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Game Engineering[GAME][CLIENT WORK][REAL BUILD SHOWN]

Spirits Charge

Match-3 game systems & gameplay engineering

A playable match-3 game for Valiant Entertainment: match symbols to score and charge four spirit powers, reach each level's target for more moves, and keep the run going as long as you can.

My role
Implemented the game: the match-3 board and scoring, the four spirit powers and how they charge, level progression, locked tiles, and every game state and screen, from Click to Start through pause, game over, and score submission.
Built with
Flutter, Dart, Ability System, Animation
Status
Client work
Artwork
Created with a dedicated graphics artist, who made all of the game's visual artwork. My part is the implementation and systems engineering.
Real buildGameplay
The board: level, moves left, and score against the level's target across the top, the four spirit powers and their charge counters below. The artwork is a dedicated graphics artist's; the game behind it is my implementation.
Gameplay · original resolution

Overview

The game

Spirits Charge is a match-3 game built for Valiant Entertainment, featuring its Punk Mambo character. It's playable end to end and currently staged on itch.io.

› Match three or more identical symbols to score and to charge abilities.
› Each level has a score target and a move budget. Reach the target and the next level unlocks with five extra moves; the target rises by 25 each time.
› There's no final win condition. The run lasts as long as your moves do, and the goal is the highest score on the leaderboard.

Gameplay systems

What I built

Board & scoring

The core loop, turn by turn.

  • MatchingThree or more identical symbols clear, score, and charge the matching power.
  • Moves & targetsA move budget and a score target per level, tracked in the header.
  • Locked tilesTiles that block the board until cleared, and only Hex Bomb can clear them.

Spirit powers

Four abilities, four charge sources.

  • Spirit SwarmClears random tiles. Charged by purple skulls.
  • CurseHits a full row. Charged by spell books.
  • Mambo BlastClears an area. Charged by pink crystals.
  • Hex BombDestroys a tile and its neighbours. Charged by green potions.

Game states

Every screen around the board.

  • Start & menuClick to Start, then Play, Scores, or Exit.
  • Level complete+5 moves, the next level, and its new target.
  • Pause & rulesPause with Resume or Exit, and an in-game How to Play reference.
  • Game over & scoresFinal score and rank, an optional name, and score submission to the leaderboard.

Playthrough

One run, screen by screen

Real screens from the staged build, in the order a player meets them. The artwork is the graphics artist's; the states, rules, and transitions between them are what I built.

  1. Title

    Click to Start

    The run opens on a title screen over the dimmed board, so the game is already set up behind it when the player clicks in.

    Real buildTitle screenFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge title screen: the game's logo in a gothic frame of skulls and candles, with a Click to Start button, above a dimmed game board.

  2. Main menu

    Play, Scores, or Exit

    The menu is the hub between runs: start a new one, check the leaderboard, or leave.

    Real buildMain menuFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge main menu: Play, Scores, and Exit buttons in an ornate skull-crested frame over the dimmed board.

  3. Gameplay

    Match, score, charge

    Matching three or more identical symbols scores and charges the power tied to that symbol. The header tracks the level, moves left, and score against the level's target; the four spirit powers sit below the board with their charge counters.

    › Menu, pause, sound, and info controls stay on screen for the whole run.

    Real buildGameplayFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge gameplay: a 7 by 5 board of skulls, crystals, spell books, potions, candles, and coins; a header with Level 1, 24 moves, and a score of 0 against a target of 25, a charge bar, and menu, pause, sound, and info buttons; and four ability cards below the board, Spirit Swarm, Curse, Mambo Blast, and Hex Bomb, each with a charge counter.

  4. How to play

    The rules, in the game

    An in-game reference covers matching, what each of the four spirit powers does and which symbol charges it, how extra moves work, and locked tiles.

    › Hex Bomb is the only power that can destroy locked tiles.

    Real buildHow to playFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge How to Play panel: match three or more symbols to score and charge abilities; the four spirit powers with what each does and which symbol charges it; the extra-moves rule with the target rising by 25 each level; and locked tiles, which only Hex Bomb can destroy.

  5. Level complete

    Hit the target, keep going

    Reaching the score target completes the level: five extra moves, the next level unlocked, and a target 25 higher, shown over the board without ending the run.

    › There's no final level. The run lasts as long as the moves do.

    Real buildLevel completeFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge level-complete overlay on the board: Level Complete, +5 Moves, Level 2 Unlocked, Next Target 50, with the ability charge counters partly filled below.

  6. Paused

    Pause without losing the run

    Pausing holds the run behind an overlay with two choices: resume where you left off, or exit.

    Real buildPausedFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge pause screen: Paused, with Resume and Exit buttons, over the dimmed board.

  7. Game over

    Score, rank, submit

    When the moves run out, the game shows the final score and its leaderboard rank, and the player can submit it with an optional name, play again, or exit.

    Real buildGame overFull size ↗
    Spirits Charge game-over screen: final score 28 and rank #9, an optional name field, and Play Again, Submit Score, and Exit buttons.

REAL BUILD: screens from the staged build, cropped around the game. Artwork by a dedicated graphics artist; implementation and game systems are mine.

Status

Where it stands

› Playable end to end: start, play, level up, pause, run out of moves, and submit a score.
› Four distinct spirit powers shipped, each with clear visual and input feedback.
› Currently staged on itch.io. No player numbers are claimed here; the screens are the proof.

Stack

FlutterDartAbility SystemAnimation

For technical readers

Technical detail

Build notes

Ability states & targeting

The four powers are where most of the state lives: each has its own charge, its own trigger, and its own effect on the board.

› Fixed a stale-visual-state bug so ability cards stop signalling "active" the instant a shared resource is consumed.
› Built a dedicated targeting state for tap-to-target powers, a pulsing grid border plus an explicit on-screen prompt, after noticing nothing told the player the game was waiting for input.
› Made deliberate sizing calls on the two area-effect powers to keep them visually distinct from each other, confirmed against design review afterwards.

Rules implemented

› Matches of three or more score and charge the power tied to that symbol.
› Reaching a level's target grants five moves and raises the next target by 25; there is no final level.
› Locked tiles can only be destroyed by Hex Bomb, which gives that power a job no other one can do.
› A finished run shows the final score and rank, and can be submitted to the leaderboard with an optional name.
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