The Dev Can't Beat This

Theme Interpretation

The theme for GMTKJam 2020 was Out of Control. The interpretation was that player movement/keybinds are out of the player's control. Every time you load a level your controls will be shuffled. Try to beat the levels as fast as you can and get the highest score!

The other interpretation that was absolutely not intended was that very early on it became apparent that the game could not be tested by the developer as it was intended to be played. The developer cannot beat this game.

A friend played the game and gave feedback on controls and levels. They beat the game. Therefore at least 1 person can finish this game. Cons of being unable to test your own game:

• All the levels were designed to be beatable using NORMAL controls and no timer. True difficulty of levels was unknown until friend played.
• Development of the game is based on friend's schedule who was never intending to help out with the jam. i.e. short window to get feedback
• All feedback on controls and game feel is based on what they said.
• The game was basically designed for 1 person alone. Hopefully others are like this person and can beat it.

Other Notes

The title may sound like clickbait but the developer of the game actually cannot beat it because:

1. They don't play platformers
2. Therefore they are very bad at platformers to begin with
3. They don't have good hand-eye coordination with a keyboard
4. With the keys shifting every level they can't get past the third one
5. They are an idiot sandwich

Also you are a cube because its funny to keep it that way. It also may or may not help with judging distances.

Warning: This game might be incredibly frustrating for people like me.

Controls

They will shuffle while you play. The valid keys are: 

• Left Arrow
• Right Arrow
• Up Arrow
• Down Arrow
• Space Bar

Credits

• Developer: https://twitter.com/paigemarincak/
• Tester: My friend Jessica
• Special Thanks: Ben & Cie for letting me bounce ideas off of them

Assets Used

• Tileset: https://s4m-ur4i.itch.io/huge-pixelart-asset-pack
• Fonts: https://twitter.com/castpixel
• SFX: https://jdwasabi.itch.io/8-bit-16-bit-sound-effects-pack
• BGM: https://dos88.itch.io/dos-88-music-library

Tools

• Game Engine: Game Maker Studio 2

Scoring

Score is determined by:

(Seconds given to complete the level - Seconds taken to complete the level) * 2

Then clamped to positive values only.

Note: Seconds taken to complete includes when the level reset. If it took 2+ tries to clear, the score for the level is 0. i.e. The more perfect your run the higher the score.

6 levels @ 30 seconds (180) + 2 levels @ 90 seconds (180) = 360

Being a human ratio = 0.6

360 * 2 * 0.6= 432

Reasonable Max: 432

Tester Recorded Max: 417