A virtual claw needs a clear state model.
On ArmAPI.com, “gacha game arm API” describes the interface around a virtual claw’s movement and round state. It is a useful project label, not a claim that every game follows a common industry API. A physical claw machine, a browser illustration, and a commercial reward service are separate systems with different responsibilities.
Our practice cabinet makes those boundaries visible. It runs locally, uses three fixed capsule positions, and has no purchases, accounts, transferable items, or real prizes. Its aim is to make movement and outcome logic easy to inspect.
Describe the round before animating it.
Use a small state vocabulary: aiming, descending, returning, and resolved. Decide which inputs are allowed in each state. A drop command should not start another round while the current round is descending. A reset should cancel pending transitions instead of leaving old timers able to update the new round.
Give each round an identifier, even in a small implementation. It helps separate a late callback from an active round and makes debugging easier. The virtual claw loop guide walks through these choices, including hidden tabs and repeated input.
Make the practice rule explicit.
The included demo moves the carriage between local x positions 80 and 460. Buttons move it by 25 units, with the final step clamped to the boundary. Capsules sit at x=140, x=270, and x=400. A drop selects a capsule when its center is within 45 units of the carriage.
These are drawing coordinates and deterministic hit regions, not a rigid-body physics simulation or published prize odds. A selected capsule is dimmed to illustrate the outcome; no inventory is created and nothing is awarded. Repeating the same aim produces the same selection. A new drop restores the capsule presentation before calculating that round.
Offer equivalent ways to play.
Use the visible Left, Drop, and Right buttons, or focus the cabinet and use the arrow keys. Space or Enter starts a drop when the cabinet itself has focus. Keyboard input is scoped to the cabinet rather than intercepted across the entire page.
During a drop, movement controls are disabled. Status text reports the current phase and result, so the colored capsule is not the only feedback. Reduced-motion preferences shorten transitions. These choices make the example easier to follow without presenting it as a certified accessibility assessment.
Keep animation separate from entitlement.
A commercial game with persistent rewards needs an authoritative outcome system, replay protection, and application-specific policy review. The browser’s animation should not become the sole source of truth for a valuable award. This site intentionally avoids that problem by having no real reward system at all.
The gacha video game API overview explains how a renderer can consume a result without inventing one. Start with the virtual claw playground to explore the input loop, then read the animation and reward-state guide before extending the architecture beyond a local practice example.
