Dancing with the Rain

My first completed game, created from scratch in just 11 days. It was made for the Technology Student Association's state level game design competition, earning 3rd place. The requirements were:

-The game will only be played for 20 minutes

-The game must be 5 levels long

-The game must have educational or social value

To work around those restrictions, I made the game so you cannot lose. Instead,  you try to meet a goal and if you make a mistake, you lose the ability to make progress for a few seconds. If you take too long, the game moves on automatically. 

The game is a side-scrolling platformer where you're always moving forwards. Each of the first four levels introduces a new mechanic that persists throughout the rest of the game, starting with rain drops you need to avoid, then platforms you need to navigate, then coins you must collect and finally you have to deal with the floor slowing falling behind you. The final level is a set piece that slowly removes each mechanic in reverse order, ending with a final challenge that's identical to the first level, but sped up considerably. 

This game is far from great, but does have some interesting design that's worth analyzing:

What's Good:

-I'm actually pretty happy with the story. It's a bit "I am 14 and this is deep", but I really like the rain representing fear, which after time and reflection it's something we come to accept and overcome. 

-The game uses its mechanics in clever ways. In particular there was a cool moment in the 4th stage, where blocks are slowly deleted behind you, where you're met with wall that seems impossible to pass. In order to get around it, you have to jump just as blocks are deleted where you're standing, so it deletes the massive wall and lets you pass. 

What's Bad:

-The game is incredibly difficult in an unfair way. The room you have to navigate platforms is too small to realistically avoid rain drops, plus your jump is almost comically large. There's also several places where you essentially have to have foreknowledge to properly  platform your way through, even ignoring the rain. This game more than anything else taught me that you are your own worst playtester, as you will be one of the best players of your game as a virtue of just having played it so many times to make sure everything works.