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Arcane Menagerie

For my nieces

A pocket pet I'm building for my nieces. You raise a small magical creature: feed it, pet it, and play mini-games to earn Sparks. It naps through school hours so it never competes with class.

Pocket pet game, iPhone and iPad

What it looks like

Pip, a green pixel-art fox with goggles and a star on its tail, next to Cozy Hollow, one of the game's islands — Fig. 1 Pip, a green pixel-art fox with goggles and a star on its tail, next to Cozy Hollow, one of the game's islands.

What it's teaching me

Two games that feel the same are one game
Kids are the toughest product reviewers I know
The rules live in plain code, so the same pet can run on a toy later

It passes my tests. Theirs are harder.