Theme
“Small World”
Everything takes place in a confined, tiny, or self-contained world. This could be literal—like life inside a terrarium, a bug colony, or a single room—or metaphorical, like being stuck in a routine or a miniature society where every action has oversized consequences. The challenge is to explore how limited space can shape mechanics, story, and design.
Examples
- A puzzle game where you control creatures living in a drop of water.
- A survival game on a single floating island, where resources loop and recycle.
- A narrative about characters who can’t leave their little town, and how relationships evolve.
- A platformer where the entire world fits on one screen, but keeps changing.
Tips
- Scope tiny. Choose one core mechanic and build everything around it. If it doesn’t serve the loop, cut it.
- Prototype first. Grey boxes, placeholder sprites, beeps for audio. Make it playable early before any polish.
- Embrace chaos. Include at least one element the player can’t fully control (drift, misfires, unruly NPCs, etc.).
- Daily checkpoint. End each day with a build you can run from scratch. No broken mains.
- Cut aggressively. If you add something new, remove something else. Protect the core.
- Juice pass, once. Add feedback (screenshake, pops, trails) after the core works.
- Public reveal. Ship a short GIF or 30-sec video at the end—even if unfinished.