Before I bought Pico-8 a few years ago, I'd never coded a line in my life. Now I've created my own game, and that's a great feeling.

Foxcatsquirrel is a simple game – that's by design, as well as being limited by my abilities. I'm never going to be a great coder, but I learned so much.

What went right?

In short, I overcame every obstacle

Like many beginners, I started with enthusiasm and big hopes, but no experience and no discipline. In the back of my mind, thoughts told me this would fizzle out without getting anywhere. But now I've created my own game, through perseverance, patience, and learning from others.

And this is how it all started: just a little rabbit in a green jumpsuit leaping around.

Over time, that grew it into an arcade game with multiple levels, enemy types, a special attack, and a high score table. Many parts were a real struggle and stopped me in my tracks for a long time, but through overcoming them one by one, by the end I knew that I could implement anything I set my mind to.

Moving platforms:  

Shockwave

I always knew I wanted the game to be pacifist, so I added in a defensive shockwave. Getting the effect to work was a struggle: it's using the same function as the food crumbs, so there was lots of fixing to do. I like this gif, where he looks like he's urinating everywhere.

Enemies

Initially I just had one enemy type, which came towards the player, then added a second type that goes after (and eats) the food. ,

Polish

It wasn't much of a looker to start with, but by the time I'd implemented a logo, proper title screen, and level transitions, it felt so much better. I could have tinkered with the presentation for years!

I love it

It doesn't feel right to praise something I've created (especially when I see what others are capable of!), but I love what I've made. I'm a big Sonic fan, and creating my own cute mascot platform character – even if he just exists in this 8*8 form – has given me a great deal of pleasure.

I don't just love the finished product: i genuinely enjoyed working on it, though not the way I'd expected. I've written game music in the past, and like to doodle; I thought I'd focus on the music and art, and procrastinate on the coding. The opposite happened! Making things happen was satisfying and motivating.

Don't get me wrong: there's plenty of stuff I could do differently. The code is a horror show, there are quirks with the enemy collision, and I could have added a more interesting gimmick or twist.

But this is a game that only exists because I created it. And that's a great feeling.