In your code: {code} /** * Used to get the colour of the text depending on * the distance from the start to the end of the journey * @return Returns the colour of the falling code */ public Color getColour() { int i = ((getY() / 10) * 7); int alpha = i > 255 ? 255 : i; return new Color(colour.getRed(), colour.getGreen(), colour.getBlue(), IS_LEADER ? 200 : alpha); } {/code} you should use a different name for your variable "i" because variables named i are, in java, used for loop counters and should not be used for anything else.