superVIMus is a browser puzzle game where the controls are hjkl. The idea is that if you make someone move through short levels using only Vim keys, the keys start to feel natural faster than any drill-based repetition would manage.
Why a game
The first stage of learning Vim movement is genuinely awkward. You know what h, j, k, l do, but your hands don’t know it yet. Practicing in a text editor is slow feedback — you make a mistake, correct it, move on. A game gives you immediate consequences and a fast reset loop.
Good levels for this need specific shapes: corridors that force horizontal movement, turns that punish arrow-key muscle memory, vertical sections that make j and k feel natural, and short resets so mistakes stay cheap. If a level takes too long, you start thinking about the level instead of the keys. Small rooms keep the focus where it belongs.
The build
Godot was the obvious choice once this became a real game
rather than an HTML keyboard toy. Grid movement, collisions, level scenes, collectables, sound, and
browser export all fit naturally in the engine. The project lives in a folder called
vimto-the-hole, which tells you something about how it started.
Stack
Godot for the game, browser export for distribution.
Where it stands
The current version is focused and playable. If I rebuilt it I’d add a clearer difficulty ramp and maybe track mistakes per level, but I wouldn’t make it much larger. The point is muscle memory, not an overwrought Vim curriculum.