Stack-A-Stack

Stack-A-Stack is an iOS arcade stacking game built with Swift and SpriteKit. Players drop randomized block shapes onto a narrow platform, build the tallest stable tower they can, and push their score higher with score multipliers and limited-use power-ups.

Overview

The project uses a scene-based flow:

• StartScene for the title screen and animated background
• GameScene for the main stacking gameplay
• GameOverScene for score display and replay

Blocks are generated in multiple shapes and sizes, then placed into a live physics world. Score increases as the stack grows, and the multiplier scales upward as more blocks are successfully placed.

Current Gameplay Features

• Randomized block generation with multiple sprite sizes
• Physics-based stacking built on SpriteKit
• Score tracking and high score persistence with UserDefaults
• Multiplier-based scoring as the tower gets taller
• Pause / resume control during gameplay
• Power-up system with support for:
  • platform growth
  • light blocks
  • heavy blocks
  • block deletion
• Bundled image and audio assets for UI and game feedback

Tech Stack

• Swift
• SpriteKit
• GameplayKit
• Xcode project / workspace for iOS

Project Structure

Controller/
  Game/        Main gameplay scene logic and UI setup
  GameOver/    Game over scene logic and presentation
  Start/       Start screen logic and animated background
Scenes/        `.sks` scene files
Assets/        Image and sound assets
Utilities/     Shared game state and sprite helpers
StackTheStack/ App entry point, storyboard, plist files

Running The Project

1. Open StackTheStack.xcworkspace in Xcode.
2. Select an iOS simulator or connected device.
3. Build and run the StackTheStack app.

If the workspace gives you issues, the standalone StackTheStack.xcodeproj is also included.

Notes

• This is a classic SpriteKit-era iOS project and may need small updates for the latest Xcode / iOS SDKs.
• A GoogleService-Info.plist file is present in the project, but the current codebase is primarily focused on local gameplay and persistence.
• Some power-up and polish paths are still marked as TODOs in the source.

Why This Repo Exists

Stack-A-Stack is a compact example of an arcade game loop built with native Apple game frameworks. It is useful as both a playable prototype and a reference for scene transitions, simple game-state persistence, SpriteKit physics, and lightweight power-up systems in Swift.