🎮 How We Built the Duck Collection Game

This page shows the complete conversation that led to creating this fun duck collection game featuring Juno and Thea! Each prompt below shows exactly what was asked and what happened as a result.

🎯 Prompt 1:

Let's create a game. A top down game where we have to collect all of the ducks.
Make a plan.
What happened: I created a comprehensive plan for a top-down HTML5 Canvas duck collection game, including technical specifications, game components (player character, duck entities, game systems), file structure, development phases, and success criteria. The plan outlined using pure JavaScript with no external dependencies.

📋 Prompt 2:

Save a plan to the root folder. Then an implementation.md file so we can track progress.
What happened: I created two important planning documents:
  • game-plan.md - Complete project plan with game overview, technical specs, and development phases
  • implementation.md - Progress tracker with task status, file structure progress, and testing checklist
These became our roadmap for the entire development process.

🚀 Prompt 3:

Implement plan @game-plan.md @implementation.md

Let's start
What happened: I began Phase 1 implementation by creating the core game structure:
  • index.html - Main game page with canvas and UI elements
  • style.css - Beautiful styling with gradients and game aesthetics
  • utils.js - Helper functions for random numbers and distance calculations
  • collision.js - Circle-to-circle collision detection
  • player.js - Player character class with WASD/arrow key movement
  • duck.js - Duck entity class with collection mechanics
  • game.js - Core game logic with game loop, collision detection, win conditions, and restart functionality
The game was fully playable at this point with 10 static ducks to collect!

🦆 Prompt 4:

This is great. Good start.

But wouldn't it be lot's of fun if the ducks moved? They don't go too fast or it will be hard to catch them.

Please make this change.
What happened: I enhanced the duck behavior to make the game much more engaging:
  • Duck Movement: Added gentle movement (0.5-1.5 pixels per frame vs player's 4 pixels)
  • Random Direction Changes: Ducks change direction every 60-180 frames (1-3 seconds)
  • Boundary Bouncing: Ducks bounce off canvas edges realistically
  • Individual Behavior: Each duck has its own speed and timing
The ducks now wander around like they're swimming in a pond, making collection more dynamic and fun!

🎨 Prompt 5:

The ducks don't look too much like ducks. So I have added a duck image with transparent background that I'm hoping you can use instead.

I have saved it here @duck.png
What happened: I replaced the drawn duck graphics with the provided PNG sprite:
  • Image Loading: Each duck now loads the duck.png sprite
  • Proper Sizing: Set to 40x40 pixels for good visibility
  • Centered Drawing: Image drawn centered on duck's position
  • Fallback Graphics: Shows yellow circle if image hasn't loaded yet
  • Updated Collision: Adjusted radius to 20 pixels to match larger sprite
The ducks now look like adorable yellow rubber ducks instead of basic drawn shapes!

👥 Prompt 6:

I have added two new images

Like the ducks - the main character doesn't look great.

I would like you to use this image instead @juno.png

Then I would like us to implement levels

Level 2 should be called "Thea" and level 1 should be called "Juno"

On level 2 we should swap the main character image to be @thea.png

On level 2 there should be 50% more ducks
What happened: I implemented a complete level system with character switching:
  • Character System: Replaced drawn character with Juno and Thea PNG sprites (50x50 pixels)
  • Level 1 - Juno: 10 ducks, plays as Juno (cute girl with bunny shirt and glasses)
  • Level 2 - Thea: 15 ducks (50% increase), plays as Thea (girl with brown hair)
  • UI Updates: Added level display showing "1 - Juno" or "2 - Thea"
  • Progression: "Next Level" button appears after completing Level 1
The game now has proper progression and much better graphics with the character sprites!

🎯 What We Built Together

From a simple idea to a complete game in just 9 prompts:

  1. Game Concept → Comprehensive planning
  2. Documentation → Project tracking and roadmaps
  3. Core Implementation → Fully playable game
  4. Enhanced Gameplay → Moving ducks for engagement
  5. Visual Improvement → Custom duck sprites
  6. Advanced Features → Two-level system with character switching
  7. Deployment Planning → Vercel-ready setup
  8. Repository Creation → GitHub hosting
  9. Documentation → This behind-the-scenes story!

Final Result: A polished, family-friendly browser game featuring Juno and Thea collecting ducks, deployed on the web for everyone to enjoy!

🎮 Back to Game

This game was built using Claude Code with pure HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript - no frameworks needed!