A Hand?

**A hand?** is a physically-driven co-op climbing prototype for two

players. There's no auto-grab, no climbing-as-platforming — each hand is

controlled independently and has to actually be holding something for your

body to stay on the wall.

**Independent per-hand grabbing.** Left mouse button controls your left

hand, right mouse button controls your right. Hold the button and the hand

reaches toward whatever you're aiming at; it latches on the instant

anything reachable comes into range, so you never have to time a click

precisely.

**Every hold costs you.** Each hand tracks its own fatigue. A hand tires

while it alone is carrying your weight, and recovers when it's free or

sharing the load with your other hand. Push a hand too far and it gives out

on its own — you'll feel it coming, but pushing your luck is part of the

climb.

**Grab your partner, not just the wall.** Every player has grab-points on

both hands, their belt, and their back. Your partner can catch a ride on

your back without occupying your hands, or hang off your belt to rest —

and if either of you falls, the other can catch you out of the air. Reach

is forgiving mid-fall: a falling player grabs rather than aims, and so does

whoever's trying to catch them. Catching someone isn't free, though — it's

a sudden jolt of fatigue to the hand doing the catching, and if that hand

was already exhausted, the catch can rip it straight back off the wall.

Belaying a tired partner is a real risk, not a free save.

**A rope that actually swings.** The rope is simulated along its full

length, not just a weight on a string — push in the direction you're

looking to build swing momentum Tarzan-style, and both players can ride

different points of the same rope at once, feeling each other's pushes

through the chain.

This is a **mechanical prototype**, not a finished game: there's no art,

no level progression, no scoring — just one hand-built climbing route up a

tall wall, ending at a marked finish. It exists to test whether the core

two-hand-fatigue-and-rescue loop is fun with a real second player. Go in

expecting a physics sandbox with training wheels off, not a polished

product.

| Action | Input |

|---|---|

| Move | WASD |

| Look | Mouse |

| Grab / release, left hand | Hold / release Left Mouse Button |

| Grab / release, right hand | Hold / release Right Mouse Button |

| Jump (off the ground, or off whatever you're holding) | Space |

| Release mouse cursor | Escape |

| Host a session | H |

## Requirements

- **Windows** (64-bit). No installer — unzip and run `climb.exe`.

- **Steam must be running and logged in** on both machines before

  launching — this game uses Steam's networking layer to connect the two

  players, even though it isn't sold or launched through Steam itself.

- **Two players**, each on their own machine, connected over the internet

  or a LAN. There's no solo mode and no matchmaking — one of you hosts,

  the other joins directly (see Known Issues below for how).

- A mouse and keyboard each. No controller support.

## ⚠️ This is an early prototype

Built to test the core mechanics, not to be a finished release. Expect

rough edges, and please don't expect it to be feature-complete — see Known

Issues below for what's already known and not being treated as a surprise.

## Known issues

- **The rope can visibly clip through the wall** during a hard, fast swing

  — the rope's own physics doesn't currently collide with the wall

  geometry, only with the players' grabs on it.

- **No reconnect.** If a player disconnects or loses connection mid-session

  (crash, alt-tab issue, network drop), there's no way back into that same

  session — you'll need to start a new one from the main menu.

- **Joining only works via manual lobby ID right now.** The host's status

  line shows a lobby ID; the joining player types it into the field next

  to "Join by ID" and connects directly through Steam's API. Steam-overlay

  invites and the Friends-list "Join Game" button are not reliably wired up

  yet — use the manual ID field, it always works. (This build also runs

  under Valve's shared test AppID 480, not a real Steam App ID — expected

  for a prototype, not something to report.)