Game Design Overview

One-sentence pitch: run a pocket workshop that repeatedly launches new stars, using taps, holds, rotation and tilt inside a 1.75-inch, 466×466 round touch display.

POCKET STAR WORKSHOP borrows the progression rhythm of incremental games without copying the familiar “large center object plus surrounding panels” layout. A round display has no stable corners, little room for lists, and a finger can cover a large part of the scene. Circular geometry, single-pointer transactions and short-lived information density are therefore foundational constraints rather than a final visual skin.

Three design pillars

One screen, one question

SEED asks how to earn more Sparks; SHOP asks who produces them and how they cooperate; STAR asks when to begin the next star.

Gestures define the world

The center creates, the inner ring coordinates, the edge navigates, and tilt supplies physical response.

Every gain remains visible

Numbers, maker placement, tool states, TEAM links and archived stars all express progression.

Player mental model

ACTIVE STEPTap the SeedTap the Seed to begin the loop

SPARKS: 48
MAKERS: 1
CPS: 0.4
TEAM: 0
BADGES: 0
RUN: #1

The implementation is not one giant UI controller. The web prototype separates a pure GameEngine, economic formulas, circular geometry, Canvas rendering, particles/frame sequences and save storage. The ESP32 version preserves those boundaries while replacing their implementations with C++, RGB565, RTC and NVS.

Three-page round-screen topology

INTERNAL ID / core

SEED

PLAYER QUESTION: How do I earn more Sparks?
PRIMARY ACTION: Tap and three-stage hold
SECONDARY ENTRY: Tap-power upgrade

INTERNAL ID / grow

SHOP

PLAYER QUESTION: Who produces, and how do they cooperate?
PRIMARY ACTION: Buy Makers and rotate the inner ring
SECONDARY ENTRY: Tools and TEAM

INTERNAL ID / loop

STAR

PLAYER QUESTION: When should I launch, and what remains?
PRIMARY ACTION: Double-confirm launch
SECONDARY ENTRY: Gifts and settings

Visual contract

Logical canvas and physical panel are both 466×466; production does not scale the frame at runtime.
Major non-font assets use a 2×2 master visual texel, nearest-neighbor sampling and integer placement.
From v5 onward, everything shares CONSOLE-RGB16: black, saturated red/yellow/blue, cyan information layers and continuous dark outlines.
Assets and code-drawn geometry share color semantics; arcs, particles and type cannot introduce a separate modern-UI palette.
Motion targets 30 FPS, or 15 FPS with reduced motion; game logic always advances using real delta time.