Archive Defender is a twin-stick arcade game about stale media, runaway duplicates, and hostile sessions. It began as the hidden arcade inside Plex Librarian and is also available as an embeddable React package.

React package

The default component opens on its title screen, starts audio only after player interaction, saves to archive-defender:save-v2, and pauses when the window loses focus or the page is hidden.

import { ArcadeGame } from "archive-defender";
import "archive-defender/style.css";

export function GamesPage() {
  return <ArcadeGame onExit={() => navigate("/")} />;
}

The package supports React 18.2 and React 19. Its stylesheet is self-contained and scoped beneath .arcade-page; Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI are not required. Hosts can theme the game by setting --archive-color-content, --archive-color-surface, --archive-color-primary, and --archive-color-error on the component or an ancestor.

Hosts that launch the game from an existing user interaction can opt into an immediate session:

<ArcadeGame
  startup="resume-or-new"
  audioStart="immediate"
  initialMode="normal"
  initialWeapon="blaster"
  persistence={{ key: "my-app:archive-defender" }}
  onVictory={(summary) => recordWin(summary.score)}
/>;

Available integration props include:

• startup: "title", "new-run", "resume", or "resume-or-new".
• audioStart: browser-safe "interaction" or host-initiated "immediate".
• initialMode, initialWeapon, and initialSettings.
• persistence: false or an object with a custom key and/or storage implementation.
• pauseOnBlur and pauseWhenHidden.
• onPhaseChange, onRunStart, onGameOver, and onVictory lifecycle callbacks.
• onExit, exitLabel, and className host UI integration.

Browsers may still reject immediate playback unless mounting follows a user gesture. Hosts can use the archive-defender/launch helpers to prime the opening track during that gesture.

Controls

• WASD or arrow keys to move; mouse to aim and fire.
• Shift to dash, Space for Deep Scan, R to reload, and Escape to pause.
• Touch controls are available on touch-capable devices.

Development

Archive Defender uses Deno 2, React, and Vite.

deno task verify

Install the repository's Git hooks once after cloning:

deno task hooks:install

Commits run formatting and lint checks. Pushes run the complete verification pipeline, including type checks, tests, and both production builds. Hooks can still be bypassed with Git's --no-verify escape hatch when deliberately needed.

License

Source code is available under the MIT License. Music and sound-effect credits are listed in src/game/assets/README.md.