Don’t Wake My Pet: Draw the Symbols

🧠 Inspiration

Don’t Wake My Pet: Draw the Symbols was created to explore how gesture-based gameplay can become the core interaction on mobile - while building a game designed for long-term progression and repeated play. We wanted a game that feels instantly intuitive, emotionally cosy, yet mechanically demanding - where drawing with your finger directly controls the outcome and mastery grows over time.

Players become a Sleep Guardian, keeping a peacefully sleeping pet undisturbed by copying and drawing the symbols shown on incoming spiders before they reach the pet. Beneath the calm surface lies a progression-driven experience focused on skill mastery, unlocks, and constant forward momentum.

🛠️ How We Built It

At the heart of the game is our custom symbol recognition system, adapted from the $1 Unistroke Recognizer and fully translated to TypeScript for the Horizon Worlds engine, enabling ultra-fast, reliable real-time input.

Progression is driven by:

3 spider types (1–3 HP)
8 unique symbols (easy → hard)
Boss encounters at the end of each phase
Constantly increasing spawn frequency and movement velocity

Long-term retention is built around:

12 playable pets (2 free, 10 unlockable via in-game currency)
12 unlockable maps, each with unique music and atmosphere
Leaderboards, quests, and daily coin rewards
A limited-time Seasonal Xmas Mode

The game is designed mainly for quick, exciting 2-player co-op, but solo play is fully supported for anyone who wants to play alone. In co-op, the challenge goes up with faster starting speed and more frequent spawns, making the action tougher and more team-focused.

Everything is designed for native portrait mobile play with tap + gesture input, optimised UI ergonomics, and haptic feedback.