World 1 / Quest 04

Tap Tap Clicker

Click. Earn. Buy upgrades. Watch the numbers get silly.

Power-up: Ask for Options

You’ll learn

• Power-Up 4: Ask for Options
• What an upgrade loop is (earn → buy → earn faster)
• How a game remembers things after you close it

Briefing

Start prompt

Steps

1. 1

   Pick your thing

   What are you tapping? Cookies are taken. A gem? A slime? A rocket? Pick something and describe it in one sentence (color, shape, what happens when you tap it). Change the gem in the box below to your thing.

   Say this to Coach

   My clicker is about mining gems. In the middle of the screen there's a big purple gem that you tap. Each tap gives 1 gem. Show the total in big numbers at the top. Build just that.

   Copy
2. 2

   Tap it. Then ask for options.

   Now the shop. Don't say "add upgrades." Look at the difference:

   First try: add upgrades

   Better: Give me 3 different ideas for upgrades I could buy. For each one say what it costs and what it does in one sentence. Don't build anything yet — I'll pick.

   Say the better version. Read the three ideas. Pick one (or mix two).

   Say this to Coach

   Give me 3 different ideas for upgrades the player could buy in my clicker game. For each one, say what it costs and what it does in one sentence. Don't build anything yet — I'll pick.

   Copy
3. 3

   Build the one you picked

   Tell Coach which idea you chose and give it the full picture: where the shop button goes, what it says, what happens when you can't afford it.

   Say this to Coach

   I pick idea number 2. Put a shop button on the right side that says its name and its cost. When I click it and I have enough, take the cost away and turn on the upgrade. If I can't afford it, make the button gray. Only this upgrade for now.

   Copy
4. 4

   Ask for options again — the auto-clicker

   The magic of clicker games is stuff that earns for you. Ask for 3 ideas for something that gives you points automatically over time. Pick one. Build it. Watch the number climb while you sit there.

   Say this to Coach

   Give me 3 ideas for an upgrade that earns points automatically every second, even when I'm not tapping. Costs and effects in one sentence each. I'll pick one.

   Copy
5. 5

   Make it remember

   Close the browser. Open the game again. Everything's gone? Time to fix that. Ask Coach to save your total and your upgrades so they're still there after you close it. Ask what it's called and where the computer keeps it.

   Say this to Coach

   Save my total and which upgrades I've bought, so when I close the browser and open the game again, everything is still there. Then tell me in kid words where the browser keeps that saved stuff.

   Copy
6. 6

   Prices that grow

   Last design decision: in real clicker games, every time you buy something, it gets more expensive. Ask for 3 ways prices could grow (a little, a lot, doubling). Pick the one that feels fair to you. You're balancing a game now.

   Say this to Coach

   Give me 3 ways the upgrade price could go up each time I buy it — from gentle to brutal. I'll pick the one that feels fair.

   Copy

Side quests +10 XP each

Stuck?

• Save isn't working? Say what you see: "I expected my total to stay after refresh, but it went back to 0."
• Button never turns gray? Tell Coach the exact number you have and the cost you see.
• Coach only gave you one idea? Say: "I asked for 3 options. Please give me 2 more, different from the first."

More ways to get unstuck