Make Tiny Games

Who said that?

John Romero speaking at the Game Developers Conference in 2022 — John Romero
Photo: Official GDC, CC BY 2.0.

Correct!

In his book Doom Guy, John Romero explained that DOOM was his 90th game, and likened building games to playing them. Romero, John Carmack, and Tom Hall had each been making games for a decade before they began working together; by DOOM, id Software had shipped dozens of games and four earlier first-person shooters. Those small, finished games gave the team hard-earned design experience and helped it refine the engine technology behind its breakthroughs. DOOM can look like an overnight success in hindsight, but it was built on years of practice.

Nat Delnova
Game maker. Still learning to finish.

Hi, I'm Nat.

I'm making 100 TINY games in 100 days, and I invite you to finish one alongside me.

I spent years struggling to finish the games I started. Making smaller games helped me find a way forward, so I'm sharing each game and what I learn as I go. I'll also be sharing all 100 game recipes in a book along with the source code so you can remix your own.

, , , : each letter is a practical test. The game should be playable and complete, have a clear sense of play, give me something new to try, and reflect my own personal taste. That's it. That's my bar for making games. And I have to tell you, it's incredibly freeing. If you're struggling to finish your own games, read on below because I've created a game jam where we can go through this process together, one game at a time.

TINY Jam

Make one TINY game this October and enter it into the TINY Jam.

Play through the TINY games I'm making for the 100-day quest, then use the community board to start a thread for your own. Share progress as you work and meet other makers along the way.

Join the TINY Jam

Game 008

Hi, I'm Nat.

TINY Jam