Fade
Built in 2025
Technologies: React Native, Expo, Mobile Game, PvP Combat, AI Opponents
The Challenge
RookDuel proved the core duel mechanics worked, but it was browser-only and stakes-free. Casual play has no tension — the goal was to bring the experience to mobile with a format where every match genuinely costs you something. The constraint: it had to stay a two-minute, pick-up-and-play session, not a grind.
What I Built
Fade is a high-stakes mobile duel arena where players wager gold in zero-sum PvP combat — wager your gold, take theirs, no refills. Built with React Native and Expo for a mobile-first experience with strategic resource management, competitive leaderboards, and AI opponents that keep the arena alive when no human is available.
Architecture Decisions
React Native + Expo was chosen over native so the game logic ported directly from the RookDuel web codebase instead of being rewritten twice. The gold economy is deliberately closed-loop (zero-sum, no purchases, no faucets) — that single rule is what makes wins feel earned and losses sting. AI opponents run the same move engine as players, so difficulty tuning is one parameter, not a separate code path.
What I'd Do Differently
Ship the leaderboard from day one — it turned out to be the retention hook, not the combat. And build the economy simulator before tuning wager sizes by hand; balancing a zero-sum economy by intuition took longer than modeling it would have.
The Result
The strategic depth of the original translated into fast, tense mobile sessions where the stakes do the motivating. Fade became the template for how Checkmate Labs ships games: port the proven core, add real stakes, keep sessions short.