Lose Control POSTMORTEM

Lose Control is a 2d platformer with only one level, but the controls change each time. The idea for the game I actually had been thinking about for a while; I nicknamed it “Control Hell” and it starts out like a normal 2D platformer and then you fall into hell where you are trying to escape from the devil while the controls keep switching on you. It would be a fast-paced side scrolling platformer that would force the player to keep moving and learn the new controls fast, while dying a lot like a rage game. 

On Leap Day there happened to be a game jam dedicated to the platformers which I thought would be the perfect chance to spend one day creating a small game using this idea. The theme of the jam was “incongruous” which also worked well with the controls being displayed on screen, out of place for most games but necessary to pay attention for this one. Because of the restrictions of the game jam, only one level was allowed, so I would just make the controls switch every time you beat it. For typical WASD controls, I had the idea that while W is jump, S would be falling through the platform, and so tried to include a spot where you would need to fall through to continue as well as go both right and left. This way you would be forced to learn all the controls each time.  

The game jam featured Kenney game assets so I used those to make the game. They are very cute assets so I found some nice peaceful music to go with it as well, as a funny juxtaposition with the frustrating difficulty of the switching controls.

Figuring out how to make this mechanic of the controls switching was very fun. I did it by saving the KeyCode for up, down, left, and right as variables in the Player Controller and then the Game Manager could just change what those values were for the different letter keys.  

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Level 2, first control switch is standard, a flip of the up/down and left/right keys. 

Level 3, I turned the controls 90 degrees so D is up, W/S is left/right and A is down. 

Level 4, this was the first really evil control switch as every 3 seconds the controls will switch from normal WASD to backwards. This can cause you to start going left when you meant right and fall, or fall through the platform when you meant to jump. It’s also tricky to pay attention to which controls are active and switching between the two systems. This is where it’s more fun to try and pass through these levels as fast as you can, because it’s not too hard if you’re just patient here with only moving when it’s WASD. 

Level 5, the first big switch from the standard of WASD to A, D, Q, and E. 

Level 6, I imagined the player always using one hand so I start making the keys progressively farther apart, this time at E, A, T, J. 

Level 7, now it’s not even letters, but the numbers in a straight line of 1, 2, 3, 4. 

Level 8, I wanted to choose the letters furthest apart on the keyboard, while matching the WASD appearance, so T is up, Z is left, V is down, M is right. 

Level 9, this is where things get really crazy progressing into the final level. Every three seconds, along the top two rows of the keyboard, the controls shift over by one. So, WASD becomes ESDF becomes RDFG etc. and trying to move right, which is most of the level, instead makes you fall through the platform (if you don’t switch quick enough).

Level 10, after level 9 what is the big finale after that for the final level? The most difficult control scheme? Using space to jump LOL. I am strongly opinionated that arrow keys or WASD is the best control scheme, so I set up the joke of increasingly bad control schemes to say that platformers that force you to use space to jump is the worst one. 

It ranked overall #34 out of the 83 entries, as well as getting fifth place for the “Controls” category. Later I added a speedrun clock to encourage going quickly through the levels and particle effects from my learning with another game Micro Metroidvania. Overall a very unique idea for a game and I’m very happy with how it’s turned out.