NeonDrifterz

Inspiration

We wanted a mobile racing game that felt made for a phone — not a cut-down console port. NeonDrifterz pulls energy from neon-drenched cyberpunk worlds and arcade racers like Mario Kart to create a one-handed, portrait-mode hoverbike experience that’s fast, tactile, and full of personality.

What it does

NeonDrifterz is a portrait-first hoverbike racer focused on one-thumb play:

Tilt-to-steer for natural, responsive handling.

Tap-to-drift for satisfying cornering and risk/reward play. Hold-to-boost for strategic speed bursts. AXIOM — a lightweight LLM announcer that reacts to moments like overtakes, crashes, and photo finishes to make each race feel like a live broadcast. World Broadcast spectator mode so viewers can watch races with pro-style commentary. This demo highlights a short race, AXIOM’s live reactions, and the spectator interface.

How we built it

We rebuilt the experience from the ground up for portrait controls with tight input/physics tuning and modular event triggers. The announcer uses LLM-driven prompts and throttled reactions so comments are meaningful, not noisy. Supporting systems include a small security proof-of-concept — a FastAPI-based verifier that uses OPA + short-lived JWT warrants for safe, auditable agent actions.

Challenges we ran into

Designing tilt & tap mechanics that feel responsive while preserving screen visibility. Keeping AXIOM engaging without repetitive commentary required careful trigger design and line variety. Making a clear, exciting spectator UI that’s readable at mobile sizes. Accomplishments that we're proud of A true mobile-first UX — not a port but a reimagined control model. A working LLM announcer (AXIOM) that enhances player experience. A polished spectator mode that brings broadcast energy to mobile races. A practical security scaffold demonstrating OPA + warrant patterns for trustworthy automation.

What we learned

Working with strict one-handed constraints improved focus and clarity in design. AI shines when it highlights meaningful moments, not every state. Modular architecture made iterating on controls, announcer, and spectator features fast.

What's next

Weekly tournaments, new tracks (Neo-Tokyo, Chrome Angeles), bike customization, AXIOM personality packs and localization, and polish for a playable mobile demo.

Built With

• bash
• k8s
• kubernetes
• python
• typescript
• vscode