Game development is full of surprising moments. Some delightful, others a bit chaotic. While working on Lost Twins 2, we came across one such moment: a simple wooden box that turned out to be far stronger than intended. What was meant to be a thoughtful puzzle turned into a physics-defying shortcut, all thanks to one small oversight.
While working on Lost Twins 2, one of our levels taught us an unexpected lesson in physics or rather, game physics.
The setup was simple: a level featuring our twins, Ben and Abi, a heavy stone boulder, a wooden box, and a glass dome protecting the exit portal. The puzzle was meant to unfold like this:
Roll the boulder onto the glass dome, breaking it open and making the portal accessible.
Use the box as a platform to reach a higher ledge where a button opens the gate.
Reunite both characters at the portal to complete the level.
All seemed fine until one day, we decided to try something different. Instead of dropping the boulder onto the dome, we casually tossed the box on it and crack! The dome shattered. Portal exposed and level completed in seconds.
Except... that wasn't supposed to happen.
The glass dome was only meant to break under the weight of the boulder, a deliberate design choice to reinforce the puzzle’s logic. The box? It was supposed to be too light to cause any damage.
After some digging, we found the culprit: in the backend, both the box and the boulder shared the same weight value. The game couldn’t tell the difference between a mighty boulder and a wooden box. Physics-wise, they were equals
The developers fixed the issue by correcting the weight values, ensuring that only the boulder has enough force to break the glass dome. The box has since returned to its rightful job as a humble stepping stone.
This tiny bug reminded us how even small data entries can flip puzzle logic upside-down or in this case, break it entirely. This little bug served as a great reminder of how even the tiniest details like object weights can dramatically shift gameplay and puzzle logic. It also gave us a good laugh and a valuable lesson in double-checking the numbers behind the scenes.
Until the next oddball discovery,
Playdew Team