Team Pricks & Bricks

(1) I really like the view/perspective you've chosen for your game. It makes your game visually very appealing and also works well for your idea with the eye that is tracking the AI.
(2) I also like the idea of breaking the 4th wall. However, I can imagine that it will be challenging to find a good transition from in-game to text editor.
(3) Maybe you can add some kind of switch button, so the player can easily switch between the game and text editor without having to minimize/close the game themselves each time they want to change something in the text file. Maybe you can also think about the frequency with which the player wants to edit a text file.

(1) Using a mechanic where players can dynamically change their skillset to adapt to the obstacles they are faced with is very interesting. It already provides a certain level of depth to the gameplay and can also be greatly expanded in various ways.

(2) While I would enjoy the 4th wall breaking gameplay (editing files, changing variables etc.), I feel like this kind of mechanics could scare away the more casual players, limiting its appeal to a niche player base.

(3) I also think it would be hard to provide tutorials/guides in-game for a mechanic that happens "outside" the game. 

Also the design document, mock-ups and sketches and even the planning of the whole development process looks so well-done and professional. Can't wait to see the results

1. I like the idea of the 4th wall breaking and using elements from outside of the game to provide interaction. Maybe you can find even more ways of embracing this and incorporating more of that besides the text editor.
2. The premise is interesting but I'm not sure how the story ties in with the gameplay. It seems to be mostly a jump and run game with skill points. I think it would be cool to lean more into the AI theme, so for example instead of skilling something you change weights of the network so the next generation is better at X.
3. For me it would be very important that the interaction with non-game elements is smooth. If the game does the whole alt-tabbing from full screen routine of the screen going black and to the game and then to the desktop for 3 seconds it would be annoying. Also, what happens if I don't have a text editor installed or set Visual Studio to open txt files so it takes me a minute to open?

The design document looks very thorough so I'm excited to see what comes out.

Likes:

• I like the main idea of letting the invisible player provide means of help to release the self-aware AI (although I have some ethical problems with the self-aware AI concept in itself)
• Baking in the challenge in the format of an optimally configured state to overcome the challenge is quite nice and would need some experimentation from the player's side.
• Going a step further in the direction of optimal configuration to make it happen via a terminal interface goes a nice way along the nature of robots or AI and their programmable interfaces.

Dislikes:

• The game theme of breaking the 4th wall isn't really manifested if I still have control over the self-aware AI and not only providing help as this omnipotent invisible entity.
• The integration of a text editor that's native to the platform on which the game is running and not native to the game itself. The change of context between the game and the underlying OS takes my mind of the game a bit.
• Validating the inputs of the saved config file was not discussed how to be handled

1) The idea and theme is quite interesting. I understand the use of external file editors to do the 4th wall breaking. But also a built-in editor sounds a lot smoother interactions. So maybe a bit of a contradiction of what makes the context valid, and what makes the game fun.

2) I imagine some levels actually having multiple solutions. Such as increased jump height, number of jumps, air dash, run speed, coyote time. I personally home the team focuses more on the puzzle solving aspects, so we can play around with the redistribution of skills and try out multiple solutions.

1) Most Favourite: I love the idea of a Robot becoming sentient and figuring out they're in a simulation. It sets up your 4th wall breaking mechanic nicely and gives a lot of room for creative storytelling

2) Least Favourite: I fail to see much innovation on the platforming part of the game. I hope you will not end up developing a generic 3D platformer and have the text editing be the only novel thing about it.

3) Improvement: I think the text editor is a very cool idea but should fit into the flow of the game, consider integrating the editor into the game instead of using the OS Editor

1). I really like the idea of 4th wall breaking (and those types of games in general) and combining it with AI can bring a unique experience.

2). According to my experience, AI in games can be very unpredictable, especially if you aim to use ChatGPTor any other text-generating AI in this case. So it’s better to test it for any unexpected cases and find solutions for them 

3). Other people already mentioned it, but integration of all elements should be smooth in order to give all the players a better experience. I think it could be also nice to have some extra features with 4th wall breaking that will require you to go into game files and do some extra stuff outside of the game, but I feel like that shouldn’t be required for the main gameplay. Just could be a nice feature for those, who want to play with it

(And sorry for a late feedback, I completely forgot about it)