WordXplorer Update 16

Published on Last Updated on Estimated Reading Time: 1 min

You can see all the related updates here

The main focus of this update was making WordXplorer much more intuitive and approachable for kids.

Building a Main Menu

Until now, there simply wasn't a main menu. You opened the app and you were already in the game.

That's fine when you're testing your own build over and over, but it's not how a real game should feel. So this update adds a main menu. You can finally quit the game — no more force-closing the game.

I also used this as an excuse to experiment with Unity's UI Toolkit instead of the old uGUI setup. It lays things out with flexbox under the hood, which is a lot more intuitive for me than wrangling anchors and pivots. If you've done any web dev, it'll feel familiar. Styling works through USS, which is basically CSS with a different name, and layout is defined in UXML instead of hand-placed RectTransforms.

It's also supposed to have other benefits so I guess thats nice too.

What's Next

Next up is a settings menu so that you can actually turn off the sound or maybe even change the keyboard layout. If you have any suggestions for features or improvements that you would like to see immediately, please let me know.

Become a Beta Tester

Want to help catch bugs before they reach the public? I’d love your help. Simply send me a screenshot of your app review, and I’ll add you to the beta team. As a thank you, I’ll also give you a free copy of the app to share with a friend!

Get WordXplorer

WordXplorer is available on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Want to try before you buy? Check out the web demo here.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Stay tuned for more updates!