Make a game using 500 characters of code or less!
More code doesn't always equal better choices. Scaling back opens encourages creativity, and a challenge is good for the soul! For these reasons, once a year we gather to take this to extreme and make games small enough to appear in one Mastodon toot.
PICO-8 is our recommended tool, but Picotron and TIC-80 are also great choices! We've also received submissions using Unity, Godot, Unreal, Python, and vanilla JS in the past. Share gifs of your progress and finished game on Bluesky, Mastodon, or X using the tag #TweetTweetJam!
Rules
- 500 chars: Your game code must be 500 characters or less in length, including spaces, brackets, etc. This character count does not include the code comprising your framework/engine. We're not strict about how many files you use, provided the total character count is 500 characters or less.
- No sprites or audio files: Game art and audio must be generated/printed from code, so no spritesheets or external art libraries. Symbols such as ์ and โ are fine., and built-in symbols, assets or shapes provided with your engine are fair game.
- No NSFW: TweetTweetJam an all-ages jam, so nothing too saucy, please!
FAQ
- Does my game have to be about birds? Nope! Your game can be about anything, provided it's made using 500 characters of code or less.
- These games are tiny. Can I submit more than one? Absolutely! Some participants even submit a game for each day of the jam!
- Can I stretch the rules? The code limit is meant to encourage minimalism, so if you find yourself stretching the rules to sidestep the constraints, importing sizeable libraries or even writing importable files, you might be missing the point!
- What if I want to build something bigger? Try building a simple core mechanic during TweetTweetJam, then revisit the project after the jam to add bells and whistles!
- Isn't writing code this way bad practice? Oh, definitely! But it's for fun, and you can always make your code legible again after the jam.
Resources
- Need to cut down on characters! Check out this handy gist by kometbomb.
- Need inspiration? Check out the PICO-8 TweetCarts Preservation Account, compiled by Paul Nicholas.