In an eternal struggle between opposites—love and hate, goodand evil, yin and yang—endless battles have left only a void.
As the final Intergalactic Cosmic Analysis & Reconnaissance
Unmanned Surveyor, your mission is to venture as close to theedge of the Universe as you dare… but don’t get too close!
With only a few opposites of your own to help—fast and slow,
inside and outside, full and empty—you must plug the gap
between everything and nothing to restore the cosmic balance.

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GAMEPLAY
Score points by flying close to the edge of the screen,
but not too close! Colliding will drop mines & makethings more difficult. Fly through the centre area toregain energy and generate power-ups. Turning uses up
energy and energy is limited, but there are ways torecover energy.
The game could be considered a racer where the track
gets narrower as you progress. Or maybe it’s an endlessrunner. Or even an avoid-’em-up.
Perhaps it’s all of those?
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CONTROLSThis game uses the D-pad and the A and B buttons.
The Crank is completely optional but can be usedinstead of D-pad left/right.

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Menu

GameⒶ START✛ 🎣 TURNⒷ SCORE BOARD✛Ⓐ ACCELERATE✛ PAGE✛Ⓑ DECELERATE

06

TUTORIAL
The game launches with an interactive tutorial enabled.
Events in the first game you play will trigger tutorial
messages to inform you about what has just happened,
and most of the action pauses whilst the message is onscreen. In that first game you’ll only see each of thosemessages once. Further events of the same type willshow a different message and the action will not pause,and these are the messages that show when thetutorial is not active.
The tutorial can be toggled at any time by locking yourPlaydate twice whilst the game menu is displayed.
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FLOWOPPOSITES• fly near the edge

Many of the game mechanics were designed around theconcept of opposites, here are some examples:• charge power-up• release power-up

EdgeCentre• avoid/destroy mines

Speed upSlow down• keep the edge clear

Score points

Don’t score points

Charge power-up

Release power-up

RiskySafe• collect/destroy power-ups• conserve your energy• regain energy• survive for as long as possible
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COLLISIONSPOWER-UPS

When you hit the edge of the screen your direction isreflected. If you hit it at an angle you’ll generally keep
going the same way but moving angled away from theedge. This means if you hit the edge straight on you’llturn around and go the back in the opposite direction.

After you’ve charged a power-up your ship will start totwinkle. This means you can return to the centre area andrelease a power-up.

Hitting the edge also reduces your energy, and drops amine on the play area. Mine pollute the play area andmake it more difficult to get close to the edge. And
mines will explode if they are hit by anything!
After a collision you are temporarily invincible
for a short while.
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However, the type of power-up released will depend on
how many power-ups are currently on screen. Their orderis revealed below.
Shield ➡ Speed Up ➡ Slow Down ➡ Cloak ➡ Invert ➡ ?
Each power-up can be considered both good and bad,having both pros and cons, in keeping with the opposites.
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ShieldSpeed Down

• can prevent energy loss in edge collision• decreases your speed by 50 m/s• can destroy mine, recovers energy and shrinks centre• max speed is 399 m/s• can destroy other power-ups• prevents pickup and release of other power-ups

Cloak• allows you to pass through a wall, one-time use

Speed Up• increases your speed by 50 m/s• minimum speed is 200 m/s
13Invert• this one is purely cosmetic
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POWER-UP PROGRESSIONSCORE SYSTEM

If you get a shield and use it immediately, the next
power-up will also be a shield. This seems reasonableas the shield is quite useful, but some of the later
power-ups are key to higher scoring.

Score calculation is dynamic and based on your current
speed and proximity to the edge. So, you score most by
going very fast, very close to the edge. If you go slow, very
close to the edge, you won’t score as much. And if you govery fast, far from the edge, you also won’t score as much.
So there is risk and reward and a fine balance that needs
to be achieved.

So, you need to juggle the power-ups to get the later
ones. You might even want to strategically destroy apower-up rather than use it.
Be sure to explore and understand the abilities andeffects of each power-up.

15SCORE BOARD
New best scores are submitted to an online score board.
You can view the score board from the game menu.
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17

STRATEGIES

Dare Devil

The game can be played in a number of ways, using a
number of strategies. Below are a few examples that are
named so as to make them more memorable.

• max speed

Bomb Diffuser

Treasure Hunter• get shields• move between edge and centre frequently• clear mines• be picky about power-ups• slow and steady• use the shield and cloak• avoid mines• fast and reckless

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TIPS
• Let go of the controls to let the ship correct its course• Power-ups release at your current direction and speed

MUSIC
The music is dynamic and evolves as you play. The
longer your game lasts the more of the music you’ll hear.
The currently unlocked amount of music is remembered
between games, but not between game launches.

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CREDITS• A game by Matt Sephton• Music by watson @ MusMus

THANKS• Cover/promo artwork by Vxcl
https://www.instagram.com/vxclhd/
Manual edition: 2024‑02‑292122

A GAME BY MATT SEPHTON