I think if I had to describe it more concisely: the circle indicator doesn't have any concept of directionality. It was hard to determine how close I was due to the camera being face on.
Viewing post in Positronica jam comments
Ah. When the circle indicator appears, it means you're lined up and you just have to time your input, which you can use the circle indicator to do. When it turns red, you can hit the trigger and you're guaranteed a hit, but if you can get it when the circle closes you'll be perfect. I fully recognize that it's not an ideal solution by any means. I need to see if I can figure out something better.