Inspiration
There were many times when I was working on my system and had to deal with loading times or idle periods where I just had to wait. During those moments, I often found myself switching tabs or visiting other websites out of boredom. The problem was, once I did that, I sometimes got distracted and even forgot about my initial task.
That’s when the idea struck me: instead of switching tabs and losing focus, why not have something engaging right there in the same place? Something light, fun, and quick enough to keep me hooked just long enough for the idle time to pass—without dragging me away from my actual work.
This thought led to the creation of Idle Space Shooter – Extension. It’s designed as a simple, entertaining activity you can play during short waiting periods, helping you stay engaged without losing track of what you were originally doing.
What it does
Idle Space Shooter is a simple Chrome browser extension that opens a small pop-up window right within the tab you’re already working on. Inside this window, you can play a light, fun, and engaging game designed specifically for short idle moments. Instead of switching tabs and getting distracted, the game keeps you entertained right where you are. This way, you stay engaged during loading or waiting times—without losing focus on your original task.
How we built it
I built Idle Space Shooter using the Kiro AI IDE and its powerful Vibe feature. To start, I structured detailed prompts describing the use case, the target platform, and the core functionality I wanted. From these prompts, Kiro automatically generated the full project directory along with all the required files. It didn’t just set up the basics—it also created the game logic in JavaScript, as well as an HTML page for downloading the game icons. On top of that, Kiro generated a comprehensive .md file with step-by-step instructions on how to test the extension locally and how to publish it on the Chrome Web Store. This approach allowed me to focus on refining the concept and design while Kiro handled the heavy lifting of coding, structuring, and documentation.
Challenges we ran into
Accomplishments that we're proud of
One of the biggest accomplishments was successfully launching Idle Space Shooter on the Chrome Web Store. Taking the idea all the way from a simple concept to a fully functional extension available for anyone to install and use was a huge milestone.
We’re proud that the project not only works seamlessly but also solves a real problem—helping users stay engaged during idle moments without losing focus on their main task.
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