Volcano Drop
A tiki-themed puzzle game with 50 levels, treasure, bombs and a shared leaderboard.
The problem
Volcano Drop is a falling-blocks game set on a tiki island: volcanoes, torches, dancing tiki statues and 3D pirate crates with hidden treasure.
It runs through five worlds over 50 levels, each with a character who grows up as you play, and it had to stay quick and playable on a phone as well as with a keyboard.
What it does
- 50 levels, 5 worldsA new world every five levels, each with its own character.
- Treasure and the pirate wheelBlocks carry coins, gold and gems; every five treasures spin for a reward.
- Bombs, lava and iceDrops turn blocks to stone or ice, and bombs clear them.
- Shared leaderboardEnter a pirate name and see the top 10 when the game ends.
- SoundSound effects and a bongo and marimba beat, with a mute key.
Decisions along the way
i thought aboutA game should open instantly, with nothing to install or build.
so i builtThe whole game is one HTML file: canvas and vanilla JavaScript, with no framework and no build step.
i thought aboutMost people will play on their phone.
so i builtTouch buttons plus swipe controls: tap to rotate, drag to move and flick down to drop.
i thought aboutA leaderboard should never stop the game from working.
so i builtScores go to a small serverless API backed by Postgres, and the game falls back to scores saved on the device when it is offline.
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