Design Statement
The track opens almost silent, swells for a long time, then lets go. I read that as loneliness turning into connection, and built the game on that arc. You are a needle carrying one warm thread through a cold winter town. Every window you touch gets stitched: it lights up, the house glows warm, and the thread anchors there and grows a little longer, so each person you reach lets you reach the next one. Nothing in the game hurts you; the only resistance is distance and patience. Some shutters only open when the music breathes in, every other bar at the track's tempo of about 80 BPM, so the player learns to move with the song instead of against it. The music is original and generated live in the track's key, F minor, and gains a layer with every window you light, so the town literally gets warmer as it fills. When every window is stitched, the houses lift into the sky together, the way the track releases at the end.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Play in the browser on the project page, or download the macOS app (universal, macOS 12+; it is not notarized, so right-click Thread.app and choose Open the first time). Click to begin. Move the needle with the mouse or the arrow keys. Touch a dark window to stitch it; your thread can only reach as far as its length, and every stitched window anchors the thread and makes it longer. Shuttered windows open only on the beat, every other bar. Stitch every window in the town to finish the level. Four levels, about 5 minutes.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://youtu.be/8MpmWeR7NQI

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. The code was written with the help of an AI coding assistant (Claude). No AI-generated images, audio or music: the visuals are drawn in code and the music is generated live with the Web Audio API. The page carries the AI disclosure required by the jam rules.