# Phase 3: Complete Experience - Context

**Gathered:** 2026-03-10
**Status:** Ready for planning

<domain>
## Phase Boundary

Transform the game from a bare mechanic into a polished, navigable experience. Deliver: title screen, mode select, settings (AI difficulty + sound toggle + color scheme), game over screen, and audio feedback respecting browser autoplay policy. Replaces Phase 2's temporary key-prompt screens with real, styled screens.

</domain>

<decisions>
## Implementation Decisions

### Visual Style
- Neon arcade aesthetic — magenta/hot pink as the default accent color on black background
- Consistent neon treatment across ALL screens (title, mode select, settings, game over) — coherent visual language
- Title screen: large glowing title text with color accent, feels like an arcade cabinet
- Game over screen: displays final score + winner — e.g. "PLAYER 1 WINS  7 – 4" — not just the winner name

### Screen Navigation
- Arrow keys to move between options, Enter/Space to confirm selection
- Escape or Backspace to go back to the previous screen
- Screen navigation flow is Claude's discretion (connect: title → mode select → game, title → settings → title)
- Settings is accessible from the title screen only — not in-game

### Title Screen Structure
- Title screen has a menu with at least: Play, Settings
- "Play" navigates to mode select (Solo vs AI / 2-Player), then difficulty select (if AI mode)
- Phase 2's 'modeSelect' and 'diffSelect' gameStates stay but get styled to match the neon aesthetic

### Settings Screen
- AI difficulty: Easy / Medium / Hard (sets GameState.difficulty)
- Sound: On / Off toggle (sets GameState.soundEnabled)
- Color scheme: cycle through preset neon palettes — Magenta, Cyan, Lime, White
  - Palette swap affects: ball color, paddle colors, and UI accent color globally
  - Store active palette in GameConfig or GameState; all draw calls reference it
- Navigation: arrow keys highlight the current setting, Left/Right (or Enter) changes value

### Color Scheme
- Palettes are named presets (e.g. PALETTE_MAGENTA, PALETTE_CYAN, PALETTE_LIME, PALETTE_WHITE)
- Each preset defines: accent color (ball/paddle/UI highlights), glow color (shadow/blur)
- Default palette: Magenta (#ff00cc or similar hot pink)

### Audio Character
- Modern synthesized tones using WebAudio API — sine/triangle wave, slight reverb envelope
- Three clearly distinct sounds:
  - **Paddle hit**: mid-range tone, short attack (recognizable rally sound)
  - **Wall hit**: higher-pitch tone, shorter duration (quick snap)
  - **Score**: single deep thud — low-frequency impact tone, weightier than the other two
- AudioContext initialized only after first user interaction (keydown/click) — satisfies AUD-04
- GameState.soundEnabled flag (set by settings) gates all playSound calls

### Claude's Discretion
- Exact screen transition order / gameState names for new states (title, settings, etc.)
- Glow implementation (canvas shadowBlur or manual outer-ring draw)
- Exact frequencies and envelope parameters for audio tones (within the described character)
- Typography sizing, spacing, and layout of each screen
- Whether modeSelect/diffSelect are merged into one screen or kept separate

</decisions>

<specifics>
## Specific Ideas

- Neon magenta on black is the hero palette — the project aims for a "whoa" first impression
- Audio should feel like modern indie game audio, not chip-tune — synthesized but clean

</specifics>

<code_context>
## Existing Code Insights

### Reusable Assets
- `Renderer.ctx`: all screen drawing uses this canvas context — new screens render via the same draw path
- `Renderer.drawRect()` / `Renderer.drawCircle()`: reuse for UI elements; canvas shadowBlur can add glow
- `GameState.gameState`: string-based state machine already drives the render switch — add new states ('title', 'settings')
- `GameState.mode` / `GameState.difficulty`: already in place; settings screen just sets these values
- `Input` keydown handler: already handles mode/difficulty selection — extend for arrow key menu navigation
- `GameConfig`: central constants — add palette definitions and WIN_SCORE is already there

### Established Patterns
- Single HTML file — all new code (Audio module, menu nav) goes in `index.html`
- Module-object pattern: add a new `Audio` object with `init()`, `play(event)`, `setEnabled(bool)`
- `GameLoop.main()` render switch: add cases for 'title' and 'settings' gameStates
- Phase 2's 'modeSelect' and 'diffSelect' cases stay in the switch — just get styled with neon palette

### Integration Points
- `GameState.gameState = 'modeSelect'` currently starts Phase 2 flow — Phase 3 adds 'title' before it
- Score display uses hardcoded '#fff' — switch to `GameConfig.palette.accent` or equivalent
- Ball/paddle colors are `'#fff'` in GameState defaults — make them reference the active palette
- `Input` keydown: currently responds to Digit1/2/3 for mode/difficulty — add ArrowUp/Down/Enter/Escape for menu nav
- WebAudio `AudioContext` must be created inside a user gesture handler (already in Input.init's keydown)

</code_context>

<deferred>
## Deferred Ideas

- None — discussion stayed within phase scope

</deferred>

---

*Phase: 03-complete-experience*
*Context gathered: 2026-03-10*