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Lizely

Slingshot Launcher

Drag opposite the target, release a deterministic pixel-unit projectile, and hit five fixed targets for exactly 1,000 points.

Privacy: your files never leave your device. All processing happens locally in your browser.

How to use

  1. 1.Start on the projectile, drag it away from the target to set the opposite launch vector, and release; the pull is capped to the authored play range.
  2. 2.Read the dotted path after a miss, then adjust the pull with another drag or focus the range and use Arrow keys in five-pixel steps before Space or Enter.
  3. 3.Hit one target per level for exactly 200 points, clear all five for 1,000, and use Restart if two different normalized launch patterns miss.

About Slingshot Launcher

Slingshot Game is a five-level browser game about reading a curved path and choosing a useful pull. Each level places one circular target in a fixed location on a 640 by 360 playfield. Drag the projectile away from the target, release it, and watch the calculated path. A hit clears the level and awards exactly 200 points. Clearing all five targets produces the fixed maximum score of 1,000 points. Nothing is random, so a pull that works after Restart will work again.

The launch rule follows the familiar slingshot idea: the projectile travels opposite the drag. The game subtracts the released pull point from the fixed launcher origin, then multiplies that vector by a product-authored velocity scale. Pulling left produces a positive horizontal launch velocity. Pulling downward produces a negative vertical launch velocity in the screen coordinate system, where smaller y values appear higher on the display. The allowed pull length is capped so pointer, touch, and keyboard play use the same range.

After release, the game calculates positions rather than running an unstable frame-by-frame physics engine. Horizontal position is the initial x position plus horizontal velocity multiplied by time. Vertical position is the initial y position plus vertical velocity multiplied by time plus one half of the downward pixel gravity multiplied by time squared. The game samples a complete deterministic path immediately. This uses the standard constant-acceleration component form described by OpenStax and independently cross-checked with Boston University Physics.

Those equations explain the path shape, but the numbers are deliberately game values. The gravity value, velocity scale, launcher location, target centers, target radii, projectile radius, four-second path window, and scoring rules are original Lizely fixtures expressed in screen pixels and game seconds. They are not calibrated to Earth gravity, a physical slingshot, a particular elastic band, projectile mass, air resistance, wind, or a real distance. The game is recreational aiming practice, not a ballistics calculator or safety tool.

A target counts as hit when the projectile path crosses the target area. Collision checking uses the combined target and projectile radii. It checks the distance from the target center to every adjacent trajectory segment, instead of asking whether one isolated sampled point happens to land inside the circle. That segment test prevents a fast path from visually crossing a target between samples without being recognized. A visible dotted line shows the last calculated path, while a lighter preview responds to the current pull.

Each level permits experimentation but keeps mistakes meaningful. A failed launch is normalized to a five-pixel pull signature. Repeating the same normalized miss does not consume another distinct mistake, because it provides no new attempt pattern. A second different failed signature locks the current run and asks for Restart. A successful hit clears the level's failure signatures before the next target appears. Completed and deadlocked states freeze launch logic, and invalid, non-finite, too-short, or overlong pulls leave the state unchanged.

Pointer and touch players start directly on the projectile, drag it, and release. The range uses Pointer Events, so the same interaction works with a mouse, trackpad, stylus, or touch contact. Keyboard players focus the range, move the pull point in five-pixel steps with the arrow keys, and press Space or Enter to launch. Keyboard handling is scoped to the focused range; it does not intercept arrows or Enter on Restart or other page controls. The Launch aimed shot button offers another explicit activation route.

Because the full result is computed synchronously, the game has no animation timer that can drift under a slow browser or hidden tab. The five fixed winning trajectories are covered by an independent completion simulation. Literal equation fixtures cover horizontal and vertical coordinates, positive downward screen gravity, negative horizontal motion, and two circle-collision outcomes. Tests also cover exact 200-point progression, the 1,000-point finish, normalized duplicate misses, a two-signature deadlock, terminal freeze, invalid-input atomicity, the reverse-drag velocity rule, and an exact initial-state Restart.

All game logic runs locally in the browser. No drag coordinates, trajectory values, scores, or best-score records are uploaded. When browser storage is available, the shared game shell keeps only the best completed score on that device. Private browsing or blocked storage simply disables that convenience. The game requires no account, paid API, server calculation, hardware sensor, or downloaded package. Double Escape activates the shared boss screen without changing the current level, pull, failures, path, or score.

Methodology & sources

Use the component equations x = x0 + vx × t and screen-coordinate y = y0 + vy × t + 0.5 × g × t². Derive velocity by reversing the drag vector and applying the disclosed product scale. Compute a fixed four-second trajectory at 0.02 game-second intervals, then test each adjacent segment against the target circle using the combined target and projectile radii. OpenStax supplies the primary constant-acceleration projectile-motion reference; Boston University Physics independently confirms the horizontal and vertical decomposition. Eight literal coordinate goldens and two collision goldens are independent of the production level table. Five private pull fixtures prove full completion to exactly 1,000. The 640 × 360 coordinates, g = 180 pixel units, scale, targets, radii, sampling window, score, and deadlock policy are authored game parameters and make no claim of physical calibration.

Frequently asked questions

Does this game simulate a real slingshot?
No. It uses the standard constant-acceleration equation shape, but gravity, velocity scale, coordinates, radii, timing, and scoring are product-authored pixel-unit values rather than real-world calibration.
Why did a repeated miss not add another failure?
Failed launches are normalized to five-pixel pull signatures. Repeating the same signature is deduplicated; a second different failed signature deadlocks the run.
Can I play without a mouse?
Yes. Focus the slingshot range, adjust the pull with the Arrow keys, and press Space or Enter to launch. The keyboard shortcuts are scoped to the focused range.

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