I built my dream game in one night

For years I wanted to make a pixel-art skate game. Metal Slug style: chunky, loud and beautiful. And every time I thought about it, the same answer came back. That's a whole team. That's years.

Then one evening, I just started. Just me and AI.

**Watch the short: I built my dream game in one night**

It didn't look like this at first

The very first version wasn't even called TinySkate. It was called Skatedash, and it looked like a RollerCoaster Tycoon theme park, with roller coasters, a Ferris wheel and a tiny skater rolling past.

Nope. Next I tried a Commodore 64 look, with the sixteen-colour palette, dithered grass and suburban houses. Closer, but still not the game I had in my head.

Then I said the words I'd been thinking all along: more Metal Slug. Everything was rebuilt, and there he was. My skater.

One night, a whole game

AI drew the art, and code turned it into real, crisp pixels. Kickflips, grinds, and yes, a cop car you can grind. Nine spots, its own music, worldwide leaderboards and a website. By the end of the night it was submitted to the App Store.

One person. One night. That still feels a little unreal to write, but it's true: this is actually possible now.

Come skate

If you've got a dream game of your own, build it. Mine is free to play right now at tinyskate.com, and the iPhone version is on its way.

I'm sharing the whole journey on the new TinySkate YouTube channel: short dev stories and full walkthroughs of every spot. See you at the park!