Deadcenter

Deadcenter is a fast, minimal browser timing game built with React and Vite. The goal is simple: stop the moving dot as close to the target as possible. The patterns start readable, then get mean.

Features

• One-input gameplay: click/tap or press Space to stop.
• Press Space on the menu to instantly launch your selected run.
• Unified run builder: click a difficulty to grab the full set, or click individual levels to build a custom run.
• 20 levels across 4 difficulty tiers — 5 levels per tier.
• Warmup support with optional skip toggle.
• Day mode and mute controls in settings.
• Momentum system that ramps up on harder levels (up to 4× speed on impossible).
• Score feedback, difficulty badges, and end-of-run grading.
• Built-in synth/chiptune-style music that intensifies with difficulty.

Levels

I — Easy

Level	Mechanic
warm up	slow horizontal bounce, stop on the circle
steady	faster horizontal bounce, center it
sway	smooth sine drift, release at center
float	very slow circular orbit, stop at 12 o'clock
cruise	slow 2D bounce, hit the bullseye
drop	straight vertical fall with gentle gravity, stop at the bottom

II — Medium

Level	Mechanic
diagonal	diagonal travel with gravity buildup
orbit	circular orbit, momentum ramps
2d bounce	random 2D path, gains speed
counter orbit	orbit with a counter-rotating target
ripple	dot and target both sway at different rates — find the overlap

III — Hard

Level	Mechanic
chaos	direction snaps randomly, speed compounds
crossfire	tiny precision moving target, fast dot
blind	dot goes dark — feel the rhythm
moving target	dot and target both move independently
eclipse	moving target + blinking dot

∞ — Impossible

Level	Mechanic
ghost	nearly invisible — trust instinct
vortex	pulsing spiral orbit + rotating target
phase orbit	orbital dot phases in and out + live rotating target
abyss	2D bounce but nearly invisible — aim blind in 2D
collapse	extreme chaos (snaps every 2–6 frames) + precision moving target

Scoring

Each level scores 0–100 based on how close to the target you stopped. End-of-run grades:

Average	Grade
90–100	DEAD CENTER
75–89	SHARP
55–74	DECENT
35–54	SHAKY
0–34	NEEDS WORK

How To Play

1. Open the game.
2. Click a difficulty to select the full tier, or click individual levels to build your run.
3. Press Space or click PLAY to start.
4. Stop the dot on the target with a click, tap, or Space.
5. Survive all levels and check your grade.

Tech Stack

• React 19
• Vite 8
• Plain component-level styling in App.jsx
• Web Audio API for synth music and sound effects
• GitHub Pages deployment via the docs/ output

Development

From the deadcenter folder:

npm install
npm run dev

Build for production:

npm run build
npm run preview

Project Structure

• deadcenter/src/App.jsx — game logic, level definitions, audio, scoring, UI
• deadcenter/src/main.jsx — React entry point
• deadcenter/package.json — scripts and dependencies
• deadcenter/public/ — static assets
• docs/ — built output used for GitHub Pages deployment

Notes

• Audio can be muted from settings (⚙ icon top-right).
• The game works on both desktop and mobile browsers.
• docs/ is the production build — do not edit it directly.