iPhone · iPad · Apple TV Native beta

Whisker Witch

Moonlit flights, a little company, and a little magic.

Game design and creative direction: my wife.
Development and implementation: Richard Ziolkowski.

Whisker Witch flies past the Starfall Lake observatory with nine unique familiars, a single moon and layered lake scenery. — One of the new Starfall Lake paintings. A scene set up to check the visuals in the Apple TV simulator, 4 October 2026; local V8 build.

About this project

Whisker Witch is a native broom-flight game for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, following an earlier browser prototype. Hold to rise and release to drift while collecting one of each of nine familiar species; repeated rescues become Moon Coins.

My wife leads the game design and creative direction, and I’m building the game. The flight now builds through ghosts, imps and wolves, with warning poses and five potion powers. I’ve added eighteen painted vistas across the six forest regions in a newer local build. The gameplay changes are in internal TestFlight testing; the new scenery is still local.

Along the way

Project notes

What’s changed, what I’m trying, and what comes next.

15 October 2026 #

Nine familiars and a changing forest

A unique familiar collection, more varied threats and eighteen painted vistas give the moonlit flight more shape.

I’ve been building the next part of my wife’s design for the familiar chain. A flight can now collect one of each of the nine species, with the witch counted separately. Finding a familiar you have already rescued turns it into Moon Coins, and gathering the whole company earns its own celebration. The chain curves behind the broom more smoothly as it grows.

The forest also asks for different decisions as a flight continues. Early clearings introduce one danger at a time; later passages mix cream ghosts, charging imps, leaping wolves and falling branches. Imps commit to their aim before firing, wolves warn before jumping, and the warning marks remain visible with quieter motion enabled. I have kept the familiar hold-to-rise controls while giving the encounters a clearer build-up.

The newer scenery pass expands the world to eighteen painted vistas, with changing clearings, groves, mist and moonlight between them. A single moon stays coherent as the landscapes blend. The witch’s hat, hair, cloak and lantern respond separately to her movement, and spell impacts meet their targets before the visual dissolve begins. These details are there to make a long flight feel continuous without filling the route with decoration.

The gameplay changes went to internal TestFlight testing on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV on 4 October. The eighteen-vista artwork is newer and still in my local build. I need to play on the devices themselves to judge performance and how the later encounters feel.

Whisker Witch and nine following familiars curve through Ancient Witchwood as a cream ghost and Hex Imp display warning poses. — Ancient Witchwood, the curved familiar chain and enemy warning poses. A frame from my staged V8 animation check in the Apple TV simulator, 4 October 2026.

3 October 2026 #

A living moonlit flight

Whisker Witch has grown from a browser prototype into a native game with animated companions and richer forest detail.

Following the browser prototype, I have built native SwiftUI and SpriteKit versions for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Hold to rise, release to drift, and try to keep a growing trail of rescued familiars clear of the forest.

The native game separates Moon Coins, which buy wardrobe items, from potion bottles, which grant five temporary powers. Familiars collect coins too, and the chain can hold up to ten friends. The pink Sparkle Bubble protects the entire chain; vines, phoenix fire, moon orbs and golden magic each change how a flight handles hazards. Rewards, discoveries and owned cosmetics save locally.

I’ve added twenty-four animation frames for six familiars, along with glowing flowers, breathing mushroom gills, drifting petals, painted-water light and lantern glimmer. Shields have a pearl-like contour, gold leaves short afterimages, and spells carry distinct trails. I also corrected clipped canopy shapes and made the raven readable against dark trees.

I’ve checked the new animations in the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV simulators. An earlier iPhone/iPad build is in internal TestFlight, while these newer visuals are still local. Next I’m exploring alternate vistas and how to blend them smoothly as the flight continues.

Whisker Witch native Starfall Lake scene with a moonlit witch, nine familiars and a shield around the chain. — Starfall Lake in the Apple TV simulator, 3 October 2026. I arranged the familiar chain and all five potion bottles here to check their appearance together.

Whisker Witch native Rosemoon Grove scene with hanging blossoms, lanterns, familiars and purple Moon Orbs. — Rosemoon Grove with the Moon Orbs effect, 3 October 2026. I set up this scene in the Apple TV simulator to check the effect.