So as we are approaching the end of the Jam!, I wanted to leave a small devlog, a look behind the curtain for anyone who played Error State, wondered what it meant, felt lost inside its loops or simply did not resonate with it!

If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend playing first. Below this point, spoilers begin.

Interpreting “Timeless”:

Error State was built for the Unity 20th Anniversary Jam as a short atmospheric piece about continuity, purpose, and participation. The theme Timeless was, for me, not about nostalgia, slow time, rewinds, or clocks, but as a system without beginning or end, a space that only exists as long as you act within it. There is no true “first player.” No true “last player.” Only the next one in line.

Influence - The Egg Paradox

The game draws influence from works that explore existence as function,influenced from the “egg paradox” which refers to a thought experiment from Andy Weir’s story “The Egg,” which suggests that all humans are a single consciousness reincarnating through all lives, past, present, and future. After one human life ends, they are reborn as a different person, having lived every life. The paradox isn’t a literal one but a philosophical concept about the interconnectedness of all souls.

I didn’t want to recreate the story, but I wanted to echo its feelings:

-repetition -inevitability -anonymity -something larger than us quietly watching -You’re not chosen, you’re simply next.

Everything was made to feel slightly alien but functional, the hum of the place, the low-frequency lights, the arm’s insistence on movement. There’s no direct narrative, but there are cues guiding you if you listen closely:

-The world’s power-up sequence when you begin indicating that your presence reboots the system.

-The mechanical arm that gestures toward the malfunctioning stations showing where the “repair” is required.Although i could have handled that more gracefully!.

Those are the only two real hints you’re given. The rest of the discovery or what’s being repaired, and why happens internally, in the player’s own interpretation. For some players that worked. For others, it didn’t and that’s okay! The piece is intentionally minimal, maybe too minimal for a jam, but it stayed true to my idea.

What the Loop Really Is

Error State is a two-minute cycle that: -resets -erases -accepts the next participant -and continues functioning because you showed up

The number on the ending button isn’t a “score.” It’s your place in the infinite relay, your turn to keep the motion alive for just long enough for the next person to arrive.

Time never begins. Time never ends. It only is.

Thank you! to everyone who played, commented, rated, or even tried a few loops before giving up. I appreciate every reaction, confusion, curiosity or frustration!

Thanks for giving it life!