FOR THE JUDGES:

• Link to the compressed file (15,311 Bytes): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QB5p1t8cRlBuAA0dmfDRVPIGRrvbSTil/view?usp=sharing
• Link to hosted game: https://thacks26.vercel.app/

---

Buggy On - TartanHacks 2026

By Anthony Bustamante, Yee Kit Chan, and Evelynn Chen

A fast-paced downhill racing game where you control a buggy through procedurally generated terrain, collecting pushers, dodging potholes, and jumping over collapsed bridge gaps. Inspired by Buggy, one of CMU's longest held traditions.

Objective

Travel as far as possible down Flagstaff Hill. Your score is measured in meters traveled. The game ends when you crash, fall into a gap, lose momentum, or fail to recover from a bad landing.

Gameplay Overview

The Challenge

All 446 Pittsburgh bridges have collapsed, leaving dangerous gaps in your path. You must maintain speed and momentum to jump these gaps while navigating treacherous terrain filled with potholes and obstacles.

Core Mechanics

Pushers - Collectible NPCs that provide speed boosts

• You can hold up to 3 pushers at once
• Collect them by pressing ACTION when nearby
• Use CALL PUSHER to activate a powerful boost
• Save pushers for big bridge gaps - they're essential for clearing wide chasms

Potholes - Hazards that slow you down

• Swerve around them using ACTION when nearby
• Hitting a pothole reduces your speed significantly
• Successfully swerving gives you a brief speed boost

Bridge Gaps - The main obstacle

• Procedurally generated gaps of varying widths
• Requires sufficient speed and proper landing angle
• Bad landings or hitting cliff walls will end your run

Controls

Touch/Mobile

• CALL PUSHER (right button) - Activates a boost when you have pushers in reserve
• ACTION (left button) - Collects nearby pushers or swerves around potholes
• Tap anywhere on title/end screens to continue

Features

• Procedurally Generated Terrain - Every run is unique with dynamic slopes, gaps, and obstacles
• Physics-Based Movement - Realistic buggy physics with air control, landing mechanics, and momentum
• Boost System - Strategic use of pushers for speed boosts and gap clearing
• Leaderboard - Compete with others (requires WiFi connection)
• Death Markers - See where other players crashed (when online)
• Dynamic Music - Procedurally generated soundtrack that adapts to gameplay
• Particle Effects - Visual feedback for boosts, crashes, and interactions
• Tutorial System - Interactive tutorial teaches all game mechanics

How to Play

1. Start - Tap to begin after the tutorial
2. Collect Pushers - Use ACTION near standing pushers to add them to your reserve (max 3)
3. Dodge Potholes - Use ACTION near potholes to swerve around them
4. Call Pushers - When you need extra speed (especially for gaps), tap CALL PUSHER
5. Jump Gaps - Build up speed before bridge gaps and maintain proper landing angle
6. Survive - Keep your speed up, avoid crashes, and travel as far as possible

Tips for Success

• Save pushers for bridge gaps - They're your lifeline for clearing wide chasms
• Maintain speed - Don't let your buggy slow down too much or you'll stall
• Watch the terrain - Downhill slopes help, but watch for sudden drops
• Time your boosts - Use pushers strategically, not just when available
• Swerve potholes - They significantly slow you down if hit

---

Quick Start

Build artifact:

./build.sh

This will:

1. Read source files from src/:
   • src/style.css
   • src/game.js
2. Use a compact HTML shell for packaging (equivalent to src/index.html)
3. Build a single self-contained build/index.html (inline CSS + JS)
4. Minify JS during build if bun is installed (fallback: raw JS)
5. Compress into the smallest supported artifact format:
   • build/game.tar.br (preferred when brotli is installed)
   • or build/game.tar.zst
   • or build/game.tar.gz

Build and serve with canonical script:

./build.sh --serve

This will:

1. Build the smallest artifact (build/game.tar.br, .zst, or .gz)
2. Run applovin_script.sh to extract and serve on port 8000

Dev source of truth

• Edit files in src/ during development.
• build.sh packages directly from src/.

Access the game:

• Local browser: http://localhost:8000
• Mobile device:
  1. Find your computer's IP: ifconfig | grep "inet " OR ipconfig getifaddr en0 || ipconfig getifaddr en1 || ifconfig | awk '/inet / && $2 != "127.0.0.1" {print $2; exit}'
  2. Open http://YOUR_IP:8000 on your phone browser

Stop the server:

lsof -ti:8000 | xargs kill -9