bored.
I would add savepoints so that the player can easily restart from a certain point and try out many interesting solutions/tactics.
Muhammed Bayram sagt:
24. Oktober 2025Favorite Aspect
Using the grandfather paradox in the game is a great idea.
Least favorite aspect
"Different timelines that affect each other" is a really interesting idea but this could be challenging to implement, especially if you plan to make it very deep or multi-layered.
Suggested improvement
Based on my previous comment, maybe you could start with a simpler version first and expand it later.
Anian Kalb sagt:
24. Oktober 2025You have 3 parts to implement, the puzzle parts where you have to avoid yourself and the grandpa's death and the story part where the grandpa has to fake his own death.
I am not sure if that is manageable in the scope of this course maybe start with two and add one if you have the time
Efe Berke Erkeskin sagt:
24. Oktober 2025+ definitely keep:
The grandfather paradox suits the theme really well. On top of this, having different timelines and different outcomes reminds me of the interactive movie from Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. I’m really excited about the many ways the grandpa dies. (p.s. Maybe for future considerations, but having this game in co-op mode sounds amazing to me.)
- least favorite aspect and the suggestion combined:
As opposed to the general comments, I don’t think creating different branches is going to be a bottleneck for this game. On the other hand, I think there is a thin line for balancing the stealth and the puzzle mechanics. It could be hard for the player to keep track of what to solve in the environment or to prevent Grandpa from dying while trying not to get caught by the past selves. I’d suggest playing each branch and timeline in a sketch in advance to avoid confusing situations and glitches (or maybe this is too early to think about).
Julie Vondráčková sagt:
24. Oktober 2025The idea behind it super nice! The game overall sounds simple and nice :D
+ The grandfather paradox as the core idea is awesome, I just really look forward to playing this.
-- There could be a possible problem with branching the game making the game a bit harder to implement. Also, I didn't get how the core mechanic is supposed to be working. If the player is supposed to save the grandfather or/why is he hiding what he has done?
A good idea would be adding some sort of timeline to the game (like in papers please) where the player could pick the point where to continue playing.
Nikolaos Christodoulou sagt:
24. Oktober 2025I really like how there can be lore explored with this idea, I've always been a fun of movies such as Back to the Future and this reminds me of it. I'm concerned to see how enjoyable the gameplay will be as it already sounds like the biggest challenge developing this game will be handling the timelines and story.
Katharina Benke sagt:
24. Oktober 2025I really enjoy the idea of a stealth-based puzzle game, and the grandpa paradox is a great classic.
You mentioned different timelines affecting each other, but I didn't quite understand how that would present itself in the game. Depending on the scope of that idea, it might also be better to leave it out, as your game already seems pretty solid without it.
Miguel Trasobares Baselga sagt:
25. Oktober 2025Using the paradox as the core of the game is very original. I am not sure how the game is supposed to play. If you need to replay several timelines on the same scenario in such a way that the previous timelines do not see you (stealth style) I think it could be a bit hard to make things match together, mainly because if at timeline t you need to stop cause of death t, then depending on how you play through the house the timeline t + 1 will be easier or harder to play in order to not get caught. This could make for a nice big puzzle in itself but maybe you are forcing the player to repeat the whole game too many times.
Davide Mongera sagt:
25. Oktober 2025Really like the idea, I would like to see how "linear" paradoxically it ends up. Like is every death condition always presented in the same order in a sort of "story mode", is everything a series of triggers that get updated in real time or a mixture of the two? Obviously having the context update in real time can become really complicated if the scope gets out of control, but I think it could elevate the idea so much.
Jasmina Vulović sagt:
25. Oktober 2025Favorite aspect:
I love how you based the whole game around the grandfather paradox. The stealth and puzzle combination also sounds like it could lead to some really tense and interesting moments.
Least favorite aspect:
I think managing multiple timelines could get really complicated fast, especially if they all influence each other. It might be easy for players (and devs 😅) to get lost in the logic of it all.
Suggested improvement:
Maybe start with just one or two main timeline interactions and make them super polished. If you can make the player feel the paradox without needing dozens of branches, it’ll still be engaging and much easier to manage.
Mahdis Sabzevarzadeh sagt:
25. Oktober 2025Favorite aspect: Really nice story with a cool paradox concept!
Least favorite aspect: The complexity of different timelines might get out of hand quickly,
Suggested improvement: I suggest iteratively testing different combinations of timelines and how they affect each other and then branching them out more
Lukas Maximilian Jonsson sagt:
26. Oktober 2025Favorite aspect:
The story seems very interesting!
Least favorite aspect:
Could be challenging to achieve the timelines that influence each other
Suggested improvement:
Try to reduce your ideas to some core mechanics. This could get out of hand real quickly
Horvath Arpad sagt:
30. Oktober 2025Paradox Repairo
Positives:
It’s a fun idea to base it on the Grandpa Paradox and a good idea to make it a stealth game based on it, as it just makes sense. That and small puzzles make for a fun, interesting, story-driven one-shot game.
Negatives:
Extra timelines feel like complexity just for the sake of complexity.
Suggestions:
Focus on polishing the story with the puzzles and different scenarios you’re going to find yourself in. There are a lot of movies and stories that have this “time travel, don’t get seen” trope that you could draw inspiration for the different scenarios from.