01 · Where the idea came from
Every game started with something Sabina liked.
Pac-Man was one of the first video games Sabina remembers playing with her friends at a brewery. She loved racing through the maze, choosing a path quickly, and trying not to get caught.
Later, she tried to turn that feeling into a game she could play in real life. She planned a maze with cardboard and imagined people moving through it like the characters on the screen. It was messy, physical, and super fun.
For this game, Sabina changed the whole world. Pac-Man became a little wolf in a forest. Dots became chicken and ice cream. The ghosts became hunters, and the maze gained mice and ducks that the wolf should protect instead of eat.
When Sabina tested the first version, the chase was harder than the idea. A key only moved the wolf while she held it down, turns were easy to miss, and two hunters arrived too soon. We compared it with Pac-Man and realized that its remembered direction was part of what made the maze feel good.
The game also had to feel natural in two different places: on a computer with real arrow keys and on a phone with touch buttons. We decided both should follow the same simple rule—a single press keeps the wolf moving, and an early turn waits for the next opening.
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 top-down forest maze with a little wolf controlled by arrow keys, WASD, or large touch buttons. One press keeps the wolf running, and the next turn can be pressed early.
Three gentler levels. Chicken is worth one point and ice cream is worth two. The player begins with ten points and carries them from one feast to the next.
Mice and ducks that cost one point when the wolf bumps into them, plus one slow hunter at first and a second hunter only on the final level.
A reward after every four snacks that slows the hunters for thirty seconds.
Rocket boosts that speed up the wolf and muddy surprises that slow it down for a few seconds.
A wolf that faces the way it runs, with playful sounds for footsteps, snacks, surprises, moon magic, winning, and getting caught.
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.
Movement
How can one control rule work on keys and touch?A key or button chooses a direction. The wolf keeps moving without another press. If the player asks for a turn a little early, the game remembers it until the next opening.
Maze
Where can everyone move?The wolf and hunters move one forest square at a time. Trees make walls, and every open path connects to the rest of the maze.
Snacks
How does the player win?Each level has a feast of chicken and ice cream snacks. Each one adds points, and every fourth snack charges moon magic.
Kindness
Why avoid mice and ducks?They are forest friends, not food. Bumping into one removes it from the path and costs one of the wolf’s points.
Hunters
How does the chase stay exciting but fair?The first two levels have one slower hunter. The final level adds a second. Moon magic makes every hunter step much slower for thirty seconds.
Surprises
What changes the wolf’s movement?A rocket makes the wolf fast for eight seconds. Mud makes the wolf slow for five seconds, so the next turn matters.
Sound
How does the forest answer the player?Short, cheerful sounds mark steps, snacks, mistakes, power-ups, completed levels, and the final feast. A sound button keeps the choice in the player’s hands.
04 · What we changed
We played the game and made it better.
- 1
Remember what made Pac-Man fun
The important part was not copying its pictures. It was the feeling of choosing paths, collecting treats, and being chased through a maze.
- 2
Build Sabina’s forest
We replaced dots with her snack ideas, ghosts with hunters, and plain walls with a moonlit maze made of trees.
- 3
Add a kindness rule
The mice and ducks look tempting in a crowded maze, but touching them costs a point. The player has to look before moving.
- 4
Listen to the first play test
Holding a key, missing an exact turn, and facing two hunters made the controls—not the maze idea—the hardest part. Sabina’s test showed us what to fix.
- 5
Remember the next turn
Keyboard and phone controls now use the same Pac-Man-style rule: tap once to keep moving, and tap a turn early so the wolf takes it at the opening.
- 6
Make the chase grow gently
Level one starts with eight snacks and one slow hunter. Later feasts add more snacks and friends, and only the final level adds a second hunter.
- 7
Make four snacks feel special
The fourth snack starts a clear thirty-second moon-magic timer and slows the hunters enough to plan a safer route.
- 8
Change the speed
Rocket and mud surprises make the same maze feel different. One rewards quick reactions; the other asks for patience.
- 9
Let the wolf face the adventure
The wolf turns to face each direction, and playful sounds make every snack, surprise, mistake, and win easier to feel.
05 · What we learned
Thinking like an engineer
A game can be inspired by another game without copying its world. We kept the maze chase and rebuilt every character, reward, mistake, and power-up around Sabina’s wolf story. Her play test taught us something just as important: difficulty should come from an interesting choice, not from controls that fight the player. The same remembered-turn rule now works with real keys and phone taps.
Talk about it together
Questions you can ask while you play
- Which parts of a favorite game are feelings or rules, and which parts belong to its characters and art?
- How early should the game remember a turn so it feels helpful but the player still chooses the path?
- When should another hunter appear so a new level feels exciting instead of unfair?
- Where should a duck or mouse stand so avoiding it requires a real choice?