you can play here: r/decod

First, you need to install devvit instructions here

# login first
devvit login

# clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/bm777/decod.git
cd decod

# upload the app
devvit upload

# playtest the app
devvit playtest <name>

The game converts a 21x21 binary matrix (grid of 0s and 1s) into readable text through the following process:

1. Bit Reading: The matrix is read in row-major order (left-to-right, top-to-bottom), treating each cell as a single bit.

2. Character Encoding: Every 5 bits are grouped together to form a 5-bit integer (0-31), which maps to a character in our custom 32-character alphabet:

   • The alphabet consists of: AABCDEEFGHIIJKLMNOOPQRSTUU VWXYZ
   • This allows us to represent all 26 English letters plus spaces efficiently

3. Word Formation: The resulting character stream is processed by:

   • Removing spaces
   • Splitting the text into random chunks (segments of length 2-7)
   • Identifying segments longer than 3 characters

4. Word Validation: Each identified segment is checked against an English dictionary to determine if it's a valid word.

5. Scoring: Valid English words found in the matrix contribute to the player's score in the game.

The following table shows how each character is encoded using 5 bits:

Notice that vowels (A, E, I, O, U) are repeated in our encoding scheme. This is intentional and serves a crucial purpose:

• Vowel Frequency: In the English language, vowels appear more frequently than most consonants. By doubling vowels in our encoding, we increase the probability of generating vowels when decoding random bit patterns.

• Word Formation: This frequency optimization makes it more likely that random pixel patterns will decode into valid English words, as most English words require vowels.

• Gameplay Balance: The encoding is designed to create a balance where player-placed pixels have a reasonable chance of forming recognizable words while still presenting a challenge.

This frequency-adjusted encoding is what makes the game both challenging and rewarding, as players learn to strategically place pixels to maximize their chances of forming high-scoring words.

graph TD
A[main.tsx] --> B[PostView]
B --> C[CanvasView]
B --> D[LeaderboardView]
B --> E[HelpView]

C --> F[PixelText]
D --> F
E --> F

C --> G[canvas.js]
C --> H[decodeMatrix.js]
C --> I[leaderboard.js]

D --> I

G --> J[Challenge Management]
H --> K[Word Detection]
I --> L[User Scoring/Ranking]


class A,B,C,D,E component;
class G,H,I logic;
class F,J,K,L utility;

flowchart TD
    A[main.tsx] -->|Entry Point| B[Configures Devvit]
    A -->|Registers| C[Custom Post Type: Decod]
    A -->|Adds| D[Subreddit Menu Item]
    
    C -->|Renders| E[PostView]
    E -->|State: home| F[Home Screen]
    E -->|State: canvas| G[CanvasView]
    E -->|State: leaderboard| H[LeaderboardView]
    E -->|State: help| I[HelpView]
    
    G -->|Places pixel| J[placePixel function]
    G -->|Checks for words| K[decodeWordMatrix function]
    G -->|Updates scores| L[leaderboard functions]
    
    J -->|Updates| M[Redis Canvas Data]
    K -->|Detects| N[Valid English Words]
    L -->|Updates| O[User Rankings]
    

graph LR
    A[User Input] -->|Place Pixel| B[CanvasView]
    B -->|Update Canvas| C[Redis]
    B -->|Real-time Updates| D[Other Users]
    B -->|Word Detection| E[decodeMatrix]
    E -->|Valid Words Found| F[Leaderboard]
    
    G[New Challenge] -->|Create Post| H[Reddit API]
    H -->|Store Link| C
    
    I[View Leaderboard] -->|Get Rankings| J[LeaderboardView]
    J -->|Fetch Data| C