I began to lose CTRL, a puzzle game without global puzzle design.

Hi there,

I am proud to see that  'I began to lose CTRL' finished 73th of 5400 entries of GMTK jam 2020.

Currently in a period where it is hard to participate in jams, with limited time, I usually follow the approach of first intention. Not really a method, but rather a design process that I have to put up with, and make the best out of it. I make a choice, stick to it, no do overs.

When the theme was revealed, I immediately thought of the song 'Jealous guy' and slept on it.

I took a walk all morning to try to think of a game that would accomodate both the theme and somehow match the song. Instead of taking lyrics here and there, I picked sentences in the order they were presented (skipping redundant ones) and went with the flow.  Of course skipping this or that sentence allowed me to have somewhat control over level rythm and game progression, and shaping the song to a slightly different meaning.

As for the audio area, I used some short melodies inspired from the song, as well as a short out of tune portion. Also, each press of CTRL button is also making each time a different version of the melody, never correct.

But this is only gimmicks, as the core of the design is through the lyrics. I could go on and on, I will only summarize the main design choices.

If you intend to play the game, I advise you to read this afterwards

Level 1 "I BEGAN TO LOSE CTRL"

• An obvious beginning fitting for a tutorial level > everything it still fine as you learn character controls for movement

Level 2 "I was dreaming of the past"

• This is also a tutorial level, and the last level in the whole game where time is not counted. I felt it matched reminicence of better times. You learn that control of entities (player or cactuses) can be switched with a press of CTRL button.

Level 3 "And my heart was beating fast"

• Time is now counted whenever you switch, introducing a stressful element.

Level 4 "I didn't mean to hurt you"

• Introduces monsters entities that you can also control. They hurt the yellow character, but can also be hurt by cactuses. Difficulty is spiking a lot in this level.

Level 5 "I'm sorry that I made you cry"

• Introduces ghost entities that go through walls but are blocked by flowers. I imagined the ghosts to be harmful thoughts. Probably biggest difficulty spike.

Level 6 "I'm just a jealous GUI"

• Outside of the bad pun, you control players, foes, and for the first time walls. I wanted the shaping of the world to suit your needs as a metaphor for jealousy.

Level 7 "I was feeling insecure"

• In this one, every cycle of the wheel you have less time to accomplish your goals. You are limited by cactuses that block your way, that can only be pushed with more impatience.

Level 8 "You might not love me anymore"

• Very simply, in this one you do not control the character but only the flag. Since in the end, the flag reaches the character, the sentence is false, only a projection of insecurity.

Level 9 "I was shivering inside"

• The character is first stuck into an 'ice' block. But that very block is the key component for both protection from foes, and the mean to reach the objective

Level 10 "Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you"

• In this level, you will most likely fail the first time and perhaps a few more. You have to fail once, take the time to analyze before reseting, then do the level in a delibarate manner, pushing back danger after danger.

Level 11 "I was trying to catch your eyes"

• You move the perspective, the character is unable to move properly where you cannot see before hand.

Level 12 "Thought that you was trying to hide"

• This is kind of a respite before the end. A small where is waldo pause, with easy execution. The character is hidden as well as the flag, it goes both ways.

Level 13 "I was swallowing my pain"

• The character has to 'die' in a precise spot, and slide to the goal. It cannot be random, only a chosen action.

Level 14 "I'm sorry that I made you cry"

• The character is still in a dead state, and flag once again has to fall to it.

Level 15 "I'm just a jealous GUI"

• You slide to a bed, reviving the character. Your rebirth is short lived, as you have to die in another spot, then revive one last time to reach the goal.

And the character finally rests, temporarily or not is up to you, but the bed is there to project some peace of mind as closure.

While I am happy with the result, this design has flaws for the strict puzzle genre. One mechanic can be used, then never appear again. Some levels offer extra moves, and useless moves, dictated rather by the poetic rythm rather than the 'all fit together' rule (a puzzle has a set number of pieces, clicking together and never discarded). 

I think this is counter-intuitive and might have irked some. Still, I remain convinced that more creators could gain from intentionally disregarding some design rules.

If you took the time to read, I'd like to know your thoughts!