Revive — RetroJam
1st place · PICO-8 retro game jam
Overview
RetroJam was a 72-hour game jam with a twist — you had to use PICO-8, a fantasy console with absurd constraints. 128x128 resolution, 16 colours, 32KB total. Revive is a game about death and revival built within those walls. It won 1st place.
Stack
Preview
Add screenshot 1
Drop an image here
Add screenshot 2
Drop an image here
What I learned
- Built a complete game loop in Lua: input, physics, state machine, collision, rendering
- Learned that extreme constraints force creativity in ways total freedom never does
- Shipped something polished in 72 hours — ruthless scope management under pressure
- Understood how tight feedback loops (play, break, fix) differ from normal software dev
Build log
Struggles, findings, decisions, breakthroughs — the honest story.
32KB means every byte counts
Hit the cartridge limit during development. Had to audit every sprite, compress level data, and cut two mechanics. Brutal but clarifying.
Scope cut at hour 24
Dropped the multiplayer mechanic at midnight on day one. Made the right call — polishing one tight experience beat half-finishing two.
PICO-8 community is incredible
The jam community gave live feedback during judging. Having real players react to your game in real time is the best design feedback loop I have ever experienced.
The revival mechanic clicked
The core mechanic — enemies revive unless you hit them in a specific state — emerged from a bug. The ghost of a failed enemy that wouldn't die became the whole game.