One More Quest

Inspiration

Job searching can feel like making an effort without seeing any progress. Applications go unanswered, and interviews do not always lead to offers.

I wanted to remind myself that these actions still count. In a game, every attempt gives you something: experience, better equipment, or a lesson for the next adventure.

Inspired by the atmosphere of Stardew Valley and Journey, I created One More Quest, a small pixel adventure that makes job-search effort visible. My original motivation was to encourage myself not to give up before experiencing three heartbreaks.

What it does

One More Quest turns everyday job-search actions into character growth:

• Sending an application earns experience.
• Preparing for an interview strengthens your weapon.
• Completing an interview triggers a stationery boss battle, followed by a treasure chest containing a new weapon.
• Defeated bosses become stationery collectibles on your desk.
• A daily tracker shows how many applications, preparation sessions, and interviews you have completed. The player starts with three hearts and decides when an experience counts as heartbreak. After three heartbreaks, they can try again or explore a different direction. Both choices restore their hearts while preserving their progress.

There is also an “I gooooot the offer!” button to celebrate the moment. How we built it I built the project with Codex using React, JavaScript, Vite, and Tailwind CSS. The characters, desk, bosses, and reward animations use SVG and CSS.

Before implementation, we worked through the project scope, product requirements, and technical specification. We then built and tested the app in small steps.

Progress is saved in the browser through localStorage. Interview rewards are saved before the animation starts, so refreshing the page does not duplicate or lose the reward. Undo restores the previous action, including its rewards and daily count.

Challenges we ran into

The AI-generated layout still needed many small adjustments. Our early conversations were not detailed enough about typography, spacing, visual hierarchy, and feedback, so I had to refine those decisions while trying the app.

Animation was another challenge. In my experience, the generated motion and visual details needed more refinement when I was not using a more capable model. Describing the feeling I wanted was harder than simply requesting an animation.

Token limits also interrupted the process. I had to reset twice, which made the saved planning documents and build checklist useful for continuing without starting over. Accomplishments that we're proud of I turned a personal frustration into a playable prototype with a clear purpose: making effort feel worthwhile even when the outcome is uncertain.

The app connects simple actions to visible growth without requiring detailed application forms. I am particularly happy with the stationery bosses, treasure chest rewards, and the idea that choosing another direction does not erase what you have already earned.

The project also includes saved progress, daily counts, undo, and checks for interrupted battles and storage problems.

What we learned

I learned that planning before development helps, but the plan needs concrete details to reduce repeated revisions. “A simple pixel game” leaves much more open to interpretation than a description of the layout, interactions, feedback, and expected results.

I also learned that testing the actual experience is essential. A feature can work technically and still feel confusing, as we discovered with the original “different path” ending.

Finally, keeping decisions and progress in files made it easier to continue through context resets and token limits.

What's next for One More Quest

I want to refine the pixel art and animations, improve the balance between readability and playfulness, and publish a version people can try through GitHub Pages.

After getting feedback, I would like to explore more stationery bosses, weapon designs, and small ways to make each new chapter feel different.

The goal is to keep it lightweight: a little courage, a little progress, and one more chance.

Built With

• codex
• javascript
• react
• tailwind