Build Your Own Mini Games — Zero Code Needed

If you were a kid during the 2000s/early 2010s, you likely remember racing to the school computer lab to play a quick game of 8 Ball Pool or Agar.io before the bell rang. There was something magical about playing mindless, addictive, and instantaneous-like games through browsers in that period of time: they were easy to play, really fun, and best of all, completely free.

The good news is that the magic is back. But frankly, it’s cooler than before.

Astrocade is a new platform that’s really bringing back that era of miniature browser games — but now you won't just be playing those mini browser games, YOU will create them! No coding required, no directions needed, no need for any sort of advanced degree in computer science! You just need an idea for your game and about 5-10 minutes of time.

What Is Astrocade?

Astrocade is to games what TikTok is to video creation. In the same way anyone can use TikTok to create a short video that can reach millions of people, anyone with a game idea can create a fully functional game through Astrocade.

By going to Astrocade.com and clicking on "Create," typing in your game description, you will have your very own playable browser game in a matter of minutes. What you will have is not some rough draft, but rather a polished, smooth, fun mini-game.

How Does It Work, Exactly?

The process can be summarized in one simple sentence:

1) Head to Astrocade.com and hit the Create button. There’s no need to create an account to get started (we recommend creating one if you wish to save or publish your creations).

2) Describe your game using a sentence or two describing its concept/theme/idea e.g., “A retro-style platforming game where a cat collects fish while avoiding dogs.” Your description is used by the software to generate the entire game from scratch.

3) Play the generated game and make modifications while playing in real-time. This ability of instantaneously modifying the game's parameters creates a unique experience compared to traditional video-game development or gaming. You can easily change aspects such as levels, enemies, and colors while you’re playing the game by typing out what you want to change on your keyboard in the game modifying field.

4) Remix someone else’s game. See a game you enjoy in the community feed? Click on the “Remix” option to give that game your own twist. You can modify almost everything about the original game, including themes, mechanics, and characters — all with a single tap!

5) Publish it for everyone. When your game is ready for the world, everyone in the Astrocade Community will see it in seconds. Your game is played in their Internet Browser, no downloads, no installation … just click the link to play.

Miniclip Nostalgia

Mini games, characterized by the brevity and re-playability, are a prominent part of gaming culture. They involve no substantial time commitment and little (or no) technical hardware requirements but offer hours of pure fun.

Until recently, creating mini games required a substantial talent in programming and creating a game using a programming language such as C++. Today, a 14 year old having an idea can develop a game similar in quality to that produced by a traditional developer and have it seen by thousands within hours.

Who Is This For?

Almost anybody, to be honest.

If you’re just someone who enjoys playing games as a past time, Astrocade gives you a platform to create fun games yourself or use other games made by the community/exploring that content.

If you’re a creative type (writer, designer, storyteller), Astrocade gives you a way to express your ideas differently (i.e. making an interactive game relating to a story idea/brand/weird story that makes you laugh = expelling creative energy).

If you’re a content creator then think about developing a unique mini-game that relates to your community and releasing it to your audience — this is a level of interaction with your audience that most creators would love to have.

If you’re a developer/designer there is still something to gain from Astrocade, even if it isn’t replacing "legitimate" game development, because it’s a quick way to prototype creative concepts to get feedback about ideas before you go all-in and develop it fully.