TOUCH GRASS

About the game

A vertical pixel-art platformer about climbing out of the infinite scroll. Nova dives into The Feed after it swallows her little brother, Pim. Jump between posts, follow his trail of likes and swipe away the things asking for your attention. Current build: v0.4.2, an Android development playtest with four playable Shorts Valley levels. Mobile rendering now targets 60 fps; limited Android title and W1-1 samples observed about 60 fps. Art, gameplay and story are unchanged. Memory/performance profiling, wider moving/settings checks, terrain readability improvements and human playtest acceptance remain open. Later worlds and the ending shown in concepts are planned.

Features

Climb four hand-built Shorts Valley levels: jump between posts while The Feed scrolls down.
Unlock the swipe-dash, cross gaps and dismiss Notifications blocking the way.
Collect Minutes and three Lost Photos per level; checkpoint retries keep the chase moving.
Follow Pim through illustrated story panels and short interludes between levels.
Touch controls, keyboard and gamepad support; assist options include slower scrolling and infinite battery.
v0.4.1 adds Echo and Pile Notification looks plus 11 animated W1-4 wall details. Gameplay rules and timing stay consistent.
v0.4.2 targets 60 fps on mobile. Android title and W1-1 samples reached about 60 fps; broader performance acceptance remains open.

Concept art

Concept art explores the intended look; it is separate from captured gameplay.

Nova climbing a neon tower of content cards beneath the TOUCH GRASS title. — Concept artKey art — early concept, not captured gameplay.

Early character study of Nova in a purple hoodie and her little brother Pim. — Concept artNova and Pim — early character studies. Nova’s current in-game hoodie is green.

Early lineup of Bot, Hook, Rage-bait, Sponsored, Notification, Slop and Influencer. — Concept artThe Feed’s inhabitants — concept roster; several later-world enemies are planned.

Environment studies of a green swamp, a purple factory and a dark vertical city. — Concept artBeyond Shorts Valley — planned Comment Swamp, Slop Factory and Dark Mode environments.

Nova and Pim lying in a garden at golden hour, with their phones in the grass. — Concept artA way home — ending concept from the story manuscript; this scene is planned.

Gameplay screenshots

Real Android development captures. Current images appear first; retained older images are explicitly historical. Open any image to look closer.

The TOUCH GRASS title screen in the current Android development build. — Gameplay screenshot0.4.2 title — the current mobile build now targets 60 fps.Version 0.4.2 · Build 715 · Revision 011a175 · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T17:53:30Z · Native Android tablet screenshot; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Nova at the start of Shorts Valley with pink terrain, cyan ledges and touch controls. — Gameplay screenshot0.4.2, W1-1 arrival — the existing route, artwork and controls are preserved.Version 0.4.2 · Build 715 · Revision 011a175 · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T17:55:34Z · Native Android tablet screenshot; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Nova mid-jump beside a cyan ledge in W1-1, with a green-screen Bot below her. — Gameplay screenshot0.4.2, W1-1 — a frame from the short native jump and movement smoke check. This is not a completed route.Version 0.4.2 · Build 715 · Revision 011a175 · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T18:00:24Z · Native Android tablet screen-recording frame at 1.50 seconds; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Nova on a cyan platform in Shorts Valley, with Minutes above her and animated screens along violet walls. — Gameplay screenshot · beforeHistorical 0.4.1 capture — W1-4, “Just One More” — wall screens give the final climb a little more life. This is a post-arrival diagnostic capture. Visuals are unchanged in 0.4.2; retained as earlier W1-3/W1-4 context.Version 0.4.1 · Build 714 · Revision b120f0d · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T16:45:01Z · Native tablet capture from the development build; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Nova below heart-marked platforms, with Notification bell badges and a watching eye on the wall. — Gameplay screenshot · beforeHistorical 0.4.1 capture — W1-4, post 6 — heart platforms, Notification warnings and FYP’s watching presence. This is a post-arrival diagnostic capture. Visuals are unchanged in 0.4.2; retained as earlier W1-3/W1-4 context.Version 0.4.1 · Build 714 · Revision b120f0d · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T16:45:56Z · Native tablet capture from the development build; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Nova in W1-3 with a copper Pile bell badge, Minutes and directional swipe hints. — Gameplay screenshot · beforeHistorical 0.4.1 capture — W1-3 — the copper Pile badge joins Bell and violet Echo. Captured during a movement and dash input smoke check. Visuals are unchanged in 0.4.2; retained as earlier W1-3/W1-4 context.Version 0.4.1 · Build 714 · Revision b120f0d · Android · Captured 2026-10-13T16:53:36Z · Native tablet capture from the development build; lossless publication copy, no crop or retouch.

Story

Nova is fifteen, dryly funny and carrying a cracked flip phone. Pim is nine and has just got his first smartphone. When The Feed pulls him in, she follows. FYP, the algorithm with the calm golden eye, is always polite. It only wants one thing: just one more. The joke is on The Feed, never on Pim. Nova is tempted too. The manuscript below follows the established opening and World 1 chase, then marks the wider arc as planned. It contains story spoilers.

Manuscript

01 · Home

Evening in the living room. Pim sits on the sofa, lit by his new phone. Nova watches beside him, flip phone in hand. “Pim got his first phone. That was six days ago.”

02 · Just one more

The phone opens into a blue portal. A golden eye looks out. Pim floats toward it; Nova lunges after him. “Then his phone looked back. It said: "Just one more."”

03 · Nova goes in

Pim is gone. Nova flips open her cracked phone and dives head-first into the screen. “One flip phone. No plan. Nova went in anyway.”

04 · The Feed only goes up

Nova lands on a platform in Shorts Valley. Above her, content cards disappear into an endless vertical city. A trail of hearts leads upward. “Pim left a trail of likes. The Feed only goes up.”

05 · World 1: almost close enough

Nova follows the trail, finds Pim’s lost shoe and learns that the cards keep carrying him away. FYP starts dropping Notifications into her path. She gets within shouting range. Nova: “PIM!” He didn’t even look up. At the top of Shorts Valley, Pim finally turns and reaches back. Their hands almost meet. FYP gently pulls the ribbon onward: “Ooh! Up next... ...the comments!” Nova follows him toward Comment Swamp.

06 · The wider journey — planned manuscript

After Shorts Valley, the intended journey continues through Comment Swamp, Influencer Mall, Slop Factory, Dark Mode and FYP Core. Nova discovers a feed producing more of itself, while Pim is being turned into a looping clip. FYP offers her a perfect feed made only for her. The planned escape breaks the vertical frame into a horizontal run. Nova grabs Pim; the colours return; the last tile is grass. In the garden, neither checks their phone. An epilogue unlocked by all Lost Photos has Pim turn a new notification face-down. These later worlds, final escape and epilogue are story plans, not features of the current build.

Art direction

Pixel art, violet shadows and electric cyan: a phone-shaped world that keeps asking for your attention. Warm greens belong to the real world. Early concepts explore the look; the current game has its own refined sprites and controls.