Inspiration
We wanted to make typing practice more fun and rewarding. Traditional typing tools often feel repetitive and uninspired, so we asked ourselves: what if typing could also feel like nurturing something alive? Inspired by retro pixel-art games and the calming aesthetic of nature, we set out to build a game where improving your typing skills also grows beautiful virtual trees.
What it does
TypeSprout is a pixel-art styled, web-based typing game. Players practice typing through interactive challenges, and as they improve, they nurture and grow trees in different biome environments. It blends education with gaming by tracking progress, rewarding improvement, and creating a relaxing yet engaging atmosphere.
How we built it
We built TypeSprout using HTML5, CSS3, and vanilla JavaScript to keep it lightweight and accessible. The design emphasizes an accessibility-first approach, with full keyboard navigation and WCAG-compliant interfaces. We created modular CSS for maintainability, retro-styled pixel art for immersion, and a progressive enhancement architecture to ensure the game works smoothly across different browsers and devices.
Challenges we ran into
Designing a smooth and engaging cutscene system that could fall back gracefully on different browsers.
Balancing accessibility with a pixel-art aesthetic without sacrificing readability.
Keeping the architecture modular and scalable for planned future features (like TreeDex and forest environments).
Building a responsive design that preserved the pixel-perfect retro style across various screen sizes.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Implementing a fully functional main menu with complete keyboard navigation.
Achieving accessibility compliance from the ground up.
Designing and coding a pixel-perfect retro aesthetic that scales responsively.
Delivering an opening cutscene system with progressive enhancement.
What we learned
We learned the importance of accessibility-first design — building it in from the start instead of bolting it on later makes the product more inclusive and robust. We also deepened our knowledge of modular frontend development and saw firsthand how clear architecture helps with scalability. Finally, we gained experience balancing creative design with practical usability.
What's next for TypeSprout
Our roadmap includes:
Implementing the core typing gameplay engine with real-time feedback.
Expanding content with 4 unique forest biomes and a TreeDex progress tracker.
Adding tree growth animations and achievement systems to further gamify the experience.
Introducing sound design, progress saving, and eventually multiplayer typing races. Ultimately, we want TypeSprout to become a fun, accessible, and effective typing tutor that grows alongside its players.
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