I silently released the new version of Kern Type today. To recap: the purpose was to replicate the form and function of the original game under a new codebase with added mobile support. In that, I succeeded.
I expected to make some quick wins with new features, but I only set up localStorage to save progress and cleaned up things a bit. I noticed that if I wanted to change something I would often cause things to cascade into the new version that I have in mind, and I had to contain myself to not open the door to the demon who puts everything out of place.
I have contradictory feelings because, on the one side, it better than the original game, and at the same time it is not up to my current standards. But this was a “spiritual release” in the sense that it is not about perfection, it was about transcending a block (unable to ship a new version of the game), so in this case shipping trumps quality.
I’m still planning on adding several improvements: a simple tutorial or landing screen would be appreciated, I suppose. But, for the time being let this be as it is.