time up!

Initial Screen
Result Screen
Leaderboard Screen

Inspiration

Remember the intense Mission Impossible - Final Reckoning scene? In the film’s nail-biting climax, Grace must manually eject a storage drive to trap the rogue AI, facing a terrifying 100-millisecond window. The margin for error is nonexistent: pull it too early, and the Entity isn't fully captured, escaping back into the network; wait too late, and the AI detects the trap, instantly triggering global nuclear annihilation. So our concept revolves around this movie scene: You can see a timer ticking, but can you feel it? Can you tell when exactly "x" seconds have passed? It sounds simple, but your brain plays tricks on you. We turned this into a minimalist game where your internal clock is the only tool you have.

What it does

"time up!" challenges players to tap the screen when they believe exactly "X" seconds (where X randomly ranges from 2 to 15 seconds in each turn) have passed - with no visible countdown. The game features a clean, neon-accented dark interface with a pulsing circle that keeps you engaged. After each attempt, you get instant feedback showing your actual time and accuracy. Your best score is saved, and you can compete with friends on the integrated leaderboard. It's designed for quick, addictive sessions that make you say "just one more try."

How we built it

We built this entirely in Lens Studio. The core is a simple but precise timing system using Snapchat's getTime() function to ensure accurate measurements down to milliseconds. We used free online image generators and Lens Studio to generate all our visual assets - the space background and the center circle which gave us that polished, professional look without needing a design team. The UI is built with Screen Images and Text components, all orchestrated by our custom GameController script. We integrated Snapchat's Leaderboard for the competitive aspect.

Challenges we ran into

Getting the timing to feel "just right" was surprisingly tricky. At first, we tried counting frames, but that wasn't accurate enough. We had to switch to precise time measurements and fine-tune the scoring thresholds so players felt rewarded for close attempts without it being too easy. And honestly, balancing the difficulty was tough. "X" seconds sounds easy until you try it without a clock. We tested different target time ranges and found 2 to 15 seconds hit the sweet spot between engaging, challenging and achievable.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're really proud of how clean and addictive the final experience feels. The game does exactly what it promises - nothing more, nothing less. Lens Studio exceeded our expectations; it looks like something that took weeks to design, implement and publish but we did it in a matter of couple of hours. We're also proud of the scoring system that gives meaningful feedback (Perfect/Great/Good) rather than just pass/fail.

What we learned

This project taught us that simplicity is incredibly hard to execute well. Every detail matters when you strip everything else away. We learned a ton about Lens Studio's capabilities - especially how powerful the AI asset generation is and how to optimize for mobile performance. We got better at JavaScript timing mechanics and understanding human perception of time (spoiler: we're terrible at it). We also learned that playtesting is crucial. Watching people try the game showed us where the difficulty curve needed adjustment and which UI elements needed more clarity. Most importantly, we learned that a game doesn't need complex mechanics to be engaging - just a clear challenge and instant feedback.

What's next for "time up!"

We're thinking about adding distractions to make the game harder, when the brain gets distracted it would mess up with the time perception and would result in a fast-forward or delay. Daily challenges with different target times could keep people coming back. We'd love to implement a "ghost mode" where you race against your previous best attempt, or a combo system that rewards consecutive perfect rounds. Achievement badges for milestones (100 attempts, first perfect score, etc.) would add progression. We're also considering cosmetic unlocks - different color themes or visual effects you can earn. And maybe, just maybe, a multiplayer mode where two friends compete simultaneously to see who can hit the target time more accurately. The core idea is solid; now we can build on it.