# Life: In Pieces

> *"Hope is not just a feeling – it’s a choice that repeats, over and over, through every stage of life."*

**[Life: In Pieces](https://juhighosh007.github.io/life-in-pieces/)** is a narrative-driven, stage-based game created for the **Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program 2025 Game Jam**.  
The player journeys through **childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age** — each phase offering unique mechanics, challenges, and perspectives.

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## 🎯 Game Concept

Hope is catching joy even when danger falls beside it.  
In adolescence, it’s navigating obstacles knowing you might stumble — but pushing forward anyway.  
In adulthood, it’s balancing exhaustion with ambition, holding on to the belief that balance is still possible.  
In old age, it’s weaving through drifting blocks — fragments of memories, regrets, and fading strength — still finding ways to move ahead.  

Through evolving mechanics and changing outcomes, the game invites players to experience how resilience takes different forms in every chapter of life.

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## ✨ Features

- **Four Distinct Phases**
  - **Childhood** – Catch joyful objects while dodging dangers that fall alongside them.
  - **Adolescence** – Navigate moving obstacles with retry-friendly gameplay.
  - **Adulthood** – Make branching life choices that balance burnout, joy, and progress.
  - **Old Age** – Dodge sideways-drifting blocks representing memories and regrets while maintaining mobility.

- **Evolving Gameplay**
  - Each stage changes the core mechanics, keeping the experience fresh and surprising.

- **Meaningful Choices**
  - Player decisions in adulthood directly shape the ending you see.

- **Narrative Flow**
  - Short reflective text connects gameplay to the emotional arc of each phase.

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## 🛠️ Technologies Used

- **JavaScript** 
- **[p5.js](https://p5js.org/)** 
- **[p5.play](https://p5play.org/)** 

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## 🎮 How to Play

1. Progress through life phases in sequence — each with its own mechanics.
2. **Childhood:** Move the catcher to grab joyful objects and avoid dangers.
3. **Adolescence:** Navigate obstacles and reach the goal, retrying if caught.
4. **Adulthood:** Choose actions that affect your burnout, joy, and progress stats.
5. **Old Age:** Avoid drifting blocks while keeping your movement steady to reach the end.
   
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## 📦 Installation & Running Locally

1. Clone this repository
2. Open index.html in your browser (p5.js is browser-based, no server required).
3. Play!