Academics
ShadeQuest
Annoyed, frustrated or furious? Nervous, eager or dreading? Shades, not scores. A scene ends mid-feeling - you pick the word that FITS from three close neighbours (never a wall of a hundred), or say 'two' when a blend is the honest answer. Then Ochre the octopus shows what in the scene points to THIS shade, and how the shade changes what you would do next. The Fit-meter rewards the apt word - and flatly refuses to count how many words you know. Built for exactly the age when telling feelings apart gets hardest. Ages 9-14.
#C26A3D Distributed-narrative cast
Meet the cast
ShadeQuest is the 9-14 granularity workout - telling close feelings apart and choosing the word that FITS. Ochre the octopus is the hero: it can turn any shade but only one at a time, and it knows which shade the scene calls for - picking the apt shade is Ochre. The companions each embody one part of the science: what in the scene points to a shade, how near neighbours sit, when two shades are the honest answer, and why the RIGHT word beats the MOST words. Nothing a learner feels is ever saved (map, not log), and the Fit-meter never counts vocabulary.
Ochre
The apt shade (hero) - an octopus that turns one shade at a time and reads which shade the scene calls for; choosing the word that fits (frustrated, not furious; wistful, not gloomy) is Ochre.
Sepia
The distinguisher - an ink that reveals what in a scene points to a shade: a blocked goal (frustrated) versus a broken rule (furious), high energy versus low, how long it has lasted. Sepia is Ochre's reasoning made visible.
Sienna
The near neighbour - the shade just one step off; embodies that a family's words sit CLOSE together on the map (shades, not opposites), so the workout is telling near things apart, not sorting far ones.
Verdigris
The both-and - a colour that reads green AND blue at once; embodies the honest 'two' answer, when two feelings are true at the same time (eager and nervous; glad and sad) - a sign of a big heart, not confusion.
Anemone
Fit over count - a reef anemone that welcomes the ONE creature that fits it, never the most; embodies the rule that the Fit-meter rewards the apt word and never counts how many words you know (Vine 2020).
What's inside
Learning goal
Annoyed, frustrated or furious? Nervous, eager or dreading? Shades, not scores. A scene ends mid-feeling - you pick the word that FITS from three close neighbours (never a wall of a hundred), or say 'two' when a blend is the honest answer. Then Ochre the octopus shows what in the scene points to THIS shade, and how the shade changes what you would do next. The Fit-meter rewards the apt word - and flatly refuses to count how many words you know. Built for exactly the age when telling feelings apart gets hardest. Ages 9-14.
Question kits
16 curriculum-aligned kits × 25 questions = 400 questions per app, mapped to recognized standards.
On-device AI mentor
FoundationModels-powered hints, feedback, and adaptive difficulty — all running locally.
How ShadeQuest handles your kid's data
- ✅ All progress, settings, and AI-generated content stays on the device
- ✅ No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs
- ✅ No ads, no in-app purchases — you pay once
- ✅ COPPA compliant under the 2026 FTC amendments
- ✅ Parental controls + session limits + content filters built in
ShadeQuest runs on ForgeKit — the open-source Swift Package Manager framework that powers every Spark & Anvil app. ForgeKit ensures consistent accessibility, COPPA compliance, and design language across the portfolio, so your kid's progress and preferences feel coherent across every app they touch.
Coming to the App Store
ShadeQuest is in active development. Email us to hear when it ships — no marketing, no spam, just a one-shot launch announcement.
Email me at launch