Jan Ken Pon!
Arcade action game reimagining the cultural decision-making game where the winner tries to hit their opponent on the head with a toy hammer, while the loser tries to protect their head with a helmet. Players compete against an AI opponent in escalating difficulty rounds.
Play on Itch.ioOverview
Jan Ken Pon! is an arcade action game reimagining the cultural decision-making game where the winner tries to hit their opponent on the head with a toy hammer, while the loser tries to protect their head with a helmet.
Players compete against an AI opponent in escalating difficulty rounds. Select rock, paper, or scissors — winning grants a point and hammer access to strike the opponent, while losing grants the opponent a point and gives the player a helmet for defense.
My Role: Technical Producer
Executed end-to-end ownership from concept to release, creating all custom sprites, programming all mechanics, and delivering a complete, polished arcade experience as a solo developer. Demonstrated full-stack game development capability on a live-ready product, from AI difficulty scaling to final player-facing polish.
Mechanics
Rock Paper Scissors
Select rock, paper, or scissors each round. Winning grants a point plus hammer access to strike the opponent. Losing grants the opponent a point and gives the player a helmet for defense.
Hammer Attack
Winners grab the hammer and attempt to land a blow on the opponent's head. Timing is key — the window to strike is limited and the AI responds faster as difficulty climbs.
Helmet Defense
Losers receive a helmet and must equip it before the opponent's hammer connects. Successfully blocking a strike resets the duel and keeps the game going.
AI Design
The AI opponent scales difficulty with the player's score — responding faster to both offensive and defensive moves as the game progresses. Randomization ensures varied match outcomes, so no two rounds play out the same. Early rounds are accessible while higher scores introduce tighter, more punishing windows.
Development Scope
Jan Ken Pon! was a complete solo project — Eric handled everything from sprite creation and game mechanics to programming and full project execution. It demonstrates end-to-end ownership of a shipped arcade game from concept through release.
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