The problem I had
I upgraded to an ergonomic split keyboard lately, and my speed tanked. I could get by leveraging my piano skills, now those compensation patterns stop working - split layout turns out to be too big of a gap to fill.
I have drastically cut back on casual playtime so that I can have more time to learn and build, adding uptight typing drills tips the balance too far - it takes the joy out of the process.
Why not make it fun by building something I like, so daily grind becomes daily play?
Space Invaders, but educational
Why Space Invaders
I am a big fan of an pseudonymous street artist Invader space-invaders.com, scanning his work during my trips have always been my highlights.
While I was holding my phone getting ready to scan, my eyes are busy taking in every little detail of the streets, hoping to find the hidden-in-plain-sight mosaic art.
I have so many fond memories because of his art.
How the game works
TypeCraft drops letters from the sky as pixel invaders. Type the letter to destroy it. Miss it, and it lands and eats the grape in the center.
The game tracks which letters you miss, which ones take longest, and adapts — sending more of your weak letters as you play.
It's about precision under pressure.
(for the record, I do NOT want to destroy the invaders at all, I just like the feeling of seeing A LOT OF space invaders)
What I learned building it
SPEC SPEC SPEC It started from a simple idea, but to make it cohesive, it took 45 min iterating with Claude Code to write a spec.
...AND there are still details that both me and Claude missed, like accepting enter key as signal for 'Continue' button.
Try it
TypeCraft is live. Play a round, find your weak keys, and let me know what you think.