Pocket Prospector

Mine The Moon
Build a Home
Put Gold to Work
Fight For Your Haul
Go Deeper

Inspiration

Pocket Prospector started with two earlier prototypes: a mining game and a ranching game on a tiny planet. I liked the mining loop, but walking around the planet made exploring feel more interesting. I wanted to combine them into something I could comfortably play on my phone.

What it does

You mine crystal, collect gold, and bring it home to build your house and improve your equipment. Your sack only holds so much, and enemies roam outside, so there’s always a reason to think about when to head back.

On the other side of the moon, a Colossus waits. Defeat it to reach a deeper, tougher layer while keeping the home you’ve built. Movement is the only control you need; mining and fighting happen when you get close.

How we built it

I used Cursor and Codex to build the game through prompts, then played it repeatedly and used those sessions to guide changes.

The game uses Three.js, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS. Its models, textures, sound effects, and quiet background music are generated locally. The submitted build includes readable game code and a bundled copy of Three.js, with no external downloads required.

Challenges we ran into

Getting the camera to feel comfortable on a sphere took a lot of iteration. The house also went through several revisions before it felt spacious and safe, with solid walls and a gate that closes behind you.

Some bugs only became obvious while playing. Translucent crystals could reveal coins through the entire planet. Testing on a phone exposed lag, and reducing rendering resolution too aggressively made the game blurry.

The hardest design challenge was deciding what to remove. I tried dodge rolls, charged attacks, and extra systems, then returned to an earlier checkpoint because the simpler version was more fun.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that the game feels good to play with one thumb and gives you a reason to explore the whole planet.

My favorite part is returning home with a full sack, watching another part of the house go up, and heading out better prepared. Seeing that loop work on an actual phone was a big moment.

What we learned

A feature can work exactly as intended and still make the game worse. I learned to trust playtesting more than a growing feature list.

Clear visual feedback mattered more than adding explanations. Giving the player a brief look at the boss did more to explain the larger goal than another HUD label would have.

What's next for Pocket Prospector

I’d like to rebuild the game in Meta’s creation tools, add persistent progress, and keep testing the balance with new players.

Further work would focus on more readable boss attacks and meaningful equipment choices, while preserving the simple controls and small spherical world.