Thanks for trying it out. I first programmed the character with no turning, but turning looks nicer. (Space bar actually spins it too.) The reverse motion occurred because turning allows the character to touch the wall (it bypasses bumping into it), which reverses the controls. I decided it was fun to have things reversed under certain conditions, and it enabled a workaround for when coins spawned under the wall, something which I was unable to prevent before the jam ended. As someone pretty new to doing my own art, I also found it interesting to explore the relationship between how I made something look and how I programmed it (snek and his shape, motion, extremities; the plates in level two and getting food on them but not on the table, the eating process, which I abbreviated because of the deadline, etc). The fun of making a game is exploring all these little interconnections :)
I would totally play a continuation of your game!