PumpkinGame

Inspiration

Most browser games rely on the usual mouse clicks and arrow keys. We wanted to break away from boring standards and create a fun, silly, and noisy Halloween-themed project that turns gameplay into an emotional ride, making players literally scream at their screens.

What it does

PumpkinGame is a 2D browser arcade game where the primary controller is the player's voice. You guide a walking pumpkin through a dark forest crawling with ghosts, using a flashlight powered by your microphone.

How we built it

UI & Rendering: HTML5 Canvas and vanilla JavaScript for pumpkin walk animations, light beam physics, particles, and a parallax night forest.
Audio Engine: Web Audio API (AudioContext, AnalyserNode) to capture live microphone input and compute real-time RMS volume. Lighting: A dynamic darkness mask built with globalCompositeOperation and adaptive radial gradients. Calibration: A microphone sensitivity slider and fallback keyboard controls for quiet environments.

Challenges we ran into

Microphones vary widely, requiring a custom normalization and noise-filtering algorithm so normal breathing wouldn't trigger the light.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Zero-latency flashlight response directly tied to the player's voice. Two distinct, well-balanced game modes (Survival and Run).

What we learned

Capturing and processing browser audio streams via the Web Audio API.

What's next for PumpkinGame

New enemy types, such as fast bats or light-attracted ghosts and online leaderboard for Run mode.

Built With

• css3
• html5
• javascript
• web-audio-api