Today’s vibe?
Me vs. the pixels.
And guess what… I won 😤🍦
I set out thinking I’d just crank out a few seasonal background PNGs using AI. You know, generate → download → done. But nah… turns out, our boy Patch (aka the image model) just can’t hit that pixel-perfect alignment I need for this cosmic menu grid to snap cleanly. Close? Sure. But in the end, not good enough.
So guess who’s doing graphic design now?
That’s right — me. 🧠🖌️
🧰 THE WORKFLOW: Patch x Me x Affinity
Patch still helps — don’t get it twisted. He’s been laying down some dope composite foundations: neon houses, math ghosts, seasonal color palettes. But then I bring it home inside Affinity Designer, manually overlaying elements to match the /menubackground.png anchor file. Cone and truck placements? Label spacing?
👉 That’s all me now, baby. All the book covers and album cover experience is paying off!
💡 THE WHY: Customization, Surprise, Familiarity
This isn’t even core game development.
It’s something else… something extra.
What I’m building here is a layer of delight — for that one player who notices. Maybe they open the app on Halloween and it’s glowing orange. Or they poke around the profile tab and unlock a cosmic cone for earning 10 XP. That’s the vibe.
It’s about customization.
Letting people feel like this weird neon math fest is theirs.
And yeah — one day I’ll tie it all into badges, progress, maybe even unlockable backgrounds. But right now? It’s about getting the vibes right.
✅ WHAT’S DONE SO FAR:
🌱 Seasonal Themes (auto-loaded by default):
- Spring – Bloom Beam 🌸
- Summer – Solar Lick ☀️
- Fall – Maple Drip 🍂
- Winter – Frost Spiral ❄️
🥳 Holiday Themes (date overrides):
- 4th of July – Firework Fizz 🎆 (needs polish but still bangin)
- Halloween – Ghoulberry Hex 🎃 (math ghost version + clean version)
🪐 Cosmic Unlockables (badge-based, in progress):
- Nebula Swirl ✅
- Logic Pulse, Galactic Ice, and more – on deck
🔥 SIDE QUEST WINS
- Created an explosion of cone, truck, and background assets 🎇
- Everything’s tucked neatly in clean folders (bless my digital OCD 🙏)
- Learned just how much manual control matters when building a visual language
- Realized that game dev isn’t always code — sometimes it’s vibes, glow, and alignment
I’ll be in this design flow for a couple more days probably.
But man… when I zoom out and look at what I’m stacking in /assets/ — it’s wild. This game’s not just gonna play well.
It’s gonna look iconic.
💾 Assets: growing
🧠 Skills: leveled up
🌈 Vibes: unmatched
Until next time,
🍧 — JPS Grooves, SnowCone wizard in training
JPS Grooves 
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