Hush Sort is a cozy color-sorting mobile puzzle game developed by Sunlight Media LLC under our independent game development branch. The app is live on the Google Play Store and iOS release is in progress. This case study covers the full development lifecycle from concept through launch — including game design, technical architecture, UI/UX, monetization, and store optimization.
Project Overview
| App Name | Hush Sort — Color Sort Puzzle |
| Developer | Sunlight Media LLC |
| Bundle ID | com.sunlightmedia.hushsort |
| Platform | Android (live), iOS (in progress) |
| Category | Puzzle / Casual |
| Monetization | Free with ads + $2.99/month premium subscription |
| Status | Live on Google Play Store |
Concept & Game Design
Hush Sort is built around a simple but deeply satisfying mechanic: pour colored liquid between glass bottles until each bottle contains a single pure color. The game is designed to feel calm and meditative — a deliberate contrast to the neon-colored, high-pressure puzzle games that dominate the category.
The tagline “Sort Your Mind” drives the entire product philosophy. Every design decision — from the warm cream color palette to the cork stopper completion animation — was made to reinforce the feeling of quiet satisfaction rather than stress or urgency. There are no timers, no lives system, and no penalty for mistakes.
Core Gameplay Loop
- Tap a vessel to select it
- Tap a destination vessel to pour — colors transfer if the top layers match
- Fill every vessel with a single color to complete the level
- A cork stopper drops onto completed vessels as a satisfying visual confirmation
Level Progression System
The game features 1000+ hand-tuned levels across 15 distinct difficulty tiers, with an infinite “Beyond!” mode at level 1001+. Each tier increases complexity through additional colors, more vessels, additional rows, and duplicate color layers.
| Level Range | Feel Label | Colors | Vessels | Rows | Dupes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | Tutorial | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 11–30 | Easy | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 31–55 | Medium | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 56–80 | Medium+ | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 81–130 | Hard | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 131–200 | Hard+ | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 201–350 | Expert | 9 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 351–450 | Brutal | 10 | 13 | 3 | 1 |
| 451–550 | Brutal+ | 10 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
| 551–650 | Savage | 10 | 15 | 3 | 3 |
| 651–720 | Savage+ | 10 | 16 | 3 | 4 |
| 721–800 | Extreme | 10 | 17 | 3 | 5 |
| 801–850 | Extreme+ | 10 | 18 | 3 | 6 |
| 851–1000 | Insane! | 10 | 17 | 3 | 6 |
| 1001+ | Beyond! | 10 | 18 | 3 | 6 |
Tech Stack
| Game Engine | Unity 6.3 LTS (6000.3.11f1) |
| Language | C# |
| UI Framework | Unity UI (uGUI) — all built procedurally, no prefabs |
| Subscription Management | RevenueCat SDK v8.7.0 |
| Advertising | Google AdMob (banner + rewarded video) |
| Typography | TextMeshPro with Nunito font |
| Platform | Android (IL2CPP, ARM64), iOS (in progress) |
| Build Output | Android App Bundle (.aab) |
| Distribution | Google Play Store, Apple App Store (pending) |
Codebase Architecture
The entire project is built without Unity prefabs — all UI is generated procedurally at runtime through C# scripts. This approach ensures maximum flexibility, eliminates prefab dependency issues across Unity versions, and keeps the codebase clean and portable.
| Script | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| GameManager.cs | Level generation, puzzle logic, difficulty scaling, game events |
| GameVisuals.cs | All UI rendering — vessels, header, buttons, scorecard, background |
| LiquidEffects.cs | Pour animations — drain, flow arc, fill, completion pulse |
| AudioManager.cs | Ambient music, pour sounds, color chimes, level complete audio |
| SaveManager.cs | Progress persistence, daily streak, first-launch detection |
| SubscriptionManager.cs | RevenueCat integration, entitlement checking, paywall |
| AdManager.cs | AdMob banner and rewarded video management |
| SettingsPanel.cs | Settings UI — music, sound, haptics, privacy, subscription |
| HowToPlayPanel.cs | Onboarding UI, animated steps, level progression chart |
| HapticsManager.cs | Platform-specific vibration feedback (iOS and Android) |
| SplashController.cs | Splash screen with fade-in/out transition to main scene |
| RevenueCatInitializer.cs | Runtime RevenueCat SDK configuration per platform |
Key Technical Decisions
- Procedural UI generation — all UI elements created at runtime via C#, no Unity prefabs used anywhere in the project
- Canvas Scaler with matchWidthOrHeight = 0 — canvas width is fixed at 1080px, height varies by device, ensuring consistent horizontal layout across screen sizes
- Bezier arc pour animation — liquid stream uses a cubic bezier curve with control points directly above each vessel neck, creating a natural fountain arc between vessels
- Deterministic stopper timing — cork drop animation uses calculated delay based on summed animation durations rather than polling, eliminating race conditions
- Main thread ad initialization — AdMob SDK initialized via callback flag pattern to ensure all UI calls occur on Unity’s main thread
- Per-platform RevenueCat keys — compile-time platform directives select the correct SDK key for Android vs iOS builds
Visual Design & Color Scheme
The visual identity is built around a warm West Coast beach sunset palette — consistent with Sunlight Media’s broader brand aesthetic. The game deliberately avoids the bright neon colors common in the color-sort category, instead using muted, earthy tones that feel calm and sophisticated.
UI Color Palette
| Element | Color | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| Background / Canvas | Cream | #F0EBE1 |
| Header & Button Tray | Warm Tan | #E0D0BC |
| Primary Button | Terracotta | #C07840 |
| Secondary Button | Sage Green | #8BAF7F |
| Primary Text | Dark Brown | #4A3728 |
| Secondary Text | Mid Brown | #9B7B5A |
Game Color Palette (Liquid Colors)
| Color Name | Hex |
|---|---|
| Dusty Rose | #D4A6A6 |
| Sage Green | #8BAF7F |
| Lavender | #BBA8CC |
| Terracotta | #C4894A |
| Soft Amber | #D4A855 |
| Powder Blue | #8BAFC4 |
| Deep Plum | #7A5A7A |
| Eucalyptus | #7AAF9B |
| Blush Cream | #E8C8B8 |
| Warm Coral | #C47A6A |
Design Language
- Sunburst radial texture background at full opacity
- Photo-realistic glass bottle vessels with illustrated cork stoppers
- Cork stopper = completed vessel — a consistent visual language used throughout all marketing assets
- Rounded rectangle UI elements throughout — no sharp corners
- Nunito typeface — friendly, rounded, highly legible on small screens
Monetization Strategy
| Model | Freemium |
| Base game | Free with banner and rewarded video ads |
| Premium subscription | $2.99/month — removes all ads, unlocks instant hints |
| Subscription platform | RevenueCat (entitlement: “Hush Sort Pro”) |
| Ad network | Google AdMob |
| Ad formats | Banner (persistent) + Rewarded video (opt-in for hints) |
| Hint system | Free players watch a rewarded ad per hint; subscribers get instant hints |
Retention Features
- Daily streak tracking — consecutive day counter displayed on the level complete scorecard
- Daily levels completed counter — tracks same-day progress
- Undo system — unlimited undos prevent dead-ends and reduce frustration
- Level progression chart — in-app screen showing all 15 difficulty tiers to motivate long-term play
- Auto-show onboarding — How to Play panel appears automatically on first launch only
- Offline play — no internet connection required for gameplay
Store Presence
| Google Play title | Hush Sort — Color Sort Puzzle |
| Category | Games > Puzzle |
| Rating | Everyone (ESRB) |
| Publisher | Sunlight Media LLC |
| Screenshots | 5 phone screenshots + feature graphic (1024×500px) |
| App icon | Three glass vessels with cork, cream background |
Project Highlights
- Designed, developed, and launched a fully monetized mobile game from concept to Google Play production in a single development cycle
- All UI built procedurally in C# — no Unity prefabs — demonstrating strong programmatic UI architecture
- Integrated two major third-party SDKs (RevenueCat and AdMob) with full subscription and ad lifecycle management
- 1000+ levels of hand-tuned content with algorithmic difficulty scaling across 15 tiers
- Cozy aesthetic deliberately differentiated from market competitors — targeting underserved adult casual audience
- Full cross-platform monetization architecture supporting both Android and iOS from a single codebase
Hush Sort is available now on the Google Play Store. iOS release via the Apple App Store is in progress. The iOS version is currently under development and will be released shortly.
