Squirrel: thanks for playing and for the feedback. The final puzzle was supposed to allow for feedback, for possible easter eggs. You’re right, though; in hindsight at this stage and this context, there is no need for player to be able to interfere with the sequence. In the updated version, once the proper sequence starts, player’s inputs won’t be processed anymore.
The puzzle engine is looking for a specific sequence of live cells, over 8-or-so iterations. It removes an array entry every iteration, if it matches the “key”.
Technically, if the player knew the live cells sequence, they have 1 second per iteration for input that would be considered by the engine and could potentially hack-solve the puzzle.
For the bug you’ve found, I think it’s because the puzzles “solving key” array isn’t reset properly between retries. Definitely something I’ll look into. Thanks!
P.S. we’re thinking on adding more content after the game jam, without all the time pressure we hope to deliver more quality :)
Radish: You are the first person to recognize The Game of Life! Congratulations! :D