Thomas Palef

Software developer who likes to build stuff. Author of

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

I made a brand new web game called Almost Pong!
Try it here https://t.co/EuOo03tqoJ and please RT :)

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

I've been obsessed with bookmarklets lately. Can you guess what this one will do if it's run on https://t.co/ePnYcjStfI?

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

Writing and using bookmarklets is underrated. It's so powerful to run custom JavaScript code on any website with a click of a button.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

@IndieHackers My ebook, Make 2D Games, is off 50% for Black Friday!
Check it out here: https://t.co/IXsEBiJ4M7

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

About 50,000 people have played Almost Pong since last week! That's awesome and completely unexpected for me. Thanks to everyone who played the game, shared it, or sent me feedback!
https://t.co/EuOo03tqoJ

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

I'm working on a new game! Here's a quick preview:

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

@ryguygames Thank you!

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

In 2014 I made one game per week for 12 weeks in a row:

01 Run
02 Pixel War
03 Box Jump
04 Man vs Penguins
05 Fill the Holes
06 Princess Quest
07 Connected
08 Save the City
09 I Hate Rabbits
10 Dark Blue
11 The Three Hearts
12 Crazy Snake

Try them on https://t.co/2L7Jjwj885

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

I just made many of my games look better on mobile with this function.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

So go give your game to family, friends, and strangers!

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

You spent a lot of time making your game, so everything about it is obvious to you. A brand new player knows nothing about your game, so not much is obvious to them. That's why you need playtesting.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

When working on a game, I always use constraints. This is a great technique to limite the scope of the game and to boost my creativity. For example:
- Use only three colors
- Don't display any text
- Finish it it five days

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

My most popular game, Box Jump, is now almost mobile friendly! The game doesn't resize, but you can jump by tapping the screen. https://t.co/hETx7LC7yj

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

Tiny JavaScript tip: these two lines do the exact same thing. That's a useful shortcut when prototyping.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

@JohnnyVenasse Thanks for the offer, but for now I want to focus on my own games.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

I made 12 games in 12 weeks to teach myself game development. I learned a lot, and more than 500,000 people played them so far. You can try all my games on https://t.co/2L7Jjw1xgx

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

@migue_dorta Good point. If people struggle during a boss fight, should we make it easier? I guess it depends on the game you are trying to build and how players feel while they struggle.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

The best way to improve your game fast: give it to people, silently watch them play, and take notes about all their struggles.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

Seeing all the flaws in your game won't be fun, but you'll learn a lot.

[Thomas Palef @thomaspalef]

There are many ways to end up making a successful game:
- Make 1 great game and get really lucky
- Make 10 great games and get lucky
- Make 100 great games