Rushing Pulse
Rushing Pulse is a 2D platformer that uses a strategic combination of mechanics to mimic the feeling of anxiety. Players navigate challenging levels as a character grappling with long-term anxiety, uncovering their inner strength through each trial.
Key Features:
Atmospheric platformer gameplay.
Unique levels reflecting different aspects of anxiety.
Philosophical inspirations shaping mechanics and story.
Story Background
A young protagonist, burdened by anxiety, dreams of escaping to a perfect utopia. Falling into a fairytale world, she meets a guide who promises her rebirth if she overcomes trials—manifestations of her inner struggles.
Along the way, she realizes the guide is her subconscious, embodying her resilience and wisdom. Embracing her fears and growth, she chooses to return to reality, finding strength in life’s complexities.
Anxiety is a common affliction of our times. As someone who has long struggled with frequent anxiety and even panic attacks, I didn’t take it seriously until I realized how profoundly it was affecting me—manifesting as physical symptoms tied to my mental state.
Through this game, I aim to simulate the experience of anxiety, helping players understand its symptoms and impact. Drawing inspiration from Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Chinese philosophies like Confucianism and Taoism, the game also explores solutions, encouraging players to discover their inner strength to confront and overcome anxiety.
Why This Game
Core Mechanics
Countdown Mechanic
Linear Progression
Reduced Death Penalty
Moderate to High Skill Requirement
A countdown timer adds urgency and pressure, driving the fast-paced and anxiety-inducing gameplay.
Players follow a fixed, forward-moving path, emphasizing continuous progression without backtracking.
Failure comes with minimal consequences, encouraging players to retry and experiment without losing momentum.
The game demands precise controls and strategic execution, creating a satisfying challenge for players while amplifying the sense of anxiety through high-stakes gameplay.
Main Characters
The Protagonist (Player Character)
The Protagonist is an ordinary individual overwhelmed by anxiety and longing for a life without pain.
Dragged into a surreal fantasy world, The Protagonist is offered a chance to reach an ideal world—if they can overcome a series of trials. Through this journey, The Protagonist faces their deepest fears and uncovers the inner strength needed to reclaim their life.
The Guider (Non Player Character)
The Guider is a cryptic and enigmatic presence, offering wisdom and direction throughout the trials.
Calm yet mysterious, The Guider’s guidance feels both reassuring and unsettling. Ultimately, it is revealed that The Guider is a manifestation of The Protagonist’s subconscious, embodying their inner resilience and the power to confront their fears.
Level 1
Escape Mediocrity
Sludge
Breakable Wall"Reality is a flux, an endless becoming that is beyond words and language—all language is metaphor, useful to us but ultimately detached from reality."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
The first trial begins in a modern, rain-soaked city. The streets are slick with sludge, the air damp and heavy, and towering walls block the way at every turn.
This city is a reflection of The Protagonist’s repetitive routine in reality—a monotonous existence where each day feels the same, each obstacle insurmountable.
Just when the path seems hopeless, The Guider intervenes, bestowing a powerful ability: Dash. This newfound power allows The Protagonist to surge forward with determination, shattering walls and crossing gaps that once seemed impossible.
The Dash ability becomes a metaphor for breaking free from stagnation and taking decisive action to overcome life’s challenges. With this ability, The Protagonist begins to see glimmers of hope in the distance, propelling them further into the unknown.
Waking up from a nightmare, The Protagonist found theirselves in a mysterious world ... After a familiar panic attack streaks, they met The Guider, who told them passing the trail, they can find a new world.
Walk
Jump
DashLevel 2
Fog of Uncertainty
Flashing Platform
Spike"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security."
-- John Allen Paulos
This surreal setting reflects The Protagonist’s fear of uncertainty—anxiety over unstable ground and the unknown.
The world above the clouds is constantly shifting. Pathways appear and disappear without warning, and strange, floating objects obstruct the way.
Just as despair sets in, The Guider appears, offering the ability to Glide: to move forward, they must embrace the act of falling—not as failure, but to learn control.
Emerging from the rain-drenched city, The Protagonist appears high up in the sky, walking on narrow, precarious platforms made of shifting clouds and fragmented pathways.
GlideLevel 3
Relentless Competition
Cloudsey"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."
-- Lao Tzu
