Gravity Flip

Design Goal
Gravity Flip+ was created to test timing, spatial awareness, and limited control under pressure. The player has just one input — flipping gravity — yet must get it through six timed stages filled with obstacles, prizes, and powerups. The simplicity of the input demonstrates how real mechanical depth can emerge from basic control approaches.

Core Mechanics

Pressing the spacebar flips gravity, which changes the vertical direction of motion.

The player avoids moving and stationary obstacles while collecting crystals and powerups.

Collecting 5 crystals activates slow motion gameplay, and yellow powerups offer hover time (gravity suspension).

Each level lasts 10 seconds, with progressively more difficult speeds and patterns.

Colliding with obstacles ends the game, but surviving all six levels leads to victory.

Design Justification

The main concept, gravity flipping, creates a natural "bouncing" flow, requiring the player to timing flips and read space efficiently. Crystals and hover powerups provide brief agency windows, transforming survival into a cycle of risk and chance. The mechanic clearly matches with the intended purpose, which is to maintain player tension with minimum intervention.

Tools Used:

This game was written entirely in p5.js, with canvas-based graphics and custom object logic (obstacles, timing, and collisions). In addition to base p5 and sound, no extra libraries were required.

Reflection

This project taught me how to design satisfying moment-to-moment gameplay with a single button. In future revisions, I'd like to include variable difficulty, level editor tools, and a scoring system that rewards stylish survival (for example, close calls).