For a while games used to be 2D, taking place solely along two directions. For example, a game character could only move forwards and backwards, or jump up and down. Then came computers powerful enough to render 3D graphics, which allowed for full 3D movement: up / down, backwards / forwards and left / right. (Of course, the graphics we see, while they are computed in 3D, are displayed on a 2D screen. They are projected down from 3D to 2D, in a way that mimics how our eyes perceive the third dimension.)

As far as we know, our universe has exactly three spatial dimensions — so it’s difficult for us to picture what a four-dimensional world would look like. But a computer, on the other hand, does not care; it’s just working with numbers as usual (it’s just slightly more numbers in this case!). So we had to come up with a way to display this 4D world so that our three-dimensional brains could comprehend it.

The way we chose is a method that has been popularized in the novella Flatland. This novella talks about a 2D square that can only see a 2D cross section of a 3D world. For the square, the third dimension is invisible and mysterious; the square has no concept of it because it is stuck seeing a 2D world. If a 3D object visits the 2D plane it appears to be deforming, in a way that looks like an M.R.I. scan. In an M.R.I. what we see appears to be deforming, but we know that we are just taking a different cross-section of the same 3D object.

In Miegakure [Hide and Reveal] a similar thing happens, but in one higher dimension: instead of taking a 2D slice of a 3D object, we are taking a 3D slice of 4D objects. It’s hard to imagine, but luckily we don’t have to — computers can display it for us! If you take a look at the trailer above you can see examples of what these “deformations” look like as we move and turn the 3D slice around within the 4D world.

The gameplay focuses on exploring a 4D world and the consequences of being able to move in 4D. For example, for a 2D being, houses only need four walls. If the doors are locked, there is no way to enter the house. But us 3D beings can see inside the house by just looking at it from the third dimension, and we can reach in and grab whatever is inside and move it outside the house, without opening any doors, to the bemusement of the poor 2D beings!

Similarly, a 4D being can perform miraculous feats such as remove objects from a locked safe without opening it, bind together two rings without breaking them, or spy on 3D beings without them knowing. We have carefully designed each level in Miegakure to be about performing one of these feats, letting players become a sort of superhero from the actual fourth dimension.

F.A.Q.

When is the game coming out?

As soon as possible, we are very far along but haven't announced a release date yet.

Will you do an early-access / public alpha / beta?

Early-access and Public alphas/betas don't really make sense for single-player puzzle games with a story.

Is there a demo?

No.

What platforms is the game coming out on?

The goal at this time to release on as many things as possible but initially focus on Steam for Windows.

Why does the game slice the 4th dimension instead of projecting it? Wouldn't it make more sense to project since our eyes see using projections?

- I wanted the 4D world to feel like an extension of the 3D world we live in.

- Our eyes project from 3D to 2D, which is one dimension down. 4D to 2D is two dimensions down: a lot of objects are going to overlap on the screen, which makes things hard to understand.

- We do have projections of some sort, stay tuned for details.

Why make the main mechanic about rotating the slice, since translating the slice seems simpler?

When you translate the slice you cannot see where you are going, so you can hit walls you can't see, which is confusing. Translating the slice is unlocked later in the game.

Will you be able to rotate the 3D slice however you want?

Yes, but not initially in order to teach players in a more gradual way, and because many puzzles are more fun with this limitation.

Is the 2D/3D version of the game part of the game?

Yes! It is used throughout the game to help players understand the 4th dimension.

Does the 4D exist in real-life?

As far as we know our universe is 3D, but there are physics theories (such as string theory) that say that it may have more dimensions.

Will you release the source code?

Not at first. However the game is scriptable, therefore easy to mod.

If we can't comprehend the 4th dimension how was this program even made?

Writing 4D math is often not much more complicated than writing 3D math, so one can write it and just see what the computer displays. Many programs are already about things we can't fully predict, such as fluid dynamics.

To The Inhabitants of SPACE IN GENERAL
And H. C. IN PARTICULAR
This Work is Dedicated
By a Humble Native of Flatland
In the Hope that
Even as he was Initiated into the Mysteries
Of THREE Dimensions
Having been previously conversant
With ONLY TWO
So the Citizens of that Celestial Region
May aspire yet higher and higher
To the Secrets of FOUR FIVE OR EVEN SIX Dimensions
Thereby contributing
To the Enlargement of THE IMAGINATION
And the possible Development
Of that most rare and excellent Gift of MODESTY
Among the Superior Races
Of SOLID HUMANITY

- Edwin A. Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Monthly Updates now on Patreon
You can support the development of Miegakure and related work with this Patreon I originally made for my quaternion article/video (Let’s remove Quaternions from every 3D Engine: An Interactive Introduction to Rotors from Geometric Algebra). In many ways Miegakure is more than a game: It is revolutionizing how people explore scientific concepts with games Its […]

Miegakure Update September 2021
Hi, here is the update since last time! Among other things: – We polished the main characters with improvements to the 3D models, inverse kinematics for the feet, cloth simulation, better collision detection, etc.. That kind of polish seemed very important since the player is looking at the main character all the time. We also […]

SIGGRAPH 2020 talk for my technical paper: N-Dimensional Rigid Body Dynamics
It’s very exciting for work from a game (and a first for an indie game) to be presented in the SIGGRAPH Technical Papers program! Thank you all for your patience during development of the game, as you can see it can get pretty involved, ahah! Link to the paper

Miegakure Update November 2020: art direction in 4D
Development on Miegakure is going well. Modeling the large buildings is very far along and will be done soon. I polished many things across the entire game. In July I recorded my SIGGRAPH 2020 Talk about my Technical Paper on n-Dimensional rigid body dynamics, and will post it publicly soon. I started working with a […]

SIGGRAPH 2020 Technical Paper: N-Dimensional Rigid Body Dynamics
Excited to announce that my technical paper “N-Dimensional Rigid Body Dynamics” was accepted to SIGGRAPH 2020! Very proud to present research developed for 4D Toys & Miegakure at such a prestigious conference. Here is the link to the paper and the abstract: I present a formulation for Rigid Body Dynamics that is independent of the […]

Interactive Article/Video: Let’s remove Quaternions from every 3D Engine (An Interactive Introduction to Rotors from Geometric Algebra)
I have not yet posted on this blog that last year I released an article/video with interactive diagrams on Geometric Algebra, specifically Rotors. (I also recently updated it). Here is the introduction: To represent 3D rotations graphics programmers use Quaternions. However, Quaternions are taught at face value. We just accept their odd multiplication tables and […]

Miegakure Update End of 2019
It occurred to me that it should be possible to give more detailed progress updates without spoiling the game too much. Thanks to those of you who emailed me to check on the progress of the game and thank you for your patience. As I said last time, all the mechanics, levels, story & dialogs […]