Type-R 198X

Type-R 198X is a neon-drenched typing shmup created by Christopher Bradford. It mashes classic R-Type inspirations with a word-zapping combat system: type to lock on, finish the word to vaporize your target, and survive ten increasingly chaotic stages. Play the latest web build at https://typer198x.com or run the offline bundle in this repo.

Game Overview

• Genre: Single-player typing shooter with roguelite scoring hooks
• Setting: Retro-future space lane filled with neon bosses and word-spewing minions
• Progression: 10 handcrafted stages, each ending in a multi-phrase boss duel
• Ships: Choose from four unlockable ships (Coconut, Little Dark One, Sofrito, HoneyBee), each reflected visually in-game
• Power System: Spread, Pierce, Rapid, Shield, and Multiplier pickups stack for brief bursts of bullet mayhem

How to Play

1. Enter your pilot name and pick a ship on the main menu.
2. Start a run – the game locks the keyboard to pure typing focus; Esc opens the pause/options overlay.
3. Type the first letter of an enemy or powerup to lock on, then finish the word to destroy or collect it.
4. Maintain combos to raise your score multiplier and keep bosses from overwhelming you.
5. Beat the boss at the end of each stage to advance. Defeating Stage 10 triggers the victory screen.

Controls

Action	Input
Type / Fire	Any letter or space (focus on the canvas)
Pause / Menu	Esc or click Pause
Resume	Esc or Resume button in pause overlay
Restart Stage	Pause → Restart Level
Stop to Menu	Stop button or pause overlay option
Toggle Audio	Mute button
CRT Overlay	CRT button

Letters are never treated as shortcuts during gameplay, so Bluetooth and hardware keyboards work without losing focus.

Running Locally

Type-R 198X is packaged as a static web app. The easiest way to launch is via the included shell script.

Option 1 – macOS Launcher

./launch-game.command

This spins up a Python HTTP server on http://localhost:8000 and opens the game automatically.

Option 2 – Manual Server (any OS)

python3 -m http.server 8000

Then visit http://localhost:8000/index.html in your browser. (ES modules cannot be loaded from file://, so HTTP is required.)

Save & Tech Notes

• Save data (pilot name, progress, stats, settings) is stored in localStorage under typesmup198x.save.v1.
• Audio uses the Web Audio API – no large audio assets are bundled.
• The codebase is vanilla HTML/CSS/JS with ES modules; deploy to any static host (Netlify, GitHub Pages, etc.).

Native Conversion Plan (iPad + macOS)

1. Shared web bundle – keep the web game as the single source of truth. Use native/sync-web.sh to copy the latest index.html, game.js, style.css, and /assets into native/shared/www before every native build. The folder stays ignored by git so native bundles never drift.
2. iPadOS/iOS wrapper – ship a SwiftUI-based Xcode project (see native/ios/) that embeds the bundle via WKWebView. The wrapper handles launch screen, orientation lock, hardware keyboard behavior, and defers all gameplay to the in-bundle web app. It is Mac Catalyst–ready so the same binary can target iPad and Apple Silicon Macs if desired.
3. macOS wrapper – ship a dedicated SwiftUI AppKit project (see native/macos/) that reuses the same shared bundle but presents it inside an NSViewRepresentable WKWebView with desktop window chrome, menu shortcuts, and proper entitlement scaffolding.
4. Release & QA – configure signing in each Xcode project, add App Store assets (icons, screenshots, privacy manifest), run TestFlight/TestFlight for Mac, then submit through App Store Connect.

Platform folders created in this repo

• native/ios/ – SwiftUI boilerplate, WKWebView wrapper, Info.plist notes, and build checklist for iPad/iOS + optional Catalyst.
• native/macos/ – equivalent macOS SwiftUI app scaffold with desktop-specific tweaks.
• native/sync-web.sh – helper that mirrors the latest web build into native/shared/www for both targets.

Each folder contains a README with step-by-step setup, signing, build, and submission notes tailored to that platform.

Native Build Instructions (summary)

1. Sync assets – run bash native/sync-web.sh from the repo root to populate native/shared/www with the latest web bundle.
2. Open the platform project – launch the Xcode workspace inside native/ios/ (for iPad/iOS/Mac Catalyst) or native/macos/ for the desktop app.
3. Configure signing + bundle IDs – set your team, bundle identifiers, and entitlements per platform README.
4. Test locally – run on hardware (iPad) or Simulator, and on Intel/Apple Silicon Macs for the desktop target.
5. Archive & ship – follow the respective README checklists to archive, upload to TestFlight, and submit for App Store review.

Credits

• Design, code, art direction: Christopher Bradford
• Website: https://typer198x.com

If you stream, teach, or hack on typing games, feel free to fork the project and share improvements—pull requests and fan remixes are always welcome.