Design Statement
The theme starts out suspended, builds a steady pulse, then lets that pulse fall away. SWELL turns that arc into a ride. At dawn there is room to drift. You find speed by leaning down the face of a swell, then carry it into a jump at the crest. Golden hour opens up the route, night brings bigger water, and the original adaptive score fills out as the ride gathers momentum.

The finale uses Jason Grace’s recording as provided. The sea settles through the opening, then a single huge wave arrives with the pulse. Leaning in time catches points of light and raises the sun over the face of the wave. When the beat stops, release the lean. The lights you collected appear in the sky. Journey gives that progression about eight minutes to breathe, while Free Surf and Tournament let players stay with the board after the ending.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Click Run game on itch.io, or extract SWELL_Windows_x64.zip and run SWELL.exe from the SWELL folder. Choose Journey for the eight-minute ride. Hold Shift or left mouse to lean, A/D or arrows to steer, S to brake, and Space to jump at a crest or brace in the air. Controller: left stick to steer, right trigger to lean, A to jump. Learn to Ride teaches the controls. In the finale, lean with the music’s pulse and release when it stops. Headphones recommended.

Gameplay walkthrough: in the linked Download section, choose SWELL-Gameplay.mp4.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://tsukuyom.itch.io/swell#download

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Claude Code assisted with game code