Fruit Pop

Stack: Phaser 3, TypeScript, Vite, Poki SDK Target platform: Web, desktop + mobile, portrait-first Session length: about 60 to 90 seconds

Fruit Pop is a single-screen tap game about timing. A grid of fruits slowly ripens, and the player must pop them at the right moment before the kitchen fills with dirt and the round ends.

The core tension is simple: pop too early and you waste potential, pop too late and the fruit goes rotten. Good timing gives satisfying feedback, score, and momentum.

Core Loop

1. Spawn a fruit grid.
2. Fruits automatically ripen over time.
3. The player taps a fruit.
4. The result depends on ripeness:
   • too early: no reward
   • perfect: big reward
   • overripe: dirt penalty
5. Clear all fruit to win.
6. Reach the timer limit or dirt limit to lose.

Controls

Input	Behavior
Tap / Click	Pop the targeted fruit
No drag, no swipe, no hold	The game is tap-only

Hitboxes should feel generous. The design target is an interactive area about 1.3x the visible fruit size.

Game States

State	Purpose
Menu	Animated fruit grid, logo, start prompt, best score
Countdown	3-2-1-GO intro before active play
Game	Active ripening, tapping, dirt management, timer
Result: WIN	Clear-state celebration, score breakdown, replay
Result: LOSE	Failure state, reason text, retry

Entities

Fruit Object

{
  id,
  x,
  y,
  state,        // 0 = Green, 1 = Yellow, 2 = Red, 3 = Overripe
  stateTimer,
  isActive,
  wobblePhase,
  pulseSpeed,
  popCharge
}

Runtime Game State

{
  timer,
  dirtMeter,
  remainingFruits,
  perfectPops,
  totalPops,
  comboChain,
  roundSeed
}

Visual Pool Objects

// Splatter decal
{
  x, y, scale, rotation, alpha, lifetime, color, isActive
}

// Pop particle
{
  x, y, velocityX, velocityY, alpha, scale, lifetime, isActive
}

// Score popup text
{
  x, y, text, velocityY, alpha, lifetime, isActive
}

Mechanics

Ripeness System

Each fruit advances through four states:

State	Name	Color	Time Window	Visual
0	Green	#4CAF50	0 to 2500 ms	Small, firm
1	Yellow	#FFC107	2500 to 5000 ms	Medium, slight wobble
2	Red	#E53935	5000 to 7500 ms	Large, glowing, pulsing
3	Overripe	#4E342E	7500 ms+	Shrinking, dripping

Each fruit should have a small random timing variance so the board does not ripen uniformly.

Tap Outcomes

State at tap	Outcome	Dirt Change	Score	Feedback
Green	Remove fruit	No change	0	Small green puff
Yellow	Remove fruit	No change	0	Medium yellow burst
Red	Remove fruit	No change	+1 perfect	Large explosion and screen flash
Overripe	Remove fruit	+20 dirt	0	Brown splatter and shake

There is no "miss" state. Every tap removes the fruit. The cost of bad timing is dirt, not failed input.

Dirt Meter

• Starts at 0
• Increases by 20 per overripe pop
• Fails at 100
• Does not decay
• Should read clearly in the HUD as a grime or sludge bar

Timer

• Starts at 35 seconds
• Counts down in real time
• No pause once active
• Should turn urgent in the last 10 seconds
• Should become visually intense in the last 5 seconds

Win / Lose Conditions

Condition	Result
All fruits removed	Win
Timer reaches 0	Lose
Dirt meter reaches 100	Lose

Scoring

Perfect Pop Count

Every Red-state pop increments perfectPops.

End Screen Grades

Perfect Pops	Grade	Label
All fruits at Red	S	MASTER CHEF
70% or more	A	SKILLED PICKER
50% or more	B	DECENT HARVEST
30% or more	C	RUSHED JOB
Below 30%	D	PANIC FARMER

The grade is display-only. It exists to give players a replay goal.

Combo Display

Consecutive perfect pops can show a visual chain counter such as x2, x3, and so on. The combo is cosmetic in the GDD, not a gameplay multiplier.

Juice and Feel

The game should feel fast and tactile. Target feedback timing is under 50 ms from tap to response.

Core Feedback

• Pop particle burst, about 8 to 12 particles
• Screen shake for red and overripe pops
• Splatter decals that persist briefly
• Floating score text
• Fruit grow pulse while red

Polish

• Idle wobble with fruit-specific offsets
• Dirt meter slosh animation
• Countdown pop-in
• Timer pulse at low time
• Win confetti
• Overripe drip particles
• Grade stamp animation

UI Layout

Element	Position	Notes
Dirt meter	Top left	Sludge fill style
Timer	Top right	Pulses near the end
Fruit grid	Center	Main interactive play area
Combo display	Bottom right	Fades after inactivity
Splatter decals	Background layer	Below fruit sprites
Score popup	At tap position	Floats upward and fades

Fruit Grid Layout

Default layout:

• 5 columns by 3 rows
• 15 fruits total
• centered on screen
• minimum 60 px padding from screen edges

Mobile portrait can switch to a denser layout if needed, but the interaction should remain touch-friendly.

Technical Notes

Scene Structure

• BootScene
• MenuScene
• CountdownScene
• GameScene
• ResultScene

Performance Rules

• No allocation in update()
• Use pooling for splatters, particles, and score popups
• Drive ripeness with delta time
• Avoid setTimeout / setInterval for gameplay timing
• Use tinting for fruit state visuals instead of texture swapping

Hitbox Rule

Use a hitbox larger than the visible fruit, about 1.3x the sprite size.

State Thresholds

const STATE_THRESHOLDS = {
  GREEN_TO_YELLOW: 2500,
  YELLOW_TO_RED: 5000,
  RED_TO_OVERRIPE: 7500
}

const DIRT_PER_OVERRIPE = 20
const TIMER_START = 35
const FRUIT_COUNT = 15

Visual Colors

const FRUIT_COLORS = {
  GREEN: 0x4CAF50,
  YELLOW: 0xFFC107,
  RED: 0xE53935,
  OVERRIPE: 0x4E342E
}

const SPLATTER_COLORS = {
  GREEN: 0x66BB6A,
  YELLOW: 0xFFD54F,
  RED: 0xEF5350,
  OVERRIPE: 0x6D4C41
}

Audio Design

Audio is recommended but not required for the core loop.

Event	Sound
Green pop	Light puff
Yellow pop	Medium squelch
Red pop	Big splat
Overripe pop	Low thud and splat
Countdown	Three short beeps
Win	Short fanfare
Lose	Descending sting

Asset List

Minimum viable assets:

• fruit base sprite or shape
• splatter sprites
• particle dot
• dirt bar background
• dirt bar fill

Graphics objects are acceptable for the first pass.

Out of Scope

• Physics simulation
• Multiple fruit types
• Combo score bonuses that affect win/loss
• Meta progression
• Multi-level flow
• Multiplayer
• Leaderboards

Implementation Order

1. Render the fruit grid.
2. Add tap-to-pop interaction.
3. Add timer and dirt loss conditions.
4. Add ripeness states.
5. Add perfect pop scoring.
6. Add game state transitions.
7. Add juice: particles, shake, splatter, score popups.
8. Add countdown, grades, and polish.
9. Add audio.