MergePeak Project Report
1. The Concept
MergePeak is a cute, browser-based tile-merging puzzle game inspired by 2048. Players move tiles across a 4×4 board, merge matching values, grow their score, and aim to create the 2048 tile. The project focuses on a warm, playful visual style with expressive tiles, friendly feedback, smooth interactions, and a simple mobile-first experience.
2. The Stack
The Stack: Vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in one executable index.html file. The game runs directly in a modern browser with no framework, package, backend, database, API, or build tool.
The AI Assist: Codex supported the implementation, layout refinement, gameplay feedback, accessibility improvements, procedural Web Audio sound effects, optional music, testing, and documentation.
3. The 1 Day Sprint:
Morning (Hours 1–3): Defined the single-file application structure, responsive 9:16 presentation, splash screen, Home Menu, gameplay screen, score panels, tile visuals, and shared popup layer.
Afternoon (Hours 4–6): Implemented the 4×4 board, tile generation, movement and merging rules, keyboard/WASD/swipe controls, win/game-over detection, score persistence, active-game saving, and navigation actions.
The Finish Line (Hour 7–8): Refined the cute art direction, motion and game-feel feedback, responsive layout, Home/Gameplay/Splash spacing, Settings overlay, sound controls, procedural music, and final project documentation.
4. The Roadblocks
Roadblocks: The main challenges were preserving a strict single-file architecture while keeping the game responsive and visually polished. Tile positioning required an additional alignment pass after the gameplay screen becomes visible, preventing initial tiles from rendering at fallback dimensions. Browser audio also required careful user-interaction initialization and gain balancing so that sound never blocks gameplay while remaining audible. Several layout iterations were needed to align the Home Menu, Splash Screen, Gameplay content, and bottom controls to the approved visual direction.
5. Key Takeaways
Building within a single index.html file can still support a complete game when the structure, state, and rendering responsibilities are kept clear.
Visual polish matters in puzzle games: consistent spacing, responsive alignment, animation timing, readable tiles, and friendly audio feedback make the game feel much more finished.
My final thought: MergePeak demonstrates that a small, dependency-free browser game can feel expressive, complete, and pleasant to play when gameplay, visual design, accessibility, persistence, and feedback are treated as one connected experience.