First Principle — Popscotch

The Business

For 15 years, one poster was the game that should exist. The Poked Studio team drew it, and the picture in mind was a 3D Donkey Kong: a climb, barrels, and a world you could walk around. Popscotch is that poster, built as an original game over a weekend and played in the browser. The idea was to fold in every arcade notion that still felt good. Donkey Kong, Pitfall, Pac-Man, and whatever else would fit. A score that cracks the top 10 still asks for three initials.

Released

2026

Status

Live

Format

Browser

Industry

Games

How you play

The climb is the Donkey Kong part. Each tier is a ring you walk all the way around, and the monster on the summit throws barrels that roll, drop down striped chutes, and end in the pink drum. The pits are the Pitfall part: gaps, crumbling floors, and things that fall when you pass underneath. Ghosts, snakes, and the rest patrol a stretch and turn back, the way the old maze games did. Left and right never flip when you turn a corner. The camera holds one face, then snaps a quarter turn, and the world waits while it does.

Seven climbs

Seven hand-made pyramids play in order, then loop faster. Each one is another cabinet. Autumn has spring pads and falling acorns. Winter replaces the barrels with snowballs that grow as they roll. The tomb has snakes that rear up and fire traps on a timer. The volcano has lava jets. Time of day moves with every round, so the same level comes back at dusk or night, with the windows and lanterns lit.

Built to be finished

The later levels are a route, not a straight climb. A gate stays shut until you find the switch. A door wants a key. A seal wants every relic on the pyramid. Spring pads throw you over pits, ice keeps you sliding, and snakes rear up in your path. The letters 1, U, and P are hidden off the main route, and collecting all three in one visit is an extra life.