Jam Level Design

Superseded by the cipher-deduction remix. This page is the original jam planning doc (note the placeholder ECHO/DAWN ciphers); the shipped game uses the SUN → ARC → LUX → RAY → SOLAR progression with persistent glyphs. For how the current puzzle mechanics and platform pieces work, and the 10-level roadmap, see Editing Levels. The construction metrics and checkpoint rules below still apply.

Level design goals

The three levels form one short teaching arc:

1. First Signal: learn the resource cycle without enemy pressure.
2. Watcher Hall: learn that sunlight creates target eligibility.
3. Last Transmission: combine movement, exposure, threat, and decoding.

The target first-success run is 10 to 15 minutes. Each level should restart quickly, place checkpoints before combined challenges, and teach through geometry before showing text.

Construction metrics

Build collision on a 36px grid inside a 640x360 internal viewport. This preserves the selected Kenney 18x18px tiles at integer 2x scale. Art may extend beyond the grid, but critical ledges, sunlight boundaries, sensors, and sightline blockers should not.

Element	Baseline
Player collider	About 20x38px
Standard floor height	1 tile minimum
Comfortable gap	2-3 tiles (72-108px)
Precision running jump	4 tiles (144px)
Dash-assisted gap	5-6 tiles (180-216px)
Comfortable ledge rise	1-2 tiles (36-72px)
Shadow refuge	At least 3 tiles (108px) wide
Charge bay	At least 3 tiles (108px) wide or 0.75s of safe dwell time
Sentry warning	0.35s before lethal confirmation

Theoretical movement limits are documented in Physics and Engine Systems. Level geometry should stay below those limits unless the challenge is intentionally a mastery test.

All checkpoints in the jam levels are placed in shadow. This makes respawn deterministic and avoids having to reconstruct sunlight overlaps immediately after teleportation.

Encounter language

Use this shorthand in room plans:

Mark	Meaning
S	Shadow space
L	Sunlight zone
P	Player start or checkpoint
+	Light platform
W	Watcher and sweep area
C	Cipher clue
T	Cipher terminal
X	Exit

A route strip shows encounter order, not exact tile geometry.

Level 1: First Signal

Purpose: establish charge, shadow death, dash cost, light platforms, checkpoints, and a safe cipher.

Target time: 2 to 3 minutes.
Threat budget: no Watchers.
Cipher answer: SUN.

P/S -> L charge bay -> S jump lane -> L dash bay + platform -> P/S -> L clues -> T/S -> X

Room 1A: Waking Cell

• Start at full charge in a three-tile shadow pocket, matching the controller's normal spawn rule.
• Put a visible sunlight shaft one screen-width to the right; no pit or hazard lies between.
• Show movement and jump prompts only after the player moves.
• The charge meter begins draining immediately, then visibly reverses in the beam.
• A low one-tile step confirms jump and collision before any failure gap.

Pass condition: the player enters sunlight and sees that it refills charge.

Room 1B: Measured Crossing

• Alternate one broad sunlight bay with a short shadow lane.
• Place a two-tile gap first, then a four-tile running jump.
• Put a six-tile gap after a charge bay and label dash once the player reaches its edge.
• A light platform supplies the final landing. Its faint anchors are visible from shadow; it becomes solid when the player enters the charge bay.
• Put a shadow checkpoint immediately after the landing.

Failure lesson: spending a dash removes 25 charge, so the next shadow lane begins with less survival time.

Room 1C: Alphabet of Light

• Place three clue plates in separate sunlight shafts around one safe room.
• The terminal sits in a shadow alcove after the clues.
• Opening the terminal pauses charge drain and displays every discovered mapping.
• No clue is missable and no platform challenge separates the terminal from the last clue.

Glyph ID	Reveals
solar_disc	S
open_cup	U
north_needle	N

Terminal sequence: solar_disc, open_cup, north_needle.

Completion: solving SUN opens the exit shutters and plays the signal phrase once.

Level 2: Watcher Hall

Purpose: teach sentry sweep timing, immediate concealment in shadow, multi-clue recall, and route planning around exposure.

Target time: 3 to 4 minutes.
Threat budget: one Watcher scene reused in two rooms, never two active sightlines at once.
Cipher answer: ECHO.

P/S -> L sightline W -> S alcove -> L crossing -> P/S -> L platform W -> S clue route -> T/S -> X

Room 2A: The First Sweep

• Frame a seven-tile sunlight corridor between two shadow walls.
• A fixed Watcher sweeps left to right and back on a 2.4s cycle.
• A three-tile shadow alcove interrupts the corridor at its midpoint.
• The first sweep cannot kill the player at the entrance; it demonstrates the cone and warning pulse.
• If the player reaches the alcove during acquisition, targeting cancels immediately.

Pass condition: cross the corridor using the shadow alcove, not by tanking damage.

Room 2B: Exposed Bridge

• Place a shadow checkpoint before the room.
• A sunlight bay activates two short light platforms over a pit.
• The Watcher sightline covers the platforms but not the charge bay entrance.
• The route requires waiting for the sweep, charging, then committing to a jump and optional dash.
• The far landing is shadow and wide enough for the player to stop safely.

Design check: the platform route must remain visible through faint anchors before it becomes solid.

Room 2C: Echo Chamber

• Put four clue plates on a loop with two sunlight exposures and one central shadow refuge.
• Reuse the Watcher with a slower 3.0s sweep so observation, not reaction speed, solves the room.
• Place the terminal in shadow next to the exit.

Glyph ID	Reveals
split_ring	E
relay_fork	C
low_horizon	H
glass_lens	O

Terminal sequence: split_ring, relay_fork, low_horizon, glass_lens.

The repeated sound and circular imagery in the room hint at the word ECHO, but the mappings remain sufficient without guessing.

Level 3: Last Transmission

Purpose: require confident use of every core system and deliver the visual payoff.

Target time: 4 to 6 minutes.
Threat budget: two Watchers maximum, separated by solid sightline blockers.
Cipher answer: DAWN.

P/S -> alternating L/S ascent -> W dash lane -> P/S -> L platform array W -> P/S -> split clues -> T/S -> X/win

Room 3A: Broken Array

• Begin with an alternating ascent of two-tile ledges, light shafts, and three-tile shadow pockets.
• Use two overlapping sunlight zones in one wide beam. This looks ordinary to the player but verifies overlap counting.
• End with a six-tile dash-assisted lane covered by a Watcher sweep.
• A shadow landing and checkpoint follow the lane.

Intent: the player now chooses whether to spend charge to beat the sweep or wait in a limited shadow pocket.

Room 3B: Mirror Chamber

• Show three light platforms as a clear diagonal route across an open chamber.
• The activation sunlight occupies the route itself, keeping the player exposed while platforms are solid.
• A Watcher sweeps the upper half; stone pillars break its sightline at two planned pauses.
• A fall returns the player to the room entrance rather than killing them where possible.
• Put a second shadow checkpoint after the chamber.

Pass condition: read anchors, charge, traverse under the sweep, and reach shadow with enough reserve for the clue route.

Room 3C: Four Bearings

• Split four clues across two short branches from a central shadow hub.
• Each branch contains one sunlight traversal and one mapping pair.
• Do not add a new enemy or movement rule here; the challenge is route order and charge budgeting.
• Return both branches to the same shadow terminal so the player cannot become lost.

Glyph ID	Reveals
prism	D
eastern_arch	A
double_wave	W
north_star	N

Terminal sequence: prism, eastern_arch, double_wave, north_star.

Completion: solving DAWN rotates the station mirrors, sends one large beam beyond the level, and transitions to the win screen.

Checkpoint and failure placement

• Never place a checkpoint inside sunlight or a Watcher sightline.
• Checkpoint after a teaching success, not before the player has seen the rule.
• Keep the retry path under five seconds for a single encounter.
• Use pit resets for local movement mistakes and full charge death for resource mistakes.
• Do not force the player to re-enter a solved cipher after death.

Playtest questions

Record answers, not just completion time:

• Did the player understand why the meter changed direction?
• Did they see inactive platform anchors before committing?
• Did shadow cancel a Watcher quickly enough to feel reliable?
• Did any checkpoint create an unwinnable low-charge restart?
• Could the player reconstruct the cipher without memorizing off-screen clues?
• Which gap was mistaken for dash-required or dash-optional?
• Did terminal pause feel like relief or break the game's rhythm?

Jam fallback: one vertical slice

If First Signal is not complete at the Day 1 gate, build one five-room level:

1. Charge tutorial from Room 1A.
2. Dash and light platform from Room 1B.
3. First sweep from Room 2A.
4. Exposed bridge from Room 2B.
5. A three-letter SUN cipher followed by the final signal effect.

This preserves the entire game identity with one Watcher, one checkpoint, three clues, one terminal, and one polished ending.