the debugger

The debugger Scene

Inspiration

The idea was born from a simple but powerful question: what if the real world bugged like our programs?

As a developer, I'm constantly confronted with bugs, calculation errors, and unpredictable code behavior. One day, I wondered what our world would look like if the same problems manifested there. How would we navigate a universe where the camera became disconnected from the scene, or where elements behaved chaotically?

From this simple question was born The Debugger: an immersive experience where the player must repair a corrupt virtual world as the first developer of reality itself.

What it does

The Debugger is a 2D RPG adventure game where you are absorbed into a virtual world full of bugs. Your objective: repair this world to escape.

First quest: fix the camera. To do this, you must catch a cat that is the source of the chaos. When you approach the cat, a notification appears and a progress bar fills slowly to allow you to capture it.

Controls:

WASD or arrow keys: move around
E or R: interact with objects

How we built it

The project was developed entirely with Maki, a modern 2D JavaScript framework. We prioritized:

Clear and modular architecture
Using tilesets to quickly build the environment
A simple but effective interaction system
Gameplay mechanics based on challenges and perseverance

Tools used:

Maki (JS framework)
Node.js and npm
JavaScript
Maki's tilemap editor for environment creation

Challenges we ran into

Time management

The biggest challenge was time management. Debugging the game proved to be time-consuming: reproducing bugs, understanding their origin, and fixing them took considerably more time than expected. Each test iteration extended the development cycle.

Maki editor bugs

Maki's tilemap editor presented sporadic display bugs that complicated level creation. We had to adopt a strategy of regular saving to avoid losing work.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Original concept: transforming developer frustration into a unique game concept
Successful transition: migration from Phaser to Maki with better productivity
Engaging gameplay: creating an intuitive and fun capture mechanic
Immersive world: building a coherent and atmospheric 2D environment

What we learned

I had recently used Phaser for a school project, and I noticed the limitations of the process: manually calculating the positions of each asset on the map was tedious and time-consuming.

Using Maki, I discovered a much more efficient solution. This tool offers an intuitive and productive creation system. The experience was fun—I could finally focus on gameplay and story rather than positioning calculations.

Additionally, we learned the importance of good versioning practices and regular saving when working with new tools.