Bigger isn't always better in video games; as indie developers and Twine creators have proved over and over again, you don't need mind-blowing graphics or a team of hundreds to create an entertaining game experience. But musician and programmer Alex Yoder is pushing the limit of smallness and simplicity with Tiny Twitch, a game so teeny that its code can fit inside the 140-character limit of a tweet.
The game was originally inspired by a challenge from Australian game developer Ben Porter:
I challenge you to make a game whose source fits in a single tweet
— Ben Porter (@eigenbom) June 27, 2015
Like many games, the goal of Tiny Twitch is to click on selected spots as many times as possible. But instead of shooting opponents or clicking cookies, you're tapping on an ever-shifting X. Try Tiny Twitch for yourself, and see how many Xs you can click before the time runs out. I maxed out at 16, but the guys over at Rock Paper Shotgun are boasting high scores of 17 and 19.
And here's the teeny, tiny Twitter code, for those of you who are into that sort of thing—or want to step up to the challenge yourself.
<body onload=d=Date.now,t=d(s=0)><p style="float:left" onclick="(e=d(++s)-t)<15e3?style.margin=e%300+' 0 0 '+e*7%300:alert(s)">X</p></body>
— Alex Yoder (@alex_yoder) June 30, 2015
