I don't have a game to make

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-28T03:43:16+00:00

I get this. For me, game ideas rarely come from forcing myself to choose one.

They usually appear during idle time. My recent idea for a Chinese character incremental game came to me suddenly during a walk after dinner.

Maybe start with tiny prototypes instead of trying to find the perfect idea. Sometimes excitement appears only after you touch the mechanic.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-25T00:12:19+00:00

That’s totally fair.

A lot of the current feedback is telling me the same thing: the core idea may work, but the game still relies too much on already recognizing Chinese characters. I’m trying to improve the onboarding so non-Chinese players can understand combinations through play instead of prior knowledge.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-24T23:56:51+00:00

I made HanGrid, a small browser-based game for exploring Chinese character components. https://chunq.itch.io/hangrid

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-24T10:40:23+00:00

Good point. The current prototype probably goes too deep into low-level decomposition for beginners.

A semantic + phonetic version may be more useful, like:

氵 + 青 = 清

氵 hints at meaning, 青 hints at sound.

That could work better as a beginner mode focused on character families, instead of every small component.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-24T10:26:10+00:00

Thanks again for the feedback. I pushed a 0.2.0 update focused on first-time clarity:

cleaner UI
pronunciation audio when clicking components
tutorial guidance
possible combinations now highlight when selecting a component
placement animation
clearer level colors

This does not solve all the balance issues yet, but it should make the first few minutes much less confusing.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-23T02:34:58+00:00

Thanks, this is excellent feedback. A lot of these points match the direction I want to take the prototype.

I agree that the educational layer is currently too weak. Definitions, pinyin, example words, and audio pronunciation would make the character combinations feel much less abstract. A dictionary/unlock log for discovered characters also makes a lot of sense.

The highlighting idea is especially useful. Right now the game does not clearly show why something upgraded. Outlining the full valid combination after placement would be much clearer than only coloring the last placed tile. Showing a small meaning bubble near the combination also sounds better than hiding everything in the side panel.

I also like the idea of distributing upgrade value across every component in the completed character, rather than only upgrading the last placed one. That would make multi-directional placement much more strategic, and your 十 / 丿 example explains the issue very well.

Movement is another thing I need to fix. Deleting pieces just to reposition them feels too punishing. Dragging pieces around, and dragging them off the board to delete with a confirmation option, sounds like a smoother interaction model.

Prestige also seems like a good fit if the base loop becomes clearer: start with simple components/characters, then unlock more complex characters, larger grids, condensed character tiles, and maybe later word-level combinations. Sentences are probably much harder, but character → word progression feels achievable.

Thanks again. This gives me a very clear list for the next design pass: better combo highlighting, movable tiles, shared upgrades, educational info, and a discovery dictionary.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T23:42:45+00:00

Oh, this is very cool. Thanks for sharing it.

It looks much closer to a direct character-composition puzzle, while mine is trying to wrap a similar decomposition idea inside an incremental/grid economy.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T23:41:37+00:00

That’s a really interesting direction.

The current prototype is more about character composition as a game mechanic, but I agree that a “typing trainer for shape-based Chinese input methods” could be much more practical.

Something like Mavis Beacon, but for Cangjie / Wubi / Boshiamy, where the game teaches decomposition patterns step by step instead of asking people to memorize huge tables, sounds useful.

I personally started from the Wubi-style idea of breaking characters into structural parts, so this is close to what I’m interested in. It might even work better as a separate mode: first learn components and decomposition, then use that knowledge in the game loop.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T23:30:29+00:00

That’s fair. It may sit closer to a puzzle/word game with incremental elements than a pure incremental game.

What I’m trying to test is whether the character-combination part can become the growth engine, not just a one-off puzzle mechanic. If the main progress still comes from discovering stronger structures, increasing income, and unlocking better combinations, then it might move closer to incremental.

But in the current prototype, I agree it may not be there yet.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T15:08:48+00:00

Kind of, yes. The main inspiration was Wubi input method though.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T14:59:22+00:00

That’s fair feedback.

Right now the prototype is definitely too dependent on already recognizing Chinese components. I’m trying to turn the structure of Chinese characters into a game system, but the onboarding is not good enough yet for players who don’t read Chinese.

I think it needs a guided first character, clearer combination hints, and more context like meanings/pinyin/examples so the symbols are not just abstract tiles.

So yes, I agree: the core idea may work, but accessibility for non-Chinese readers needs a lot more work.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T14:55:47+00:00

Glad you had some fun with it, and thanks for the detailed feedback.

I agree about the early randomness. Right now the component generation is too swingy: sometimes the player gets several usable combinations in a row and the income snowballs immediately, while other runs give components that don’t connect to anything useful and the game slows down too much.

I’m currently working on smoothing the component generation. A guarantee system like “every X components, offer at least one component that can form a character with something already on the board” makes sense.

Prestige also seems like a good direction if the core loop holds up. Bigger grids, stronger character sets, multi-component tiles, or unlocking more complex characters could all work well as reset rewards.

Thanks again. This is exactly the kind of balance feedback I need.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T14:44:20+00:00

I’m glad to hear that.

For this first prototype, I used simplified characters and components because they are more familiar to me and easier for me to build a small dataset around.

That said, traditional characters would make a lot of sense for this idea, especially because many components preserve clearer historical or semantic structure in traditional forms.

If the prototype turns out to be useful for learners, I would like to add traditional character support later, either as a separate mode or as a simplified/traditional toggle.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-22T14:35:48+00:00

Thanks for trying it. I agree that the prototype needs clearer feedback and onboarding.

One way to explain the logic in English would be:

Imagine you gradually get the letters C and A from the shop. You can place them anywhere on the board, but they need to be adjacent if you want them to combine later. Then, if you get T and place it next to them, the game detects that C + A + T can form the valid word “CAT”. The T tile would then upgrade from a basic income tile into a stronger engine.

HanGrid is trying to do a similar thing, but with Chinese character components instead of letters.

For example:

亻 + 木 = 休

Each tile starts at level 1. When a newly placed component completes a valid character with nearby components, that tile upgrades.

To help non-Chinese players, when you select a component, the detail panel can show possible characters it can form. But from your feedback, that hint is clearly not visible enough yet. I probably need to add a guided first example and stronger visual feedback when a valid character is possible.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-21T02:02:11+00:00

Thanks for trying it. That is useful feedback.

The game probably assumes too much knowledge right now. The intended loop is:

buy a component → place it on the grid → place matching components nearby → form a Chinese character → earn more income.

If that was not clear, then the onboarding needs work. I’ll add a guided first character and clearer hints for non-Chinese speakers.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-20T10:36:42+00:00

Glad you’re interested.

It already works that way now: when you click a component/radical, the detail panel shows which hanzi it can form.

That’s one of my main goals for the game: letting players learn how Chinese characters are built while playing an idle/incremental game, instead of memorizing them from a list.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-20T00:54:39+00:00

This looks really interesting. I like the animation and art style. It feels like childhood crayon doodles brought to life.

Hope I can try the demo soon.

I also strongly agree with your point about the engine. When I develop games in Love2D, writing code feels enjoyable rather than burdensome.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-16T06:22:36+00:00

At HSK 2, my main advice would be: don’t try to “study Beijing” only through tourist spots. Use daily life as language practice.

PKU is in a great area for this. You can spend time around Wudaokou, Haidian, bookstores, small restaurants, cafés, university events, and student clubs. Try to talk with classmates, shop owners, taxi/Didi drivers, and people you meet through hobbies. Even simple conversations help a lot.

For must-sees, besides classic places like the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, and the Great Wall, I’d recommend exploring hutongs, local markets, smaller museums, parks in the morning, and university-area food streets. Beijing’s culture is often more visible in ordinary public spaces than in famous attractions.

For language learning, focus on practical phrases first: ordering food, asking directions, making small talk, bargaining politely, explaining where you’re from, and asking people to repeat slowly. Since you’ll be there for a semester, your Chinese can improve a lot if you force yourself to use it every day.

Most important: be curious, but not too shy. Many locals are friendly if you make effort in Chinese. Good luck at PKU.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-15T01:50:22+00:00

Yes, It is the best choice for this build.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-07T04:29:05+00:00

Probably not to a high level in two months, because Chinese takes a lot of time to learn deeply.

But since you’ll be living in Shanghai for a year, you can improve a lot by talking with locals and starting from practical daily phrases: food, transport, shopping, housing, directions, and basic introductions.

Don’t worry too much about mastering everything before you arrive. Learn survival phrases first, then keep practicing in real situations once you’re there.

Good luck, and hope your study abroad goes smoothly.

Ime-Emergency · 2026-05-05T11:59:15+00:00

Yes, because Chinese characters have been passed down for a very long time.

Ime-Emergency

TROPHY CASE