SOMETHING ONLINE ARCADE — 1-HOUR GAME GUIDED STARTER

The target is approximately 60 minutes of player playtime, not generation time.

The included Bolt Collector is the unchanged playable sample. It is not a finished 1-hour game, and downloading this kit does not create that game.

Start with AI-GAME-BRIEF.txt: it contains this exact selected plan followed by the matching SDK and review contract. Follow it yourself or give it to a development assistant. Reuse answers already supplied and confirm the design before building.

Build the agreed game, implement every presented menu action and test every authored level or the agreed procedural/card scenarios. Record automated checks, actual playthroughs, visual review and checks not run separately. The sample and these instructions are not evidence that your future game passed those checks.

Deliver one complete runtime ZIP, plus editable source and the actual menu/level/test/art/rights report separately. Keep tests, reports, unused starter guidance and development artifacts out of the finished runtime ZIP. Personally test the uploaded build and confirm disclosures; never publish automatically.

BASE STARTER INSTRUCTIONS

SOMETHING ONLINE ARCADE — UPLOAD STARTER v2

NEW GAME: choose creator-guides/25m.txt, creator-guides/1h.txt or
creator-guides/4h.txt at https://somethingonline.com/preview/ and follow that guide
with AI-GAME-BRIEF.txt. The durations are player playtime estimates, not generation
time. Agree the relevant questions, complete menu map, level/session plan, card
rules where applicable and asset list before building. Bolt Collector is only a
working SDK example; the guide does not implement or test a future game for you.
When given to an AI, the guide makes the AI builder responsible for the entire
game: code, coherent art or polished code-drawn visuals, backdrops, appropriate
simple animations/enemies, menus, test/debug cycles, cover/cabinet art and the ZIP.
You answer short plain questions, confirm the design, playtest and upload. You do
not need to write code, assemble files or run developer checklists; the builder
keeps technical inventories and evidence separate and reports real tool blockers.
Follow the selected guide's WORK ORDER: agree design/menu/art/motion plans, test
one playable section with menus, then build/test every level or chapter and its
save/resume. Verify normal-control beatability and the full connected campaign;
review consistent style, seconds-based animation timing and measured pacing;
reproduce/fix defects and run focused regressions before final-ZIP clean extraction
and local/host checks. Preserve intended difficulty and report untested targets.

EXISTING GAME: use creator-guides/existing.txt. Keep the original archive/source
untouched and work on a copy. Preserve its gameplay, art, identity and saves; do
not replace it with Bolt Collector. Try a compatible browser ZIP through the normal
uploader first; a missing arcade.json alone does not require a rebuild.

1. Serve this folder locally and open index.html for a standalone Bolt Collector preview.
2. For a new game, replace the example with the agreed self-contained HTML5 game. Use relative asset paths.
3. Keep arcade-sdk.js and implement ready, pause, resume and save messages.
4. Edit arcade.json, or fill in the creator workshop form. Use a unique game ID.
5. Replace cover.jpg (a generic painted texture) with your original/licensed cabinet art.
6. ZIP the contents of this folder, with index.html at the root, not the parent folder.
7. Choose the complete ZIP in the creator workshop; it reads arcade.json when present. Confirm details and AI/rights disclosures.
8. Inspect the checks, test the isolated preview, then choose Send for review.
9. After safety review, testers play that exact version in the Beta Arcade.
10. Qualified votes make it eligible for final administrator catalog approval.
Steps 9–10 describe regular submissions; the verified owner's separate audited
publication option is explained below. No upload publishes automatically.

NEW-GAME COMPLETION CHECKLIST
Implement and interactively test every appropriate menu action and route from the
selected guide: title, new/continue, relevant selections, rules/controls, settings,
pause/resume/restart/quit, results, replay/rematch and return to Arcade. Omit
inapplicable actions; do not ship inert placeholders.
Keep evidence for EVERY authored level played from start to completion using
normal controls, with failure/retry, checkpoints, save/resume, progression and
endings where applicable. Record justified not-applicable cases. Report procedural
seeds and generator checks without claiming exhaustive playtesting. For card games,
also check the agreed player modes, decks, turns, privacy, scoring/ties, round and
match endings, rematches and saves. Online claims require a supported contract and
actual multi-client tests; this kit does not add online card support.
Extract the exact final ZIP into a clean folder and boot it via a local web server.
Check missing assets/uncaught errors, supported inputs/layouts, resize/focus,
host pause/mute/exit and cleanup, SDK saves/restore and score reporting. Test that
same build in the workshop isolated preview when accessible. Review the actual
cover and cabinet. Supply editable source and actual menu/level/card/boot/art/
rights results separately from the runtime ZIP, excluding tests and development
artifacts. Distinguish automation, normal-control playthroughs, visual review and
checks not run. Fix failures and rerun affected checks; do not call the game ready
with required checks failed or unrun. A valid ZIP does not establish gameplay quality.

LIMITS
20 MB ZIP, 40 MB expanded, 300 entries, 12 MB per file, 200 MB per creator.
Supported: HTML, JS/MJS, CSS, JSON, TXT, PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, WASM,
MP3, OGG, WAV, WOFF/WOFF2 and TTF. No links, hidden files, executables,
server scripts, nested archives or source-project folders. Use UTF-8 text.
JavaScript eval, external networking, workers, nested frames, forms, popups,
trackers, wallet connections and payments are unavailable in this pilot.
WebAssembly can compile locally; threaded exports are not supported yet.
Live AI needs a separately approved future integration. Never embed service keys.

SDK
Wait for ready before saving. Saves contain a JSON object up to 32 KB,
an integer score from 0 to 1 trillion, and a saveVersion from 1 to 10000.
Save at meaningful checkpoints, no more than once per second. Handle failures.
Pause/resume must stop/start gameplay. setPlaying(false) on menus and game over.
Review previews and beta sessions use an empty in-memory save, discarded on close.
They never award tickets, publish competitive scores or change a player cloud save.
Approved cabinet sessions use the current player's own save, not the arcade owner's.

REVIEW AND UPDATES
AI-assisted creation is allowed with honest disclosure and asset rights.
Declare tools, generated content, content rating and license/consent details.
Automated structural/source checks are not antivirus or a safety guarantee.
Administrators review rights, content, security, controls, pause, saves and performance.
The Beta Arcade requires three observed active minutes per tester per version.
Five qualified votes and at least 70% positive feedback make a build eligible for
final review. Creators cannot vote for their own builds. Votes never publish a game.
Admins can pause or return a build, and hide abusive feedback with an audit note.
Creators can withdraw a beta and copy visible tester feedback into an AI repair brief.
Regular creator updates start fresh testing and votes, with a new version and immutable build. Existing files are never replaced.
Maintain compatibility with previous player saves. Do not introduce payments yourself.
This sample code is provided for use and modification in arcade submissions.
The placeholder cover texture was generated for Something Online and may be replaced.

CATEGORIES AND DISCOVERY
Every new submission needs classification in arcade.json. Use the exact IDs in taxonomy.json (also used by the site and admin tools). Choose one category, 1-3 genres, one era/style, supported play modes, minimum/maximum players (1-64), and up to 5 discovery tags. Era is visual style, not release year. Modes and player counts must agree; solo means one player. For two-player online line-board games, use the separate creator-multiplayer-kit.zip and its grid-lines-v1 contract. Other online rules need a reviewed platform template. The workshop writes this information for you and can download arcade.json. Content rating and input methods remain required fields. Administrators can correct discovery categories during approval; the uploaded manifest and build stay immutable in the review record.

COSMETIC PRESETS
After your game is approved, open Tickets & wardrobe > Creator tools. Choose a built-in shape, color, ticket price, rarity, and optional play-time unlock. Hats, outfits, scarves, wrist accessories, earrings, glasses, belts and necklaces are supported. Belts fit each body style; necklaces hide with long hair or scarves. Stackmaster Halo supports every hairstyle; Still Loading Headband supports short/bald hair. Beacon Trail Scarf and Rooftop Utility Belt use the existing scarf/belt slots. Midnight Mixtape and Last Ace pendants follow the necklace fit rules. Royal Flush Earrings work with Pixel Shades (short/bald hair); Four Suits Cuffs follow the arms. All effects currently use static poses. Each game stocks only its own items. Fit restrictions are displayed before buying; custom 3D uploads and payments remain unavailable. Item ownership and prices are checked by the server.


TWO WAYS TO FINISH — ONE UPLOADABLE ZIP
COPY FOR MY AI: open https://somethingonline.com/preview/creator.html#creator-guide,
choose this kit's game type, then Copy for my AI. The AI asks a few plain questions,
uses the linked kit and returns ONE complete game ZIP, with arcade.json inside.
If it cannot download the kit, attach this exact kit. Never claim an unbuilt ZIP.
STEP BY STEP: use the same workshop's Step by step guide. Build/test the game,
keep all required runtime files and the completed arcade.json at the ZIP root,
then choose that one ZIP. The workshop reads the manifest; review its details and
complete rights/AI disclosures personally. A separate manifest upload is optional.

OPTIONAL CABINET SKIN — EXACTLY ONE NEW IMAGE
Classic upright pilot: cabinet/skin.png, one static opaque 1024 x 1024 PNG, <=4 MiB.
Read https://somethingonline.com/preview/creator-cabinet-kit/cabinet-template.json
and download https://somethingonline.com/preview/creator-cabinet-kit.zip first.
Follow its exact six named regions, shared side/back art and physical obstructions;
never guess UVs or generate separate panel images. Add cabinetSkin with templateId
classic-upright-v1 and texturePath cabinet/skin.png to the manifest. Keep the game's
existing one cover unchanged; for a new game make one cover.png at 960 x 640.
Thus required submission art is one cover plus one atlas, not extra variants.
Agree any gameplay-art filenames, dimensions and count before creating those.
Do not put the template GLB, guides, example skin, nested kits, extra covers,
mockup renders or unused image versions in the game ZIP. The platform supplies
the model. Skin availability is server-gated; use the standard cabinet if off.
Respect an explicit standard-cabinet choice; it needs only the cover, no atlas.
Inspect the actual rotating cabinet preview on every side for readable art and
cropping; if unavailable, report that review as not run. Keep editable art separate.


CURRENT UPLOAD AND REVIEW WORKFLOW — OCTOBER 20, 2026

A compatible existing browser game does not need AI or a starter-kit rebuild. arcade.json is optional: when absent, the workshop suggests entry/cover files and stores your confirmed details alongside the unchanged ZIP. A manifest helps automatic form filling; it does not automatically add pause, saves or scores. Keep the existing SDK contracts.

For a new build prepared using this kit, include a completed arcade.json for convenience. For an update, choose My games → Upload new version and preserve the game ID, ownership and compatible save format. Never replace the original source or uploaded archive in place.

Scanning, structural checks, isolated testing and review still apply. Regular creators use the beta/final review process. The verified site owner may use the audited Publish as owner option for their own tested submissions without beta votes; other developers do not gain that permission. No kit or passing scan publishes a game automatically.

NO-AI PATH: follow Step by step in the workshop and download creator-guides/existing.txt for an existing game. Only declare AI assistance when it was actually used.

GUIDED NEW GAMES: creator-guides/25m.txt, creator-guides/1h.txt and creator-guides/4h.txt contain the staged questions and complete menu, level, card, final-ZIP and artwork requirements. The matching browser starter ZIPs are creator-kit-25m.zip, creator-kit-1h.zip and creator-kit-4h.zip. Implement and test the selected design; measure actual playtime. These guides do not turn the starter into a finished campaign or publish a generated game.
