The latest articles on DEV Community by Elaine Cui (@stuuupidfish). https://dev.to/stuuupidfish https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3755124%2Fd5f91652-74e2-456e-8287-6c5983108280.png https://dev.to/stuuupidfish en Elaine Cui Mon, 08 Jun 2026 01:12:52 +0000 https://dev.to/stuuupidfish/hamster-diver-22n3 https://dev.to/stuuupidfish/hamster-diver-22n3 <p><em>This is a submission for the <a href="https://dev.to/challenges/github-2026-05-21">GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon Challenge</a></em></p> <p>Help! Hamsphere is trapped at the bottom of the ocean! Navigate her safely to the surface by avoiding obstacles and replenishing her oxygen level with bubbles.</p> <p><a class="mentioned-user" href="https://dev.to/stuuupidfish">@stuuupidfish</a>: Game Development/Programming + Art (secondary)<br> <a class="mentioned-user" href="https://dev.to/szhangk">@szhangk</a>: Art (primary) + Animation<br> <a class="mentioned-user" href="https://dev.to/chailattee">@chailattee</a>: Music + Audio</p> <h2> What I Built </h2> <p>Hamster Diver is an arcade-style video game with 6 different levels and an endless mode. You play as Hamsphere, a hamster stuck at the bottom of the ocean who trying to navigate her way back up to the surface. However, there's a catch. You only have so much oxygen to use before you will drown! Collecting air bubbles will replenish your oxygen and running into enemies will deplete it. As you progress, levels become harder, but beating all 6 unlocks the endless mode where you can shoot for a new high score!</p> <h2> Demo </h2> <p><a href="https://stuuupidfish.itch.io/hamster-diver" rel="noopener noreferrer">Play Hamster Diver now on itch.io!</a><br> <a href="https://youtu.be/Mh8p9zQYDaw" rel="noopener noreferrer">Playthrough / Demo</a><br> <a href="https://github.com/Stuuupidfish/HamsterDiver2" rel="noopener noreferrer">GitHub repo</a></p> <h2> The Comeback Story </h2> <p>Initially, this game was created for Global Game Jam. However, due to the Jam's 3-day time constraint, we had to make some compromises so we could create a playable game within the deadline. As we were demoing the game, we got lots of feedback from players who wanted to see certain features such as levels and varying difficulty. Luckily, the GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon gave us the opportunity to implement our feedback and expand the game to was we initially envisioned it to be! <br> The old/original version of Hamster Diver can be found <a href="https://globalgamejam.org/games/2026/hamster-diver-4" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></p> <h2> My Experience with GitHub Copilot </h2> <p>Most of the game was made by hand but Copilot was used a lot when it came to the tedious work. Tasks like debugging, writing Game Object animation scripts and Coroutines were all handled by Copilot. </p> devchallenge githubchallenge gamedev unity2d