Blob Must Grow - Cosmic Scale Clicker Game

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An incremental clicker game that takes you on a journey through scales of existence, from microscopic organisms to cosmic proportions. Inspired by the classic "Powers of Ten" film and games like Cookie Clicker, this project explores exponential growth and scale transitions in an engaging, interactive format.

What I Learned

Through building this cosmic-scale game, I gained hands-on experience with:

  • Performance Optimization: Managing smooth animations and particle systems while handling exponential number growth and calculations
  • Github Teamwork Workflows: Worked in a 3 person team and learned about working on seperate branches, files, and dealing with merge errors, the hard way.
  • Modular Game Systems: Designing extensible systems for generators, upgrades, evolution mechanics, and tutorial progression
  • State Management Architecture: Implementing complex game state with Zustand and Immer for immutable updates across multiple interconnected systems

Technical Architecture

Frontend

  • React 19 with TypeScript
  • Vite for fast development and building
  • Zustand for lightweight state management
  • Immer for immutable state updates
  • Tailwind CSS 4 for responsive styling
  • React Toastify for user notifications

Game Systems

  • Scale Progression: Nine distinct levels from microscopic to solar system scale
  • Generator System: Automated biomass production with exponential scaling
  • Evolution Mechanics: Unlock new scales and capabilities as you grow
  • Tutorial System: Guided progression for new players
  • Particle Effects: Visual feedback for interactions and growth

Challenges Overcome

  • Exponential Number Handling: Implementing proper formatting and calculations for numbers that grow from single digits to scientific notation (10^15+)
  • Smooth Scale Transitions: Creating seamless visual and mechanical transitions between microscopic and cosmic scales while maintaining game balance
  • Performance at Scale: Optimizing particle systems and animations to run smoothly even with complex visual effects and rapid state updates
  • Tutorial Integration: Designing a non-intrusive tutorial system that guides players through increasingly complex mechanics without overwhelming them
  • Cross-Scale Balance: Ensuring each scale level feels meaningful and properly paced, with appropriate generator costs and upgrade progression

This project was an exploration of scale and growth, both within the game and in the context of creating it as a team. Built during my time at the Fractal AI Accelerator.