BlockPuzzleLevelEditor

BlockPuzzleLevelEditor is a custom Unity Editor tool designed to facilitate puzzle level creation within a grid layout. It combines several modes—block placement, item placement, prefab placement, and unavailability—to define a puzzle’s shape, interactive pieces, and special blockers. A procedural generation algorithm is used to automatically instantiate 3D puzzle geometry based on this layout—ensuring borders, container blocks, and lids are properly generated and saved as a prefab for final use in your game.

See the editor in action:

• App Store: https://apps.apple.com/tr/app/block-slide-sort/id6742429510
• Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BugraCetinel.BlockSlideJam

Special Features

1. Procedural Generation Algorithm
   • Automatically spawns puzzle borders, container blocks, and lids using an adjacency‐based bitmasking technique.
   • Eliminates the need for manual 3D modeling, ensuring each puzzle is constructed quickly and consistently.

2. Multiple Placement Modes

   • Block Placement, Item Placement, Prefab Placement, and Unavailability modes allow varied control over puzzle data.
   • Provides straightforward left‐click to add and right‐click to remove functionality.

3. Scene Copying and Mirroring

   • Copy Grid From Scene: Loads an existing layout from any active GameLevel.
   • Mirror Grid: Flips the entire grid horizontally and vertically, offering quick variations.

4. Modular Data Sets for Visual Variation

   • The LevelVisualizationManager references data sets that control which borders, containers, lids, and items get instantiated.
   • By assigning different ContainerBlockSet, BorderPrefabSet, or ContainerItemSet assets, it becomes possible to generate the same puzzle logic with entirely different visuals.
   • This approach allows designers and artists to iterate on puzzle appearances with minimal code changes, simply swapping out references in the Inspector to load alternative 3D models or materials.

Here you can see the same grid with two different item set:

How To

1. Open the Editor

   • In Unity, select Tools → PuzzleLevelEditor to access the custom editor window.

2. Configure Grid Settings

   • Grid Width and Grid Height are set via the provided sliders. The grid is then resized in the editor window to match these dimensions.

3. Select a Placement Mode

   • Block Placement, Item Placement, Prefab Placement, or Unavailability can be chosen at the top of the editor. The approach taken when interacting with the grid depends on the selected mode.

4. Interact with the Grid

   • Left‐click applies the current settings (e.g., shape ID, item, prefab).
   • Right‐click removes or clears the data (e.g., reset shape ID, remove an item, or clear a prefab).

5. Use Additional Options

   • Mirror Grid: Creates a mirrored puzzle arrangement.
   • Copy Grid From Scene: Imports an existing puzzle layout from a GameLevel object.
   • Reset Grid: Clears all cells, restoring the editor to a blank state.

6. Spawn Selected Pieces

   • Once the layout is complete, clicking Spawn Selected Pieces instructs the LevelVisualizationManager to generate the puzzle in 3D.
   • A final level prefab is then automatically saved in the project.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f4ef34e9-d1af-466e-8798-b9d581139623

Placement Modes

a) Block Placement

• Purpose: Defines puzzle blocks through shape IDs, color assignments, block types (e.g., regular or locked), and optional movement constraints.
• Usage:
  • Block Placement mode is selected in the toolbar.
  • Shape ID, block color, block type, and movement constraint are configured in the panel.
  • Left‐click to set these properties; right‐click clears the cell data.

b) Item Placement

• Purpose: Inserts items (up to four per cell) in container cells that have a nonzero ShapeID.
• Usage:
  • Item Placement mode is selected.
  • An item color is chosen from the dropdown.
  • Left‐click adds the item color; right‐click removes the last placed item in that cell.
  • A summary in the panel shows which colored items are missing or exceed the required amount.

c) Prefab Placement

• Purpose: Places special prefab objects (e.g., blockers, locks) onto cells.
• Usage:
  • Prefab Placement mode is selected.
  • Prefabs of type PlaceableGridItem can be dragged into the “PlaceablePrefabs” drop area or selected from an existing list.
  • Left‐click applies the chosen prefab to a cell, and right‐click removes any existing prefab.

d) Unavailability Mode

• Purpose: Marks cells as holes or unavailable, removing them from the playable region of the grid.
• Usage:
  • Unavailability mode is selected.
  • Left‐click toggles the cell’s status.
  • Unavailable cells appear as an “X” and are not considered in the final puzzle generation.

Licensing Information

This project utilizes third-party assets, which require separate licenses.