It's the ninth TweetTweetJam! Make a game in 500 characters of code.

Why 500? Because you don't need a ton of code to make something fun. Because it's nice to scale back. But mostly because it's the length of one Mastodon toot. PICO-8 is our recommended tool, but TIC-80 and other text-based engines will work as well!

Remember to share a gif of your progress and finished game on Twitter or Mastodon using the tag #TweetTweetJam!

Rules:

• Your final game code must be 500 characters or less. This includes spaces and brackets, but doesn't include the code composing your framework or engine.
• No spritesheets or external art libraries allowed! All of your game art must fit into your code. Symbols such as 웃 and ★ are acceptable, as long as they work in your editor and can be included in a tweet!
• We keep rules for TweetTweetJam pretty lax for a reason: there's no voting, so winning/losing the jam is subjective. If you want to stretch the rules, that's your choice!

FAQ

• Is there a theme to this jam, or can my game be about anything? If your game is made using 500 characters, you can make it about whatever you like! The format alone is constraining enough, so we don't impose themes on genres or topics.
• Why isn't it called TootTootJam? Cause the name TweetTweetJam has been used for a long time, and we like our bird mascots!
• My Mastodon instance lets me use more than 500 chars. Do I get to use more for TweetTweetJam? Nope, the jam's limit is 500 characters!
• Can I use Picotron, Unity, Godot, Unreal, Python, JS, or a custom engine? If you can find a way to script a game in these engines with only 500 characters of code, go right ahead! Most entries tend to be PICO-8, TIC-80, or vanilla JS, but if you'd like to use a more heavy-duty engine, we'd love for you to participate!
• I need help cutting down on characters! Check out this handy gist by kometbomb.
• Can I upload NSFW content? Nope, since TweetTweetJam is friendly to users of all ages! There are a lot of NSFW jams you can participate in elsewhere though, so seek them out and participate if that's your thing!
• Can I submit more than one game? Absolutely! Participants often submit more than one game to TweetTweetJam, since the games tend to be so tiny. Some participants have even gone so far as to submit a game every day of the jam!
• Can I use built-in emojis, sprites, symbols, or base Unity shapes such as a cube or sphere in my game? Go ahead and use any built-in symbols or assets provided with your engine! If you don’t have to import it, you can use it! 
• Is it okay to use an external code library? If you want to use external libraries, go ahead. But keep in mind - the constraints of the jam are in place to encourage participants to scale back, so if you find yourself building importable libraries to get around the constraints, you might be missing the point!
• Can I import music or sound effects? Nope, unless they're generated from your code!
• Can I spread my code between multiple files? Yes! If your total character count is under 500, then it can be spread between as many files as you’d like.
• I can't make a fun game without imported art or music! You totally can! Build the core of your game during TweetTweetJam, then revisit your work after the jam to add all your favourite bells and whistles!

Check out these pages for inspiration:

• PICO-8 Tweet Games, compiled by Paul Nicholas.
• TweetTweetJam 8 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 7 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 6 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 5 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 4 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 3 Entries
• TweetTweetJam 2 Entries
• TweetTweetJam Entries