Split Fiction Isn’t Just a Game, It’s a Masterclass in Designing Human Trust

To be very clear, Split Fiction is not just a 10/10 game; it is Hazelight’s best dissertation on how you can build a connection between humans through play.

Yes, the puzzles are clever. Yes, the visuals are lush. But what makes it revolutionary? It teaches you how to design for trust, synchronization, and shared agency, while also leading players to the fun.

And that is exactly what we want game developers to understand in 2025. Cooperative design is not just about mechanics; it is about recreating how humans feel, fail, and flourish together.

Gravity-Flip Puzzle: Designing for Asymmetrical Trust

Early in the game, one player flips gravity. The other player? They jump off a platform blind, trusting that gravity will flip right on cue. No dialogue. No indication – just trust.

Design Insight: This is not just asymmetrical co-op, it is empathy design, as you’re scripting affordances where the only way to succeed is to be emotionally synchronous, not just controller input.

How it’s made in Unreal: [Flipping gravity, through each actor using their respective vectors], plus a trigger volume guarantees only one player flips at a time. Add audio and visual cues to create tension and then release.

Puzzle Escalation That Simulates Real World Learning

Hazelight never puts players into total confusion. They train players through each level, one mechanic at a time, one risky circumstance at a time. You practice a flip. The next encounter gives you a flip and a timed switch. The next level is a multi-step puzzle with collapsing platforms and two parallel outcomes.

Design Theory: This is flow theory in action. Your job is to ensure players are dancing on the edge of challenge, not flailing in it.

Tips for builder: Timelines + Blueprint, modular level design. Reveal mechanics separately, then revisit with different combinations.

Story Without Cutscenes: Architecture as Emotion

There’s no heavy exposition. You learn that a character is grieving because the sky in their world has no color. You feel tension because the staircases begin to crumble only when both characters are apart.

Design Takeaway: This is an architectural narrative. Let level design and visual pacing do the emotional heavy lifting.

Unreal Hack: Use dynamic material swaps, light channel blending, and ambient sound triggers linked to player separation or reunion.

Co-Op Choreography: The Invisible Dance

The most magical moments in Split Fiction happen when players move in rhythm, not because the game tells them to, but because the level nudges them into that flow.

Psychology Insight: Shared agency. Both players feel seen, needed, and integral.

Implementation Tip: Replicate this in Unreal using synced action triggers and global timers. Add feedback loops—flickering lights, matching sound cues—to reward simultaneous input.

What Most Designers Miss (But Hazelight Doesn’t)

Most co-op games throw in “two-player mode” and call it a day. But Split Fiction is built from the ground up for collaboration. There’s no solo option because it’s not just about cooperation—it’s about co-dependence.

Ask Yourself:

• Does each player need the other to progress?
• Are their roles emotionally and mechanically distinct?
• Do you feel something when the other player succeeds—or fails?

If not, it’s not true co-op. It’s parallel soloing.

From Player to Creator: Your Turn to Create the Trust

Split Fiction isn’t simply a game to play. It is a blueprint to learn from, dissect, and reassemble. Here’s how:

• Pull apart a scene: what is the player feeling? Why?
• Recreate the trust-based mechanic in Unreal
• Create your own flow curve: solo > duo > duo timed > duo emotional
• Consider how layout and lighting can create emotion

And if you want to create your own masterpiece, you’ll need more than passion – you’ll need structure, mentorship, and hands-on experience. That’s where MAGES’ programs come in, designed for players who are ready to become creators.

Final Thoughts

The best co-op games don’t just teach you mechanics. They teach you people. Timing. Trust. Risk. Joy.

Split Fiction gets that. And if you do too, you are already thinking like a game designer.

Bring that intuition to MAGES. Build worlds where players feel something, and remember you for it.