01 · Where the idea came from
Every game started with something Sabina liked.
One of Sabina’s friends got a gecko. Sabina also loves collecting rocks and crystals. Those two everyday interests sparked a bright creature adventure.
The gecko became a color-changing chameleon. That gave us the main rule: match the track color while you run, jump, and duck toward a giant crystal.
By this game, Sabina was talking more to the AI coding helper herself. I helped turn big wishes into smaller questions. The ideas, choices, and testing came from her.
02 · Our first plan
We wrote down what the game needed.
Our first plan was short. It listed the characters, actions, rules, and goal. That gave the coding helper enough information to make a first version.
A fast three-lane runner with left, right, jump, and duck controls.
Pink and yellow track challenges that require the chameleon to match colors.
Crystals and coins to collect on the route to a giant finish crystal.
Thirty levels in five sparkling worlds. They get faster and harder over time.
A crystal closet for outfits, a coin shop for pets, and saved progress.
03 · Parts of the game
Each part has a job.
Engineers often call these parts systems. When we name each system, it is easier to understand what it does and fix it when something goes wrong.
Main rule
What choice does the player make?Look at the lane and color. Then move, jump, duck, or change color.
Level maker
How did we make 30 levels?One set of rules places the challenges. Later levels get faster and add tighter spaces, traps, and arches.
Rewards
Why collect two things?Crystals open new outfits. The harder-to-find coins buy pets. Each one has a clear use.
Saving
What should stay after a mistake?Open levels, pets, outfits, crystals, and coins stay saved when a run starts over.
04 · What we changed
We played the game and made it better.
- 1
Name the game in one sentence
Run through a crystal canyon. Match colors, avoid black traps, and reach the finish.
- 2
Make 30 levels
One level maker follows the same rules each time. Later levels get faster and add tighter spaces, traps, and arches.
- 3
Give prizes a purpose
Crystals open outfits. Coins buy pet friends. Now each thing you collect gives you a choice later.
- 4
Make it work on phones
We split color and movement buttons, made tap areas bigger, and made the level list easier to use.
05 · What we learned
Thinking like an engineer
We did not build 30 levels one at a time. We made one set of rules that could be used again. Then we changed the speed, spaces, traps, and arches to make later levels harder.
Talk about it together
Questions you can ask while you play
- What choice should the player make again and again?
- What three things can make later levels harder without changing the controls?
- What should stay saved after a mistake?