Solstice Quest: Keeper of the Flame

This is a submission for the June Solstice Game Jam

What I Built

Solstice Quest: Keeper of the Flame** is an atmospheric, multi-level 2D puzzle-platformer built on the theme of cosmic and cyclical balance. Players step into the shoes of the Keeper, tasked with carrying the volatile Solstice Flame through ancient, shifting ruins and delivering it to solar beacons before it gutters out.

Temporal Dual-World Mechanics

The core mechanic is the Time Flip—the ability to dynamically swap the environment between Day and Night:

• The Day World: Activates golden light barriers, opens solar-powered gates, and reveals sun switches that must be pressed to advance.
• The Night World: Coaxes luminous amethyst crystals from the ground, unlocks dark passages, and sprouts magical bouncy mushrooms that launch the Keeper to celestial heights.

Every movement, jump, dash, and cosmic shift drains the flame's Daylight Energy. Players must gather dispersed Solar Fragments to feed the flame, or interact with ancient spirits to prove their celestial wisdom.

Video Demo

https://youtu.be/dEW3Z5aAMII

Play here

https://ai.studio/apps/6b8723cf-2b89-4aaa-b29e-404436bff64e?fullscreenApplet=true

Code

https://github.com/hemanttechie/solsticegame

How I Built It

Solstice Quest was engineered from scratch without heavy engine overlays to ensure lightning-fast loading, smooth frames, and absolute precision:

1. Hybrid 2D Physics Vector Loop

• Configured a dedicated requestAnimationFrame render/physics handler over an HTML5 canvas.
• Implemented real-time sub-pixel collision resolution, momentum retention, double-jumping, visual target tracking cameras, and gravity decay.
• Built a particle-spawning engine utilising wind currents and vertical velocity to leave a tail of trailing stardust or glowing solar embers depending on the current time state.

2. Temporal State Machine

• Created a synchronised time-management array linking player interaction states to the active tile map. Barriers, crystal hazards, and switches instantaneously toggle collision layers on/off when the player triggers a Time Flip.
• Integrated keyboard listeners permitting advanced players to tap Shift, C, or F for rapid, high-speed movement flow.

3. Solstice Spirits Trivia Engine

• Built a comprehensive educational trivia module focusing on Earth axis tilts, light speed travel physics, pigments, and solar mechanics.
• Designed a non-blocking UI overlay with key-trap shortcuts (1/2/3 selections, R to retry, and movement keys (WASD / arrows) to seamlessly dismiss solved questions), preventing game loop freeze and allowing players to immediately resume physical movement.

4. Difficulty Calibration Engine

• Integrated an offline-persistent Difficulty Selector into the main menu allowing players to choose their level of challenge (Easy, Normal, Solstice/Hard).
• Modulates starting resource pools (e.g., 80% on Solstice Mode) and adjusts decay thresholds dynamically (up to 1.4x decay rate penalty), saved straight to localStorage.

Prize Category

1. Best Google AI Usage

The game utilizes Google Gemini API integration through interactive, real-time-generated dialogues with local spirits and dynamic, context-appropriate ancient stone tablets (lore markers) hidden throughout the stages. This goes beyond static text, injecting personalized narrative and mystical lore into the game mechanics itself depending on the Keeper's progress and current level layout!

2. June Solstice Theme (Overall Game Jam)

Built from the ground up prioritising the solstice seasonal transition. Gameplay directly hinges on the physical parameters of our solar cycle: seasonal tilts, solar hours, and the delicate equilibrium between light and dark.

Comments

[Alex Shev]

The flame-carrying premise works well for the challenge because it turns the solstice into something the player has to protect. I like the dual-world structure too: day/night is easy to understand, but it still gives you space for barriers, gates, crystals, and resource pressure. My main suggestion would be to put the playable link, controls, and one representative screenshot very high in the article so people can jump in faster.

[Hemant Kr Sajnani]

Thank you for the suggestions. I've added playable link and screenshot.