Not That Side

A fast-paced brain-bending reaction game where directions lie. Swipe, tap, or move—but not that side. As rules twist and commands trick you, staying calm is the real challenge.

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Inspiration

I was inspired by the chaotic fun of fast-paced logic games like "Not Not" and the challenge of the Stroop effect. We wanted to build a game that tests not just reaction time, but also cognitive flexibility—forcing players to constantly switch between spatial reasoning, logic parsing, and color association in a split second.

What it does

Not That Side is a deceptive logic puzzle game where the only enemy is your own brain.

Core Loop: A command appears (e.g., "UP", "NOT DOWN", "RED"), and you have a split second to swipe or press the correct direction. Logic Puzzles: Instructions get progressively harder, using logic gates like AND, OR, and nested NOTs (e.g., "NOT (LEFT OR RIGHT)"). Color Matching: The sides of the box are colored (Red=Top, Blue=Bottom, etc.), and the game challenges you to match colors or ignore them based on text color traps. The "Nothing" Trap: Some levels require you to do absolutely nothing. If the command is "NOTHING" or refers to a non-existent color like "PINK", you must wait out the timer. Leaderboard: Compete for the fastest time to clear 50 levels in our "Speedrun" mode.

How I built it

Built with React and TypeScript for a robust and type-safe codebase, powered by Vite for fast development. Used Tailwind CSS to create a responsive, mobile-first design with complex animations (shakes, glows, pulses) handled via custom CSS keyframes. Implemented a unified input system that handles both keyboard (WASD/Arrows) for desktop and custom Swipe gestures for mobile, ensuring a native-like experience on all devices.

Challenges we ran into

Touch Mechanics: Getting mobile swipe controls to feel "snappy" without triggering native browser scrolling was a major hurdle.

What's next for Not That Side

Accessibility Modes: Adding color-blind modes to ensure the color-matching levels are accessible to everyone. Multiplayer Versus: A mode where two players race against the same stream of commands, sending "distractions" (screen shakes, inverted colors) to their opponent upon completing streaks.

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