Missing Direction

Find the missing arrow. Press the right direction. Don't blink. 

Missing Direction is a fast-paced reaction puzzle game for Playdate that starts simple and quickly spirals into chaos.

Normal:  Progress through 18 levels and get points for the right answer. Get extra points for being fast and when building up your bonus streak. Get it wrong and your time is melting like butter in the sun. 

Speedrun: Survive as many rounds as you can. Levels are picked at random and each round lasts just 5 seconds to answer. A wrong answer or running out of time ends your run instantly. No points, no bonuses, no bombs and no time to gain back.

Chaos: Things get crazy. Reach a highscore with time running twice as fast, hard levels only and no way to gain back time. Bombs and bonuses are still available. Good luck!

• A variety of levels with increasing difficulty. Always continue where you left off.

• Surprising gameplay elements like flipping tiles.

• Running low on time? Crank the crank to swap your hard earned points for a bit more breathing room.

• Bombs earned by progression used to clear up your field of view when things get crazy.
  

I really had fun building this game. If you gave my first game AVAVA a try, you will see this game came a long way... 

If you like action heavy puzzle games that quickly become addictive "Missing Direction" is for you. I continuously pick it up for quick rounds during the day (let me know if you managed to beat my Speedrun score of 103!) and already have some ideas on extending the game for some updates, specifically with new levels. I as well would love to eventually have some form of global highscore in the game if that is possible. 

I hope you find as much fun in playing this as I do, and have found in building it. 

Happy playing all!

What is the goal of the game?

This should have been clear by now but: You are looking at a collection of tiles. You will see three different arrow directions corresponding to the directions of the d-pad. You press the missing direction. It really is that simple!

What role do points and time play?

You earn points and time back onto your timer for the right answer. Wrong answers deduct time. Points and time may be different in the different modes, and are as well affected by getting a bonus streak for example. Rule of thumb: Wrong answers cost more time than right answers getting it back to you. So don't just button smash.

How can I make more points then?

Getting five right answers in a row builds up your bonus streak multiplier. It is shown to you on the right. Wile by default a right answer may get you 10 points only, getting a 2x multiplier will now get you 20 points for a right answer. This is how you truly crack the highscore. Getting a wrong answer? Too bad, you are back to 10 points.

Anything that will help me?

Well, there are two things in the game that will make your life more easy.

Bombs

Together with your bonus streak increasing, you are getting a bomb added to the three you start with. Pressing B detonates one and clears a fair amount of tiles from your screen to help you parse the tiles better. If you ask me: I would keep them for later rounds where things get busy but it is totally up to you when to use them.

The Crank

A bit of a no brainer but of course use the crank is a thing! At least in normal mode. Use it to get time back onto the clock by cranking fast! Sounds like unlimited money? You wish my friend. You aren't getting time back for free and I am not just talking about pure muscle power here. You are swapping hard earned points for time. And guess what: Are you doing well and having an amazing multiplier work in your favour? Well, it will work against you in that case, so be mindful about when you should try cranking to get more time.

Who is this game for?

I believe games are for everyone. My three year old helped me testing by pressing the right button for me on the playdate (after me telling her which one it is. She gets up and down quite well, left and right is still somewhat of a challenge in times). Would I claim this game is suited for three year olds though? Not really. This game features fast moving and flashing visuals. Some people may be sensitive to this type of content. In that case this may not be the right fit for you. The core mechanic is about quickly grasping visual patterns and reacting accordingly. While things start simple, they as well can get intense eventually. It is part of the fun though!

I feel I have seen this game before...

I would be surprised, but you are not entirely wrong here! As the spiritual successor to AVAVA, a pulp build game winning the Play Jam in 2022, it follows the same simple premise: Find the missing direction amongst the arrows shown on screen and press it on the d-pad. 

I have more questions and thoughts...

Awesome! You can reach out to me on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram and Reddit under @rantdomly. Like the game? Tell me! Don't like it? Tell me as well!