The 100-Game Program¶
The engine ships with a scaffold, a template, and a catalog. Your job: pick a game, build it, ship it. Each entry lists the engine features it exercises, so working down the catalog doubles as an engine feature tour.
How to build a game¶
make new-game GAME=MyGame # scaffolds Games/MyGame/ from the template
make game GAME=MyGame # builds it (native)
./build-games/MyGame_game # play it
That's it — Games/ auto-registers in CMake, so there is zero build wiring.
Headless dev (no display): SDL_VIDEODRIVER=dummy timeout 10 ./build-games/MyGame_game.
Web export: ./tools/build_web_game.sh MyGame → web/MyGame.js, serve web/.
Difficulty: ★ = one sitting · ★★ = an afternoon · ★★★ = a weekend.
Flagship — Cinderfall 🚧 (parked; backburner)¶
The engine's long-term showcase title (top-down action-adventure roguelite).
On hold while the basics get shipped — the program builds bottom-up so the
engine and the catalog mature together; Cinderfall resumes once Tier 1 is done.
M0-M2 slices are playable if you want a peek: make game GAME=Cinderfall.
How the tiers work¶
Basics first, quality over speed. Every game ships before the next tier starts. A game is only marked done when it meets the AAA-feel bar below — mechanics alone don't count. Tier 0 is done (mechanics), Tier 1 is in progress; feel retrofits roll through the shipped games in order.
The AAA-feel bar¶
A game is "done" only when it is fully playable and feels like a real game:
- Full loop — start → play → win/lose → restart, plus pause (P) and a session best score.
- Juice — every impactful event pays out: particle bursts, trauma-based screen shake, hit-stop, floating score text.
- Audio — procedural sound effects synthesized in memory (zero asset files; identical native / WASM / headless).
- Presentation — distinct pixel-art sprites, a live HUD, and clean overlays (pause, game over, win).
- Playability — human keyboard controls, an LLM action surface that mirrors them exactly, headless smoke autoplay, and web export.
- Depth — scoring with a difficulty ramp (speed/level curves), not just a binary win/lose.
The shared toolkit Engine/Core/GameJuice.h makes this cheap — particles,
screen shake, hit-stop, floating text, and the SFX synth are one include.
Feel status: Snake (#1), TicTacToe (#2), Minesweeper (#3), Roguelike (#4), Breakout (#7), Space Invaders (#8), Tetris (#9), Flappy Bird (#10), Doodle Jump (#11), Asteroids (#12), Pac-Man (#13), Memory Match (#14), Simon Says (#15), Whack-a-Mole (#16), Portal Snake (#17), Frogger (#18), Brick Breaker+ (#19), Galaga (#20), and 2048 (#22) are ✅, plus Cinderfall (flagship, M1). Every new game ships with the kit from day one — mechanics and feel land together.
Tier 0 — already shipped ✅¶
| # | Game | Pitch | Features exercised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snake ✅ | The classic | grid, input, game-over, GameJuice feel (food burst/death explosion) |
| 2 | TicTacToe ✅ | Two-player duel | UI, buttons, win detection, GameJuice feel (placement pops/win-line flash/shake/fanfare) |
| 3 | Minesweeper ✅ | Flood-fill logic | grid, mouse, recursion, GameJuice feel (reveal pops/mine blast) |
| 4 | Roguelike ✅ | Turn-based dungeon crawl | tilemap, entities, turn loop, GameJuice feel (hit flash/kill burst/stairs popup) |
| 5 | CoinCollector ✅ (template) | Chase coins, avoid hazards | template anatomy, restart, text UI |
| 6 | Pong ✅ | Two-player rally | float physics, held keys, scoring, LLM actions |
Tier 1 — next up (★, ~30 min each)¶
| # | Game | Pitch | Features exercised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Breakout ✅ | Bounce through a brick wall | physics, collision, full GameJuice feel (particles/shake/hit-stop/SFX) |
| 8 | Space Invaders ✅ | Row of invaders marches down | entities, movement patterns, shooting, shields |
| 9 | Tetris ✅ | Rotate falling blocks | grid, rotation, wall kicks, line-clear, hold queue, GameJuice feel (clear flash/shake/SFX) |
| 10 | Flappy Bird ✅ | One button, one gap | gravity, procedural pipes, state machine, GameJuice feel (hop puff/score pop/death burst) |
| 11 | Doodle Jump ✅ | Bounce ever upward | scrolling, bounce physics, GameJuice feel (squash/stretch, wall dust, new-best celebration) |
| 12 | Asteroids ✅ | Drift and shoot rocks | thrust/drift, wrap-around, split rocks, saucer, GameJuice feel |
| 13 | Pac-Man ✅ | Eat dots, dodge ghosts | maze grid, scatter/chase/frightened ghost AI, GameJuice feel |
| 14 | Memory Match ✅ | Flip tiles, find pairs | grid, mouse, timing, GameJuice feel (flip pop/match burst/streak) |
| 15 | Simon Says ✅ | Repeat the growing sequence | audio, timing, state machine, GameJuice feel (per-tile chime/glow, wrong-press shake/hit-stop/SFX) |
| 16 | Whack-a-Mole ✅ | Hit the mole before it hides | timers, deterministic spawns, combo, GameJuice feel (whack bursts/shake/hit-stop, escape misses, game-over explosion) |
| 17 | Portal Snake ✅ | Snake with wrap-around edges | edge wrap portals, torus routing, GameJuice feel (portal slide/food burst/death explosion, portal bonus) |
| 18 | Frogger ✅ | Dodge traffic, cross the lanes | lane colliders, deterministic traffic, log riding, BFS autopilot, GameJuice feel (hop pops/splat/splash/goal confetti) |
| 19 | Brick Breaker+ ✅ | Breakout with power-ups | power-up system, multi-ball, GameJuice feel (catch bursts/shake/SFX) |
| 20 | Galaga ✅ | Fixed-position shooter with a marching formation and diving bugs | waves, formation movement, GameJuice feel (dive/kill bursts/shake/SFX) |
| 21 | Split-Screen Pong | Two players, one keyboard | dual input, same-keyboard |
| 22 | 2048 ✅ | Slide tiles, merge powers of two | grid logic, swipe/key input, GameJuice feel (merge pops/shake/pitched SFX) |
| 23 | Color Switch | Pass through same-colored rings | color states, timing |
| 24 | Stacker | Stack a shrinking row | grid, timing precision |
| 25 | Memory Simon | Simon with visual tiles | audio + visuals combined |
Tier 2 — weekend builds (★★, 2–4 hrs)¶
| # | Game | Pitch | Features exercised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Platformer | Run and jump through a level | physics, tilemap, gravity |
| 27 | Tower Defense | Build turrets, stop the wave | pathfinding, waves, economy |
| 28 | Endless Runner | Jump over an infinite gauntlet | procedural generation |
| 29 | Twin-Stick Shooter | Move one stick, aim the other | analog input, bullets |
| 30 | Mini Zelda | Top-down rooms and keys | rooms, doors, inventory |
| 31 | Sudoku | Classic number puzzle | grid, validation, UI |
| 32 | Match-3 | Swap gems to chain combos | grid, swap logic, combos |
| 33 | Blackjack | Beat the dealer | cards, probability, UI |
| 34 | Solitaire | Classic patience | drag, card stacks |
| 35 | Unbeatable TicTacToe | AI you can't beat | minimax AI |
| 36 | Checkers | Jump and capture | board logic, AI |
| 37 | Chess Lite | Simplified chess | piece movement, AI |
| 38 | Reversi | Flip the board in your favor | board logic, AI |
| 39 | Connect Four | Drop and align four | gravity grid, AI |
| 40 | Bomberman | Lay bombs, blast walls | grid, explosions, power-ups |
| 41 | Breakout Editor | Design your own levels | editor UI, save/load |
| 42 | Top-Down Racer | Slide around a track | car physics, drifting |
| 43 | Slingshot | Fling projectiles at castles | physics, trajectories |
| 44 | Fruit Ninja | Slice the fruit, dodge bombs | mouse/touch, particles |
| 45 | Rhythm Runner | Time jumps to the beat | audio sync, timing |
| 46 | Type Blaster | Type words to shoot ships | keyboard text input |
| 47 | Hangman | Guess the word | text, word lists |
| 48 | Wordle | Six guesses, five letters | text, letter states |
| 49 | Trivia Quiz | Answer questions against a clock | text, timers, scoring |
| 50 | Bridge Builder | Build a bridge that holds | physics joints, stress |
| 51 | Bubble Shooter | Match colored bubbles | grid math, aiming |
| 52 | Peggle | Bounce the ball off pegs | physics, angles |
| 53 | Puyo Puyo | Match falling pairs | falling blocks, chains |
| 54 | Dr. Mario | Match pills to viruses | falling blocks, colors |
| 55 | Digger | Tunnel, collect, escape | digging grid, enemies |
| 56 | Snake vs Block | Snake grows, blocks shrink | merging mechanics |
| 57 | Bingo | Fill rows and columns | RNG, board logic |
| 58 | Concentration+ | Memory match with power tiles | timed modes, scoring |
| 59 | Hot Potato | Pass the bomb in time | timers, same-keyboard |
| 60 | Speed Pong | The ball accelerates | difficulty curves |
Tier 3 — ambitious (★★★, 1–2 weekends)¶
| # | Game | Pitch | Features exercised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Mini Metroidvania | One castle, unlock abilities | rooms, upgrades, save |
| 62 | Rogue-Lite | Permadeath with persistent upgrades | procedural, meta-progression |
| 63 | Survivors | Waves of enemies, auto-fire | hordes, upgrade choices |
| 64 | Bullet Hell | Survive walls of projectiles | dense collision, patterns |
| 65 | Dungeon Crawler | Descend, loot, survive | procedural floors, items |
| 66 | Micro City Builder | Place roads and zones | map data, economy |
| 67 | Idle Forge | Numbers go up while away | incremental systems |
| 68 | Tower Climb | Ascend an infinite tower | procedural, difficulty |
| 69 | Penalty Shootout | Two-player goal duel | aiming, timing |
| 70 | 2D Golf | Physics putting | physics, terrain |
| 71 | Pool Lite | Pocket the balls | physics, friction, spin |
| 72 | Bowling | Curved throws at pins | physics, pin setup |
| 73 | Pinball | Flippers and bumpers | physics, bumpers |
| 74 | Platformer + Editor | Build and share levels | level serialization |
| 75 | Dialogue Adventure | Talk your way through | dialogue system, quests |
| 76 | Visual Novel | Choices change the story | text, branching |
| 77 | Beat Mapper | Build your own rhythm maps | audio, editor |
| 78 | Co-op Maze Escape | Two players, one screen | split-screen coordination |
| 79 | Capture the Flag | Command AI bots | bot AI, team logic |
| 80 | Zombie Horde | Survive the night | waves, upgrades, day cycle |
| 81 | Tower Defense+ | Free-form maze building | pathfinding on demand |
| 82 | FTL-Lite | Manage resources across jumps | resource management, events |
| 83 | Deck Builder | Draft cards, build combos | cards, synergies |
| 84 | Auto-Battler | Position units, watch them fight | unit AI, balance |
| 85 | Fishing Game | Timed catch minigame | reaction timing, RNG |
| 86 | Cooking Rush | Fulfill orders under pressure | timers, queue management |
| 87 | Micro Farm | Plant, grow, sell | day cycle, economy |
| 88 | Shopkeeper | Stock shelves, set prices | economy, customers |
| 89 | Tycoon | Build an empire from pennies | economy, upgrades |
| 90 | Physics Sandbox | Build contraptions, press go | physics, joints, spawn |
| 91 | Grapple Platformer | Swing with a hook | rope physics |
| 92 | Level-You Platformer | You ARE the level | inverse mechanics |
| 93 | Boss Rush | Chain bosses with no healing | boss design, patterns |
| 94 | Speedrun | One room, many strats | timer, replays |
| 95 | Same-Keyboard Duel | Two-player arena brawl | dual input, combos |
| 96 | Learn-It AI | Watch AI learn your game | Q-learning, viz |
| 97 | Text Adventure | LLM-driven world | LLM actions, narrative |
| 98 | LLM NPCs | Talk to characters that answer | LLM dialogue, persistence |
| 99 | Mashup | Fuse two Tier-2 games | design freedom |
| 100 | Your Signature Game | The one you tell people about | everything you've learned |
Rules of the program¶
- One game per
make new-game GAME=<name>. Each lives inGames/<name>/, fully self-contained, warning-free (the tree builds with-Werror//WX). - Ship it web-ready. Every game should build with
tools/build_web_game.sh— a game you can link to is a game you've finished. - Playtest headless.
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=dummy timeout 10 ./build-games/<name>_gamemust survive without a display — it's also what CI runs under valgrind. - Copy, don't reinvent. The template shows the correct restart pattern
(clear entities in
initGame), text UI, and LLM actions. Steal it. - Check it off. Mark
✅in the table above when you ship. The goal is a catalog of 100 shipped games, not 100 started ones.
See GAME_DEV_GUIDE.md for the 30-minute walkthrough of the template.