Grass Toucher 3000

Start screen.
Solo grass play mode.
Swarm mode play mode.
Get roasted noob.

Inspiration

Reddit users are chronically online and constantly told to "go touch grass." We* thought - what if we made touching grass digital? Problem solved, right?

(*and by we I mean me, myself and I)

What it does

Grass Toucher 3000 is a frantic 8-second tapping game where you chase a moving grass sprite around your screen. Each time you tap it, the grass jumps to a new location. Ho ho ho! The game then roasts your performance.

How we built it

Built as a responsive web app using React, integrated with Reddit's Devvit platform. Features multiple movement patterns that can be unlocked and also changes each ground to keep gameplay fresh. Used CSS clip-path for the triangular grass sprite and Redis for score tracking. Dark Reddit-themed aesthetic with terminal-style fonts to match the techie/we-never-go-outside humor.

Challenges we ran into

I ran into a LOT of challenges - in fact this is technically version 8 of a full restart. The biggest challenge I had was actually getting the Bolt logo working with an external URL, which is implemented differently for Reddit games. I would build out a game, try to add it, fail, and then just try again on a new project in hopes I would do something right the next time. Ultimately, the Reddit team came through and just helped update the template which really finally got me across the finish line. Other than that, lots of position issues, Redis score saving problems, etc, etc. But we got the job done!

Accomplishments that we're proud of

That I pushed through to actually submitting something functional and fun! All the versions of new apps - all with the theme of touching grass - really pushed me to continuously improve on the concept and design to getting it to where it is today.

What we learned

Sometimes the simplest concepts make the most engaging games. Also learned a lot about cross-platform responsive design and the importance of consistent positioning systems on mobile and web.

What's next for Grass Toucher 3000

One of my previous versions had a working leaderboard, and auto-comments for every person who completed it. I want to add those back, and also introduce the concept of a daily game with a certain score to beat! I feel like the best games get you to keep coming back. The digital grass-touching revolution is just beginning. 🌱