CTIN 389 - Week 01: Black Hole
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
Keep moving. Keep jumping. Keep going right.
A 60-second 2D runner about the habits we learn when something follows us. Clear a tightening sequence of obstacles while a ghost stays close behind. The game teaches you one way forward, then asks what happens when that way runs out.
Created by David Bao for CTIN 389, Week 01. A short prototype built around expectation, action, and an earned payoff.
How to play
- Space - Jump. Hold for a higher jump.
- A - Slow down or move left.
- Play with sound. Allow about one minute for a run.
Available for Windows and macOS. The full 56-second gameplay recording is included in the downloads; it contains the ending.
Design notes - spoilers. Play first.
The central reversal is not a plot twist: it challenges the player's muscle memory. Familiar auto-runner conventions establish "I can only escape to the right." Repetition makes that expectation physical before the dead end forces the player to reconsider it.
The intended rhythm moves from an opening setup, through roughly 40 seconds of increasingly tight obstacles, into a sudden stop and a final reversal. Eight obstacles, shrinking gaps, and rising speed build pressure without adding another core action. Variable jump height, coyote time, and input buffering support that single jumping verb.
A changes meaning. During the run, slowing down brings the ghost closer, making the key feel dangerous. At the wall, moving back makes the ghost retreat. The player reinterprets an existing action instead of unlocking a new ability.
The payoff is silence: the persistent low hum cuts out when the ghost flees. Unrelated jump-scare sounds and an explanatory laugh were removed so that the reversal could emerge from the established rules. Right-leaning environmental cues reinforce the habit that the player eventually breaks.
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