News & Updates
Updates and announcements for vivivi.games and its games.
Earn Stardust mid-game from video ads — Stardust Station now in 5 languages — language now locked during play
Open the menu while playing and tap "✨ Earn Stardust" to watch a video ad and receive 200–500 Stardust (up to 10 times per day, shared with the Stardust Station on the title screen). If you close the page before saving, the Stardust from ads will be waiting for you next time you play. The Stardust Station now also supports 5 languages (日本語, English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 한국어), displayed in the same language as the game. Note that switching languages mid-game is no longer supported — language can only be changed from the title screen. This change was made because switching languages during a session triggered an auto-save, which could unintentionally overwrite save data.
Dev Log #10 "How I Get Claude to Make Pictures" is out
Claude can't draw pictures. So we built a system to commission an AI that can — and now I can request images from my phone.
Dev Log: "I've Loved Games Since I Was Little 1 (Digression)" is out
A step away from dev talk — memories of game centers from the 80s and 90s. The 10-yen arcades in Okusawa and "In-Tama" in Futako-Tamagawa.
Pages for our two in-development titles are live
We've published pages for the two games we're building right now — "Land of Black Winds" and "Tower Dungeon". Each one covers what the game is and how far along it is, with screenshots. Neither is playable yet; we'll announce it here when they are.
Faster, more reliable loading
The physics engine now loads in the background so the title screen appears right away. We also fixed a bug where loading could stall partway through. On a slow connection, a notice and a "Resume loading" button appear, and you can tap "Start anyway" even if some images haven't loaded. Planet photos have been converted to WebP, cutting file sizes significantly.
Fixed a Jupiter lightning bug
When lightning destroyed an item, the Gravity or Glue cluster above it could sometimes get stuck floating in midair. It now falls the same way it would after meteors or a Bomb.
Hit detection now matches what you see
Stars, meteors, asteroid-belt rocks, and geysers now use each item's real shape for hit detection. Tall, narrow items no longer get picked up just by passing beside a star, and fast-falling items no longer pass through.
Stars buried in your tower can now be collected
Previously, stars hidden under fixed items couldn't be picked up. Now, even when a fixed item overlaps a star, the star can still be collected. We also reduced the Stardust from stars and increased the Stardust from combos — the longer your combo, the more you earn.
Dev Log #9 "Goodbye, ChatGPT" is out
The story of migrating from ChatGPT to Claude after getting banned twice.
Now runs correctly on 144Hz and other high-refresh-rate displays
Physics simulation is no longer tied to the display refresh rate. Items fall at the same speed on 144Hz and 165Hz displays as they do on 60Hz.
Now available in 5 languages
You can now play in 日本語, English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, and 한국어. Switch languages from the language chip on the title screen or via "Display Language" in the ☰ menu. Voice language can be set separately under "🔊 Voice Language". The How to Play and Credits pages are also available in all 5 languages.
Bomb tweaks
Bombs are now deflected by the edge of the Shield's circle. When a Bomb touches a rock in the asteroid belt, it destroys the rock along with the item. A purple line appears in the item stream while Bomb is active.
New ability "Bomb" added
A new ability that lets you clear misshapen items and tidy up your tower. Turn Bomb on and the next falling item becomes an explosive — drop it and it destroys one item on impact (500✨ to buy, 250✨ per use). It turns off automatically after one drop. It can break fixed items too, but will be deflected by items with a Shield.
Ability effects overhauled
Overhauled the visual effects for Gravity and Glue. Gravity now displays as a blue-purple gravitational field, and Glue as an orange energy field.
New abilities "Small Shield" and "Glue" added
Two new abilities have been added. Small Shield is a shield with a smaller range but lower Stardust cost (150✨ to buy, 50✨ per drop). Glue attaches and fixes any items it touches (300✨ to buy, 100✨ per drop). It works like Gravity but with a narrower area of effect, making it useful for pinpoint placement. Fixed items are protected from meteorites, lightning, and collapses.
Dev Log #8: "Can you really hand game dev off to AI?" published
Wrote about how far you can hand things over to AI and how roles are divided in real development.
New Game+ (New Cycle) added
After clearing the game, you can start the next cycle immediately from "Play Again." Stardust, abilities, and your best height carry over, and the tutorial won't replay. We also added a Records page in the menu showing your cycle count, best height, total drops, best combo, and best chain.
Added new effects and a hazard to the final stage
New visual effects and a hazard have been added to the final stage.
Fixed Saturn's ring display start height
The height at which Saturn's rings first appear has been adjusted to match the actual start of the hazard zone.
Dev Log #7: Just write @claude in an Issue, and Claude Code gets to work
How writing @claude in a GitHub Issue is enough to trigger Claude Code automatically — and how the division of roles between GitHub and AI has evolved to make this possible.
Reward stars: better effects and better rewards
Reworked how reward stars look and what they give. Small and large stars now appear in separate zones, and the stardust you collect flies into the counter. The reward table has been revised too — no more empty results, and higher payouts overall.
Dev log published (Japanese and English)
Published a development log about building a browser game solo with AI: GitHub integration, the unreliability of AI memory, server plumbing, and the ongoing story of failing AdSense reviews. Seven articles, in both languages.
Softer sound effects, and a shorter comet hazard
Landing and rolling sounds have been replaced with a softer, rounder set. The comet hazard now ends slightly earlier, which tightens up that stretch of the journey.
Fixed items disappearing in the overhead result view
Fixed a bug where lower items vanished from the overhead view of your tower after loading a save. Stardust particles have been visually adjusted as well.
Planet-by-planet strategy guides published (Japanese and English)
Six strategy guides covering each planet's hazard: the iron sandstorm on Mars, the rocks of the asteroid belt, Jupiter's lightning, Saturn's ice, the storms of Uranus and Neptune's vortex. Each one includes some real astronomy too.
The black hole, the end of the journey, is in
The black hole that waits at the end of the journey is now implemented, complete with a suction hazard and an ending when you reach it. What happens there is for you to find out.
All dialogue rewritten, plus "voices of the stars"
Nono and Bibi's dialogue is now managed through an altitude-based table, and the writing has been revised throughout. We also added "voices of the stars" — short lines that appear without interrupting play.
20 music tracks, with dedicated hazard themes
Added 20 tracks in total: 11 for normal play and 9 for hazards. The music changes as you pass each planet, and switches to a dedicated track when a hazard begins.
Tuned the distances between planets and hazard lengths
Adjusted the spacing between planets, the length of the Mars hazard, and the point at which the next planet comes into view, to improve the pacing of the journey.
Sound effects (SE) added
Added sound effects throughout the game: item landing sounds, combo chain sounds, danger alerts, and more. SE can be toggled on/off anytime from the menu ("🔊 SE").
Update: Item spawn balance adjusted
Adjusted the balance of items appearing in the stream. Stage-specific items no longer mix in during normal play.
Major update: New gimmicks added to Uranus & Neptune areas
New stage gimmicks have arrived in the late-game Uranus and Neptune areas. Discover for yourself what awaits.
Official site launched & moved to vivivi.games
The game portal "vivivi.games" is now live. The official URL for Space Tower is now space-tower.vivivi.games. Please update your bookmarks.
UI adjustment update
Usability improvements centered on button placement and display tweaks.
Save feature (3 slots) and offline speed-up added
Added a save feature so you can pick up where you left off. Also improved load speed for repeat visits.