A first-person adventure puzzle game where players harness the power of the
Five Elements to restore balance to the world.
Overview
Cycle of Elements is a first-person adventure puzzle game developed using Unreal Engine 5
(UE5). Inspired by traditional Chinese Daoist philosophy, players take on the role of a
Taoist who harnesses the power of the Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth)
combined with the rhythm of seasonal changes to purify polluted environments and restore
balance to the world.
The game features cartoon traditional Chinese art that blends low-poly aesthetics,
traditional landscapes, talismans, and natural elements to immerse players in an
Eastern-inspired fantasy world.
Key Features
◈
Cartoon Traditional Chinese Art
Blends low-poly aesthetics, traditional landscapes, talismans, and natural
elements to immerse players in an Eastern-inspired fantasy world.
◈
Harmony of Daoist Journey
Combines the Five Elements' generating and controlling cycles with seasonal
changes, allowing players to experience Daoist harmony while exploring and
solving puzzles.
◈
Element-Based Puzzle Design
Utilizes the generating (Sheng) and controlling (Ke) mechanics of the Five
Elements to solve puzzles, open new paths, and restore balance to a
deteriorating world.
◈
Exploration Abilities
Includes Climbing and Flying (Sword Flight) abilities, greatly enriching the
first-person exploration experience.
Game Mechanics
The Five Elements System forms the core of gameplay:
Generating Cycle (Sheng): Wood generates Fire, Fire generates
Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.
Controlling Cycle (Ke): Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal,
Metal controls Wood, Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water.
Core interactions include Element Collection & Absorption, Element Switching via UI,
Element Crafting by combining elements or seasonal environments, Season Change
manipulation, and exploration abilities like Climbing and Sword Flight.
Development Iteration
Early Level Design
Progressed from white-box (Blockout) construction to terrain sculpting,
vegetation placement, and final scene art pass.
Element Collection Implementation
Initially attempted direct Actor type matching, which frequently caused errors.
Switched to using Tags for identification, resulting in more reliable and
accurate logic.
Element Switching Implementation
Initially used the Released input event to exit the UI, which conflicted with
other inputs. Resolved by using a FlipFlop node to toggle states, allowing the
UI and gameplay controls to switch reliably.
Reflection
Building Cycle of Elements was my first real dive into Unreal Engine 5, and my first 3D
game from scratch. I came in with no formal game development training — just a
willingness to learn by doing. I read the docs, broke things, read them again, and
slowly built up a working understanding of Blueprints, level design, and the engine's
rendering pipeline.
The bugs I hit along the way — the Actor-matching failures that pushed me toward a
Tag-based collection system, the input conflicts that I solved with a FlipFlop state
toggle — became the best teachers I could have asked for.
What I didn't expect was how much the project would make me think about games as cultural
vessels. The Five Elements aren't just a gameplay mechanic to me — they carry a way of
understanding the world that stretches back thousands of years. Embedding the generating
and controlling cycles into puzzle design, letting seasonal rhythms shape how players
approach problems, was my attempt to make that philosophy something you feel rather than
just read about. Games can be entertainment and still carry meaning. That's the part of
this project I'm most proud of.
