Would this idea be a good concept for a game i was thinking about this?
This would be a 4D game, kind of. Basically, it would be a puzzle game, but the twist is that every set amount of time, for example 10 seconds (I'm not sure what the actual time would be yet), the level would reset. However, when the level resets, you would see your past actions being replayed while you play through the level again.
The reset would happen over and over, and every time it resets, another version of yourself would replay everything you did during the previous run. To finish the puzzle, you would need to solve all of the objectives across multiple resets. The main twist is that your previous versions can help you complete the level.
For example, imagine there are three buttons that all need to be pressed at the same time to finish the level. You only have 10 seconds per version, so you can't realistically press all three buttons yourself. Instead, during your first run, you press button 1. The level resets, and your previous version now replays the exact actions you took, meaning it presses button 1 again. While that is happening, you can go and press button 2. The level resets again, and now your first version presses button 1 while your second version presses button 2. You can then go and press button 3. Now all three buttons are being pressed by different versions of yourself, allowing you to complete the puzzle.
That would basically be the main mechanism of the game. The example above would be a simple beginner puzzle designed to teach the player how the mechanic works. As the game progresses, the puzzles would become increasingly difficult. I haven't fully thought out the levels yet, but I think there could be some really interesting combinations and situations where you have to carefully plan out exactly what you are going to do across multiple resets.
When I say "hard," I don't mean difficult platforming or requiring really precise jumps. I mean mentally difficult, where you have to think about your actions several steps ahead and figure out how your different versions can work together.
Later levels could also introduce limitations to make things more complicated. For example, you could have a limited number of versions that you are allowed to create, meaning you can't just keep resetting forever. Another mechanic could be that if you touch one of your past versions, the entire level immediately resets. This would force you to carefully plan your movement and think about where your previous versions are going to be at each point in the level.
There could also be other mechanics built around the idea of interacting with your past actions. The difficulty could come from combining these mechanics together and forcing the player to think about multiple timelines at once.
That's basically the whole mechanism for the game. I think the main thing would be coming up with interesting puzzles that make good use of it rather than just making the levels harder through platforming or reaction time.
I hope my explanation makes sense. I'm not very good at explaining things, so if anything is unclear, comment and I'll explain it.