Presenting the

New Year (2022) Game Jam!

2021 is behind us!  A fresh new year has begun.  Let's celebrate by creating some fun games or demos in Mini Micro!

Mini Micro is a free development environment for all desktop/laptop computers.  It is best described as a neo-retro virtual home computer from an alternate, cooler universe.  It features a modern yet simple language (MiniScript) and a sophisticated API that supports sprites, tiles, pixel graphics, text, game controllers, digitized and synthesized audio, and more.

This jam will last two weeks (plus a little more, to give you an extra weekend).  All submissions will be live-streamed on Twitch!

The Theme

There will be a theme announced when the jam begins.  You are encouraged to incorporate this theme into your work in any way you like.

The Rules in Brief

• All submissions must be made in Mini Micro.
• Submissions should be hosted here on itch.io, as web builds.  Downloadable builds are fine as extras, but a web build is required.
• No NSFW content.  This includes sexual content (including language), nudity, or excessive realistic gore/violence.
• Multiplayer games are fine, though they may make the live-streaming a bit difficult.  Consider including a single-player mode if you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you mean, Mini Micro is "free"?  What's the catch?

No catch.  I have a good job and don't need to make money from this.  I'm doing it because I love coding, and I want to share this love with others.  Mini Micro is the "dream machine" I had been thinking about for many years, and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Does Mini Micro work on my computer?

If you have a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer with a keyboard and mouse, you should be all set.  And you could get by without the mouse in a pinch.

What sort of game can I make with Mini Micro? 

Mini Micro provides easy, high-performance support for:

• Display layers: sprites, tiles (both rectangular and hex), pixel graphics, and text.
• Sound & music: both digitized and synthesized.
• Input devices: keyboard, mouse, and up to 8 game controllers
• Networking: HTTP (including all REST verbs)

So, you can make pretty much any sort of 2D game, or even pseudo-3D if you're sufficiently clever.  Get creative! 

I don't know if I can learn a new language in a month. 

That's not a question, but yes you can!  MiniScript is a very simple language; so simple that it can be documented in a single page (though a much more detailed manual is available if you want it).  Mini Micro adds APIs for doing graphics, sounds, etc., but even that can be documented in a few pages.  If you need more detail, there is an ever-growing wiki with handy "How to" pages.

Many current Mini Micro fans had never heard of it before they joined the first game jam, and did just fine.   You can do it too!

Where can I get help? 

We have active forums, as well as a Discord server.  You will find all the help you need there.  We're a small but very friendly community!