Explanation Of Choices

Feel free to comment asking for more explanations! I'm prioritizing explanations of things that could seem to make the game worse.

15 FPS: This game is designed to run at 15 frames per second so that the pixels changes are visible without being incredibly fast.

480x260 Resolution: The game doesn't actually run at 480x260, but that lower resolution is scaled up. I wanted the individual pixels to be clearly visible, and decided each pixel being 1/16th the standard area is a good ratio. 

No Online Version: The web version didn't allow for my shader effects to properly work, so it is only available via download.

Pressing Enter to Go to the Next Level: I decided to put the next level button on the far side of the keyboard from where you are controlling it in order to slow down the player and have them read the lore. I also allowed tab to work in case the movement is too annoying, however.

The Trans Theme: I decided I wanted a light mode, and happened to choose a pink and blue color, so it was the obvious choice when it came to naming it. If you are offended by this, just don't use the trans theme. Stick with Neo, I'm sure the matrix doesn't have anything to do with transgender people ;)

The Procedurally Generated Audio: While the audio being this way definitely makes the game sound worse than just composing it, I wanted to do something special and to have the audio be reactive to the environment (static increases with some enemies, bass increases with others). It also makes it never be repetitive.  Cool things about I want to brag about: There are no audio files used, just waves drawn by hand.  Additionally, the system isn't tuned to any note. It jumps around without any care for the notes most instruments use.
I put several disclaimers that the audio was procedurally generated because, in a twist literally nobody expects, it isn't great (even though it was better than I expect).

The Rendering System: I saw this video (3:06 long) and was inspired to make a game with a similar effect. I didn't use just XOR (flip pixels), however. The borders to the walls have a 50% change to change the pixel, essentially making it randomized each time. The background has a small chance of flipping, and the portal has a 100% chance of flipping. The enemies are either a little less than 100% or between the borders and the background.

The Theme: Oh god, aberration was a HARD theme. I decided to just entirely flip the script and go absolutely wild away from what is expected in a game. Rendering? Super unexpected. Audio? Literally impossible to predict. Lore? Basically all twists (which I acknowledge have very little impact). I almost added a chromatic aberration option, which would just offset the red to the left by one pixel and the blue to the right by one pixel. I decided that would make the game unplayable.