TakeFlight — A Bird Life
CH Studios · Apple Developer Academy Challenge · Team of 5
Overview
TakeFlight is a survival simulation game where you play as a bird on Belle Isle in Detroit. Manage hunger, avoid predators, collect nest materials, find a mate, hatch and raise baby birds, and ultimately escape the island. Built as an Apple Developer Academy challenge by a team of 5 — two engineers, two designers, and a project manager — it features a complete open-world game loop with five minigames across interconnected systems. Live on the App Store.
The Challenge
Games are among the most technically complex iOS apps to build. The Academy challenge required a complete, polished product under time pressure, with a cross-functional team working across engineering and design simultaneously. The engineering challenge: five distinct minigame scenes, each with their own physics, timers, and input modes, that could transition in and out of a persistent open world without losing game state.
The Team
| Role | Name | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| iOS Engineer | George Clinkscales Jr. | Hunger system, HUD components, item pickup and respawn, draining bar views, ViewModel bridge |
| iOS Engineer | Jaiden Henley | SpriteKit architecture, all minigame scenes, predator AI, camera system, GameKit achievements, SwiftData persistence |
| UI/UX Designer | Dorien Harris | Visual design, art direction, UI components |
| UI/UX Designer | Zoe Talley | Visual design, asset creation, UX flow |
| Project Manager | Ashlee Cunningham | Sprint planning, team coordination, delivery |
The Five Minigames
Predator Escape
Timing-bar reaction game. Tap to land a moving needle in a shrinking safe zone. Failure triggers the game over screen with a terminal-aesthetic death report.
Feed Yourself
Catch falling food while avoiding spiders. Supports three input modes: touch, keyboard arrow keys, and CoreMotion accelerometer tilt. Hunger bar refills on completion.
Build a Nest
Memory and drag-and-drop puzzle using four collected materials. Completing it places a nest at the nearest tree base in the overworld.
Feed Baby Birds
Swipe rope physics to drop food into a moving catcher. Each baby has an independent 2-minute hunger timer visible as a color-coded progress bar.
Leave the Island
Flappy Bird-style escape through obstacle gaps with a 15-second countdown. Triggers the win screen, a Game Center achievement, and the end of the game loop.
Tech Stack
| Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SwiftUI | All menus, HUD overlays, status bars, inventory, onboarding sheets, and game over screens |
| SpriteKit | Open world scene, physics engine, all five minigame scenes, particle effects, animations |
| SwiftData | Full game state persistence — position, inventory, nest, baby, and all gameplay flags |
| GameKit | Game Center authentication, leaderboards, and eight achievement milestones |
| GameController | Keyboard and external controller support for menus and minigames |
| CoreMotion | Accelerometer tilt input for the Feed Yourself minigame |
| AVFoundation | Spatial audio and sound effects throughout |
Outcome
TakeFlight shipped to the App Store as part of the Apple Developer Academy challenge program. It features a full save and resume system, eight Game Center achievements, keyboard and controller support for iPad, a complete contextual tutorial system, and polished audio and haptic feedback throughout — a complete game engine, five physics-based minigames, and a persistent open world, built by two engineers under challenge time constraints.
