Time Flies Like An Arrow

Time Flies Like An Arrow is the game I developed for the playdate as part of https://itch.io/jam/playjam-4. The theme was "Your Time is Up". The original PJ4 game is available for free at https://ianharrowergames.itch.io/time-flies-like-an-arrow-pj4. This is a fleshed out, complete version of that playjam game.

You play as a newly recruited Time Fly, an elite squad of time cops. You are chasing down suspects for violating time crimes. Collect time arrow to extend the stability of the time stream and reach the suspect. But there is a catch. In order to capture them, you need to once again travel in time and replay the stream with a second copy of yourself. Finally capturing the suspect by hitting it simultaneously from both sides.

The game features 12 levels, each with unique characters which are parodies of pop culture characters and time travel tropes (I think I am safely on the parody side of things here).  The art is hand drawn by me (from generative AI reference images based on my character ideas).

The story is full of cheap puns, and deep cuts of pop culture and historical references. I find it entertaining, but it might not resonate with everyone :)

How to Install

See the official instructions for how to install this on your device.

Don't own a playdate? You can play the game in the simulator if you like. Check out https://play.date/dev/

How to play

• Control your fly using the left and right directional buttons.
  • Think of the movement like thrusters on a spaceship. While it is pressed you accelerate. You loose velocity very slowly when not accelerating. Small taps of the buttons work better than holding them down for long periods of time.
  • Anticipate your need to change direction and start the move early.
  • You can use the crank to steer, but it is really hard.
• Collecting arrows will extend the time until collapse for a short time.
• Hitting a banana will reduce the time until collapse significantly
• When time resets, your past self (Left) will replay its inputs. You can hit your past self, and this is generally bad and should be avoided.
• Capture the suspect by touching simultaneously from both sides.
• The replay is not perfect. You will end up rarely hitting some bananas you dodged the first time. I know this is frustrating. It frustrates me for many reasons. I have tuned the levels to account for this variability. They can all be passed.

  
  

  • I have some ideas on how I could have done this better if I was to restart, but this was a playjam game, and an exploration of this idea. I think the game is still fun even with this limitation.

General Comments

• If you get stuck and want to experience the story, try enabling "Story Mode" which will tune the parameters to make the levels much easier (you may still get stuck)
• A fast playthrough of the entire game is probably something like 12-16 minutes. However, I believe I have tuned the difficulty so that you are expected to fail, and repeat levels, learning the patterns. It may be too hard. But that is why there is story mode. Hopefully it is not too easy, it isn't for me.
• I find "Story Mode" + Crank input to be an alternative way to try the game.
• As this was a PlayJam game to start, there is a lot about it that is silly and really just the first thing that jumped into my head.
• Why am I charging for this? I want to value my time, and I would like you to do the same.  You are welcome to try the PlayJam submission for free.

This game uses the following:

• https://github.com/PizzaFuel/pdDialogue licensed under MIT
• https://github.com/RobertCurry0216/roomy-playdate licensed under MIT
• Playdate SDK under license https://play.date/dev/sdk-license/