Blog Post 15: Finalizing Stone Collection and Puzzle Interactions
With the environment fully built and performance stabilized, our final task centered on completing the core stone collection and placement mechanic, the player’s main progression system through the maze.
Joel implemented a simple but effective interaction system using Unreal Engine’s VR Blueprints. Players could pick up elemental stones scattered across different puzzle chambers and physically place them onto ancient pedestals to unlock new zones.
Meanwhile, I redesigned some environment areas slightly to accommodate the final stone placement sequences. Each stone needed a clear visual highlight, using lighting cues, structural framing (like broken arches), and natural environmental funnels to draw player attention toward key areas.
Despite the basic interaction concept, testing revealed several bugs: stones sometimes clipped through walls, teleportation glitches occurred near puzzle pedestals, and pickup physics occasionally broke under network lag. Joel and I worked side-by-side, testing dozens of times, fixing collision boxes, adjusting grip settings, and tweaking trigger distances.
After many refinements, the system finally worked smoothly. Players could now physically feel the weight of the stones, experience the satisfaction of solving an environmental puzzle, and unlock access to the next part of the maze.
This final integration perfectly tied together our original goals: an environment-driven, exploration-focused VR escape experience.
