🎮 Platanus Hack 25: Arcade Challenge

At Platanus Hack 25 we will have an arcade machine. While we could put some cool retro games on it, it is way better if it can be turned into a challenge.

Your mission: Build the best arcade game using Phaser 3 (JS Game Lib) that will run on our physical arcade machine!

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🏆 Prizes

🥇 First Place:

• 💵 $250 USD in cash
• 🎟️ A slot to participate in Platanus Hack
• 🎮 Your game featured on the arcade machine

🥈 Second Place:

• 💵 $100 USD in cash
• 🎮 Your game featured on the arcade machine

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📋 Restrictions

Your game must comply with these technical restrictions:

Size Limit

• ✅ Maximum 50KB after minification (before gzip)
• The game code is automatically minified - focus on writing good code

Code Restrictions

• ✅ Pure vanilla JavaScript only - No import or require statements
• ✅ No external URLs - No http://, https://, or // (except data: URIs for base64)
• ✅ No network calls - No fetch, XMLHttpRequest, or similar APIs
• ✅ Sandboxed environment - Game runs in an iframe with no internet access

What You CAN Use

• ✅ Phaser 3 (v3.87.0) - Loaded externally via CDN (not counted in size limit)
• ✅ Base64-encoded images - Using data: URIs
• ✅ Procedurally generated graphics - Using Phaser's Graphics API
• ✅ Generated audio tones - Using Phaser's Web Audio API
• ✅ Canvas-based rendering and effects

🕹️ Controls

Your game will run on a real arcade cabinet with physical joysticks and buttons!

Arcade Button Mapping

The arcade cabinet sends specific key codes when buttons are pressed:

Player 1:

• Joystick: P1U, P1D, P1L, P1R (Up, Down, Left, Right)
• Joystick Diagonals: P1DL, P1DR (Down-Left, Down-Right)
• Action Buttons: P1A, P1B, P1C (top row) / P1X, P1Y, P1Z (bottom row)
• Start: START1

Player 2:

• Joystick: P2U, P2D, P2L, P2R
• Joystick Diagonals: P2DL, P2DR
• Action Buttons: P2A, P2B, P2C / P2X, P2Y, P2Z
• Start: START2

Testing Locally

For local testing, you can map these arcade buttons to keyboard keys. The mapping supports multiple keyboard keys per arcade button (useful for alternatives like WASD + Arrow Keys). See game.js for the complete ARCADE_CONTROLS mapping template.

By default:

• Player 1 uses WASD (joystick) and U/I/O/J/K/L (action buttons)
• Player 2 uses Arrow Keys (joystick) and R/T/Y/F/G/H (action buttons)

💡 Tip: Keep controls simple - design for joystick + 1-2 action buttons for the best arcade experience!

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⏰ Deadline & Submission

Deadline: Sunday, November 10, 2025 at 23:59 (Santiago time)

How to Submit

Submitting your project is easy:

1. Save your changes - Make sure game.js, metadata.json, and cover.png are ready
   • Important: Your game must include a custom cover.png file (800x600 pixels) showcasing your game
2. Git push - Push your code to your repository:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Final submission"
   git push

3. Hit Submit - Click the submit button in the development UI and follow the steps

That's it! 🎉

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Install Dependencies

pnpm install

2. Start Development Server

pnpm dev

This starts a server at http://localhost:3000 with live restriction checking.

3. Build Your Game

• Edit game.js - Write your arcade game code
• Update metadata.json - Set your game name and description
• Create cover.png - Design an 800x600 pixel cover image for your game
• Watch the dev server - It shows live updates on file size and restrictions

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🤖 Vibecoding Your Game

This challenge is designed for vibecoding - building your game with AI assistance!

What We've Set Up For You

• AGENTS.md - Pre-configured instructions so your IDE (Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) understands the challenge
• docs/phaser-quick-start.md - Quick reference guide for Phaser 3
• docs/phaser-api.md - Comprehensive Phaser 3 API documentation

Your AI agent already knows:

• ✅ All the challenge restrictions
• ✅ How to use Phaser 3 effectively
• ✅ Best practices for staying under 50KB
• ✅ What files to edit (game.js and metadata.json only)

How to Vibecode

Simply tell your AI assistant what game you want to build! For example:

"Create a Space Invaders clone with colorful enemies"

"Build a flappy bird style game with procedural graphics"

"Make a breakout game with power-ups"

Your AI will handle the implementation, keeping everything within the restrictions automatically!