Hey everyone,

It’s been about four days since I launched Monte Madness, and what a wild ride it’s been! The release itself was a blur of excitement, adrenaline, and non-stop work. Thank you to everyone who has played the game, shared it with friends, and given me your feedback. Seeing you all play is what makes all the hard work worth it.

But if I'm being honest, the past couple of days have been... different. After the initial rush, I hit a flatline. The energy that carried me through the launch has been replaced by a new kind of quiet. I've found myself questioning if the game is good enough and if all the effort was worth it. It’s a feeling I think a lot of creators can relate to, and I wanted to be transparent about it.

It’s easy to feel lost in this phase.

What's Next?

I’m already thinking about what comes next. I have a lot of ideas to make the game even better. My immediate goals are to add some features like:

• Leaderboards: I’m working on implementing a leaderboard system so you can compete for the top spot.
• Two-Player Mode: I'm planning to add a two-player mode to bring some friendly competition to the game.
• More Polish: You'll also see some more exciting graphics and a proper splash screen to make the game feel even more complete.

Even though my energy has fluctuated, I am committed to making this game the best it can be. Your feedback is what will help me get there.

Thank you again for your support. Stay tuned for more updates!

Link to the game

Just checked it out, so much fun
Discovered how to use the lightning and it was awesome 😂🔥

Love it❤️

Maybe just make it pay as you want so people who love it can support you with something

Yeah I agree, this time you just gather feedbacks and find your audience then your next release you add a price

Wow, the art style is amazing ❤️🔥

No problem! 

I am new here and I just dropped my first game I would love to know what you think 

Awesome

This is great

It takes a bit longer to load from the unity splash screen tho

Love it so much

Looks great, I really love the graphics style 💯

I love this, simple but requires you to think 😂

Oh great, did you like?
I am also struggling with my way around, on here

No problem! I dropped my first game today too
Happy to know I am not the only one 😂😂

An amazing game, love it!

🔥🔥

From a Cat Meme to Monte Madness!

Part 1: The Spark - A Meme and a Vision It all began with a simple meme: a cat, a shuffled cup, and a hidden treat. 

It was a fleeting internet moment, but it sparked something in me. I saw more than just a funny GIF; I saw the potential for a simple, yet deeply engaging game. My vision was clear: a clean UI, easy to understand, but with a challenge that would truly test a player's focus. As a budding coder, I wanted to build this entirely with just vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It was a personal challenge to see what I could create with the fundamental tools of the web. 

Part 2: The Stumbles & Breakthroughs - Learning on the Fly My first prototype was... well, a prototype!

 The graphics were flat, and the game felt impossible. I mean truly impossible. I shared it with a friend, and her feedback was brutal but essential: "The cups shuffle and end up in their original positions again!" Sigh. My core mechanic, the shuffle, wasn't actually working as intended. That was a big step back, but a crucial lesson. I took a deep breath, dove back into the code, and finally nailed the shuffling logic. 

The cups now moved unpredictably! But the game was still a beast. The shuffle was too fast, and the UI was, to put it mildly, not great. This led to my first major pivot: I stepped away from the code to rethink the visual experience. I rebranded the entire game, designed a custom logo, and worked to give it a fresh, appealing look. This process came with its own set of challenges like debugging why my HTML wouldn't load a local image, forcing me to learn about external image hosting. As a new coder, these seemingly small problems often felt like monumental hurdles, but each one was a learning experience. 

Part 3: Polishing the Experience - Sounds, Senses & Streaks With the UI sorted (and a little help from AI to polish my  HTML and JS!), the game finally looked ready. 

But it felt silent. Lifeless. Adding sound effects became the next frontier. This was a tough part; it made me wonder, "Is this what professional game studios go through to find the right music and soundscapes?" I explored the Web Audio API, generating music and sound effects in real-time right in the browser. It was a revelation! Adding sound then highlighted another need: visual feedback. The "wobble" effect on wrong picks and the "glowy edge" for correct choices were added to give players immediate, satisfying responses. 

The game was starting to feel alive! Next, I tackled player encouragement. How could I reward skill and streaks? The idea of a "gift round" came to me: a special round with no bombs, just score items and a unique "Gift Box." If you picked the Gift Box, it combined the points from the other two cups for an impressive bonus. This felt fantastic—a genuine reward for skilled play! 

Part 4: The Strategic Leap - Crisis, Customization & Control I stepped away from the project for a bit, facing some personal crises, but even during that break, the game was still on my mind. 

I kept learning, wondering what more it could be. The biggest breakthrough came in the last two weeks: power-ups! I envisioned X-Ray Vision to peek under a cup, a Shield to block a bomb, and Double Points to amplify a win. Initially, these were purchased with your score, but that felt counter-intuitive—you lost score to gain score. That's when the idea for an in-game currency hit: Gems! Now, you earn gems as you play, and these gems give you real control over the game's outcome. 

This was by far the most exciting feature, adding a deep layer of strategy. As the control grew, so did the desire for personalization. I added several thoughtfully designed themes, making sure the original blue UI remained the "classic" branded look. I introduced special cup skins with a subtle gradient depth, adding visual flair. At this point, I truly felt the game was complete. 

Part 5: The Home Stretch - Bugs, Balance & Belief I sent the "complete" game to a few friends for a final test, and they quickly found a new problem: you could activate all power-ups simultaneously. 

X-Ray, Shield, Double—it made you virtually untouchable, completely breaking the challenge! With only a few hours left before my planned release, I quickly implemented a "one power-up per shuffle session" rule and tweaked the dynamic background music to reflect the escalating tension. It's been a hectic few hours, working alone through the night on promo materials, but I am so incredibly happy with how Monte Madness has turned out. Looking back at the journey from that first, broken prototype to the game you see today, it's been an amazing, challenging, and incredibly rewarding experience. 

My goal for this launch was simple: to get 20 players and I will call this game a huge success. 

Monte Madness is a browser-native game built using only vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It's a passion project, a tribute to classic arcade experiences reimagined with modern depth. Here, strategic thinking meets fast-paced action, where every decision carries weight and every round truly tests your nerve.

Don't underestimate the power of preparation in Monte Madness, fortune favors the strategic mind.

Play Now

This is great

This is amazing

Congrats 👏

❤️🔥

This is very awesome