🧬 DNA Merge: Species Survival Engine
A conservation genetics game where you merge endangered species (or renew lines within a species), then steer three animal crosses per game through four life stages each (birth → old age). Every stage pairs one conservation deploy (or a lab-saving fallback) with one survival forecast against a crisis — scored by a 2×2 matrix, tracked by a vitality meter, with nine deploy passes per game split across crosses. Full natural life is earned only when you finish all four stages with honest forecasts and no final collapse roll — not merely because vitality stayed above zero.
🚀 Deploy to GitHub Pages in 3 Steps
-
Upload this folder to a new GitHub repo
- Go to github.com/new
- Name it anything (e.g.
dna-merge-game)
- Push the whole folder (especially
index.html, css/, js/)
-
Enable GitHub Pages
- Go to your repo → Settings → Pages
- Under "Source" select Deploy from a branch
- Branch:
main · Folder: / (root)
- Click Save
-
Your game is live in ~60 seconds
- URL:
https://YOUR-USERNAME.github.io/dna-merge-game/
🎮 How to Play
First visit now includes a 7-step welcoming intro, and contextual tips appear during your first cross to keep learning simple while you play.
During early learning mode, the game also shows a "Your goal now" strip and hides some advanced scoring detail until you complete your first receipt.
Gene Lab & breeding
| Step | Action |
|---|
| Start Game | Before merging, confirm Start Game in the intro. This refills lab to 15/15, starts Game N, and unlocks founder selection. Browse-only if you choose Not now. |
| Gene Lab | Pick two named founders (slot A + B). Each species has three animals with gender and personality. |
| Classes | Only matching animal classes can breed: mammals ↔ mammals, reptiles/amphibians ↔ reptiles/amphibians, birds ↔ birds. |
| Realms | Land, marine, and freshwater lineages cannot cross. |
| Gender | Merge requires one male + one female founder. |
| Genetics preview | Valid A+B pair shows projected viability band before merge. |
| Defect triage | Cross-line hybrids may carry defects; spend 1.5 lab for gene therapy or accept the burden. |
| Trait drift | Traits shift after each survived life stage. |
| Synergy hints | Deploy cards glow when they match the active crisis. |
Game structure
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|
| Game | One playable lap: 3 crosses (UI: Game N · Cross M). |
| Cross | One merge → 4 life stages (Birth · Juvenile · Adult · Old age). |
| Deploy passes | 9 per game, split 4 + 3 + 2 across crosses. Each resolved stage spends one pass. |
| Lab pool | 15 units max, shared across all 3 crosses for the whole game (not 5 per cross). Start Game sets you to 15. New saves default to 15 in storage. |
| Cross resupply | When a new cross begins, if lab is below 4, it tops up to 4 (still capped at 15). |
Each life stage
| Step | Action |
|---|
| Deploy | Pick a conservation card (costs lab + 1 pass) — or a fallback when the field offers no good match (see below). |
| Forecast | Pick survive / damage / extinct (locked until deploy is chosen in funded stages). |
| Matrix | Right deploy + right forecast → +10 pts · Right + wrong → +7 · Wrong deploy → cross ends, −7 if you forecast extinct, −10 otherwise. |
| Vitality | Health % moves with outcomes; 0 ends the cross. A correct deploy can turn a bad dice roll into damage instead of instant zero. |
| Receipt | Review deploy, forecast, points, and vitality before advancing. |
Fallback & low-lab play
| Path | When | Notes |
|---|
| Synergy deploys | Crisis matches ✦ habitat / patrol / etc. | Standard funded stages. |
| Improvised Field Response | No affordable synergy | 0.5 lab, partial bonus, softer dice. |
| Just Monitor | Save lab; observe only | 0 lab, gambit-style fate dice — no matrix deploy bonus. From Juvenile onward, always on the grid; at Birth, only when fallback applies. |
| Gambit mode | Lab below cheapest deploy | Forecast-only (or Monitor from gambit panel); ~50/50 nature vs cohort. |
Stewardship refund: Correct deploy + correct forecast returns 0.5 lab.
Cross end — four outcome tiers
Finishing old age does not automatically mean success. The engine assigns a tier:
| Tier | You get | Bonuses |
|---|
| Full natural life | All 4 stages · vitality > 0 · final roll ≠ extinct · ≥3/4 forecasts correct on this cross | Hall of Fame, +8% care+mate on later crosses, +2 passes next cross, +2 lab, +15 stewardship points |
| Arc finished | Completed 4 stages but <3/4 forecasts correct | Narrative only — no fame or legacy |
| Collapsed at old age | Vitality lingered but the final roll was extinct (e.g. Monitor at old age) | None — fixes false “full life” when nature still rolled collapse |
| Extinct | Vitality 0 or wrong deploy | Extinction hall |
Foreseen extinction revival
If you forecast extinct, the outcome is extinct, and the cross would end — you may revive once per cross: +4 lab, vitality 40%, advance one stage (or finish the cross at old age). Tier rules still apply when the cross completes (revival does not force full life).
Game summary & winning
After cross 3, Game N summary shows each cross tier, thriving status, per-cross forecast accuracy, and guess-to-reality % for the whole game.
Winner = forecast accuracy >75% and at least one full natural life cross. Otherwise Loser.
Then return to Gene Lab — breed slot advances 1–5 (persisted campaign pressure).
History tab
The History view groups forecasts and life-stage logs by Game (newest first), with start/completed timestamps and guess-to-reality % per game plus a lifetime bar. Rows inside each cross show date/time when recorded after this update. Older untagged rows appear under Earlier sessions (no timestamps).
Campaign
Breed slots 1–5 change crisis pressure; slot 5 adds cryptic resonance on old age. See docs/GAME_FLOW.md for matrix math, tier routing, revival, and module map.
Survival projections use additive %pts toward a clamped band (life-round-logic.js). dna_resources default 15; achievements and tutorial persist in dna_achievements / dna_tutorialDone.
💾 LocalStorage Keys
All progress is auto-saved to your browser:
| Key | Contents |
|---|
dna_hybrids | All hybrids ever created |
dna_extinctions | Extinct founder pairs (mergeKey) plus legacy species-only rows |
dna_fame | Full natural life cohorts (Hall of Fame) |
dna_resources | Conservation lab pool (defaults to 15, cap 15 — gene therapy 1.5) |
dna_breedRound | Breed campaign slot 1–5 (wraps) — advances after game summary |
dna_predictions | Forecast history (predicted vs actual per life-stage beat; tagged with game # and timestamp on new rows) |
dna_points | Lifetime scoreboard total from matrix + stewardship bonuses |
dna_log | Complete cycle event log (tagged with game # and timestamp on new rows) |
dna_gameSessions | Archived summaries per completed game (tiers, guess-to-reality %, cross results) |
dna_activeGameNumber / dna_activeGameStartedAt | Current game id and start time (cleared when game summary finishes) |
dna_achievements | Unlocked milestone IDs |
dna_tutorialDone | First-run guide completed |
🌍 Species & founders
Twelve flagship species — 36 named founders total (three per species), each with gender and personality flavour text used in blending and narration.
| Taxonomy bucket | Species |
|---|
| Mammals | Snow Leopard, Amur Leopard, Vaquita, Javan Rhino, Sunda Tiger, Mountain Gorilla, Chinese Pangolin, Saola, Sumatran Orangutan |
| Reptiles / amphibians | Axolotl, Leatherback Turtle |
| Birds | Kakapo |
📁 File structure
dna-merge-game/
├── docs/
│ └── GAME_FLOW.md ← Engine rules, tiers, economy, module map
├── index.html
├── css/
│ └── styles.css
└── js/
├── main.js ← Boot, tabs, global UI handlers
├── state.js ← Session `game` object + resets
├── constants.js ← Matrix pts, caps, tier thresholds
├── cross-outcomes.js ← Cross end tiers + forecast bar + winner gate
├── round-tracker.js ← Game/Cross labels, cross results, game verdict
├── history-groups.js ← Game-grouped history, archive on summary
├── game-intro.js ← Start Game gate + intro steps
├── player-guide.js ← Welcoming copy + one-time context hints
├── actions.js ← User flows, life resolve, tier routing
├── render.js ← DOM (tier banners, game summary)
├── fallbacks.js ← Hybrid / cross-end / game-end copy
├── deploy-match.js ← Synergy, improvise, monitor fallback
├── resource-economy.js ← Lab cost, gambit mode, refunds, stipend
├── extinction-revival.js← Foreseen-extinct revival (once per cross)
├── life-round-logic.js ← Canonical deploy & survival rate helpers
├── game-logic.js ← Events, dice, gambit fate
├── breeding.js ← Traits, merge keys, compatibility
├── species.js ← Species + founders
├── campaign.js ← Breed slots 1–5
├── cycle-meta.js ← Life-stage banners + timeline
├── coach-hints.js ← Contextual ethics / outlook copy
├── achievements.js
├── storage.js
└── toast.js
Still zero npm / zero build. Serve over http(s) (npx serve ., GitHub Pages, or python3 -m http.server).
Opening index.html via file:// may block ES modules — use a tiny static server if the screen stays blank.
🛠 Local development
npx serve .
# or
python3 -m http.server 8080
Then open the printed localhost URL.
MIT License · Built with 🧬
Akhansha Sen
