Popular Games That Were Made With Surprisingly Simple Code

Pong: The Origin of Gaming

The first game that was considered a successful popular game back then was made by Atari in 1972 and was made with relatively simple code, being called “Pong”. Pong was a 2D table tennis simulator and was very straight forward. Players use paddles to bounce a ball back and forth across the screen trying to get the ball past the other player’s paddle to score points. The game’s code revolves around conditional statements that detect collisions between the ball, paddles and the corner of the player’s screen. The game, being estimated to only have around 200 lines, introduced fundamental gaming concepts like scoring systems and competitive play and laid the foundation for the modern gaming we know of today.

Pong’s main message to learn was the importance of focusing on a single core game mechanic and making that specific mechanic good instead of having multiple lower quality mechanics that may not work as well.The Simplicity that this brings ensures that players immediately understand the game therefore making it enjoyable without the need for extensive instructions. Human Competition and Precision is what makes this game thrilling. Scoring after intense struggle against another player and scoring is what kept people coming back to this game. Small-time developers that are starting out should follow Pong’s example and emphasise working on fluid controls and immediate feedback to the player.

Breakout: Physics and Power-Ups

Atari didn’t just stop at Pong though, in 1976, They made another super-hit classic. Breakout. It was released as a single-player version of Pong. Players used a paddle to bounce a ball to break the bricks that resided at the top of the screen. The game’s code integrates basic physics to calculate the ball’s movement and collision detection to remove bricks / value when the ball comes into contact with a brick. Power-ups like increasing the size of the paddle, increasing the number of balls and more add depth to the game play and make it more than just an endless table tennis match against a wall. The classic was estimated to have had approximately 1,000 lines of code and it illustrates how small enhancements can improve a game’s attraction and overall appeal. It itself is a lesson in refining and expanding on existing ideas to make something new, unique and captivating.

The physics-based gameplay in breakout was critical in offering developers a chance to explore the fundamentals of simulating real world experiences in games. The concepts of velocity, angles and bouncing can be extended to more complex programs, making breakout a foundational game for understanding physics and how to apply it to games.

Space Invaders: Dynamic Difficulty and Scoring

Space invaders was a shoot ‘em up game that was released by Taito in the late 1970’s. The game was one where players controlled spaceships and destroyed descending alien invaders that moved down from the top of the screen. The game’s mechanics were built on loops for tracking enemy movement and conditional statements for checking for collisions and scoring. One of its most surprising and groundbreaking features was dynamic difficulty: so that the more invader’s you kill, the more they speed up. This is great because it adds a multitude of emotions like tension and excitement that can be evoked from playing this game. The code for space invaders, operating at a comfortable approx. of 2000 lines, shows how the iterative design of the simple yet in-depth game can create immersive experiences for all players. Then, by tweaking small variables like speed and spacing, programmers can introduce engaging levels of challenge to keep the players hooked and coming back to try and do better.

The game Space Invaders, for its time, successfully demonstrates the immense effectiveness of dynamically changing difficulty to maintain a player’s interest and engagement towards a game. The sense of impending danger and doom that the game creates through the invaders’ descent towards what is presumably the earth, combined with the thrill of narrowly avoiding enemy lasers, bullets and other attacks taps into the player’s adrenaline. For learners, Space Invaders picturises how to use difficulty fine-tuning to keep players engaged and smooth where the game is challenging and requires utmost focus but isn’t too hard for the player to complete.

Pac-Man: AI and Pathfinding

Pac-Man was made in 1980 by Namco as a problem-solving and hand-eye-coordination testing game where players have to guide the yellow circular-pie-like character to eat pellets while avoiding the ghost-like figurines chasing it through a maze-like map. What made Pac-man so unique and made it stand out was its use of AI to control and guide the ghosts to chase Pac-Man while having their own unique movement and behaviour pattern. The game’s code, being made up of about 3,500 lines, runs on pathfinding algorithms to determine ghost movements, which adds unpredictability and excitement to the gameplay. Pac-Man is a prime and leading example of how establishing basic AI principles can enhance player engagement and how much they enjoy the game as the repetitiveness of the aspects of the game are greatly reduced. It has been established as a timeless classic because of its balance between strategy and reflex-based gameplay.

For programmers, Pac-Man is a detailed look into how different AI behaviours can co-exist and operate inside a single environment. By giving each ghost its own unique behaviour pattern, it creates an effectual challenge that feels intelligent and unpredictable. This has advanced to modern games to allow for Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) with unique personalities.

Tetris: A Lesson in Efficiency

Another very popular game that followed suite was cd Tetris,despite  having been enjoyed by at least a billion people¹ worldwide as of current, this simple game that has withstood the test of time was developed by Alexly Pajitnov in 1984 and has been estimated to have been made on a measly 500 lines of code. To put that into perspective, me and one of my mates were working on a DND-like RPG game and just the file that contained the info about the monsters / enemies, was 950 lines. It was nearly double the length of Tetris’ code! Tetris though most of you reading this probably already know what it is, was an addictive game where players arrange falling blocks to form complete lines. Though this may sound underwhelming , it’s not as simple as it sounds. The game’s charm was in its minimalist design and hooking gameplay that made you think, “Next time I’ll do better for sure!”. The game’s code used arrays to track the positions of the blocks, falling or stagnant, and loops to check for for completed lines. With just a handful of controls and straightforward rules, Tetris became one of the most iconic games in history.

What makes Tetris so appealing was its universal appeal. From its simple yet challenging gameplay loop that involved the continuous descent of tetrominoes combined with the increasing speed which introduced a natural difficulty curve. From a programming perspective, Tetris shows how to implement grid-based logic effectively while ensuring that the game remains smooth and responsive. When starting out on programming, Tetris can teach a lot about dynamic difficulty adjustment and grid management which can both be applied in numerous other ways too.out dynamic difficulty adjustment and grid management, which are applicable to numerous other genres.

Snake: Mastering Movement and Collision

Snake was a game that gained its most popularity on Nokia phones but it has origins that lead us all the way back to the earlier arcade versions. The premise was simple: guide the animated snake to eat the food and the grid while avoiding crashing with the game walls or with the snake’s ever growing tail. The game, with its 300 lines of code, used arrays to track the snake’s body and loops to update its position. Collision detection was critical and plays a large role in determining when the game ends. Snake’s code is an ideal example  and teaching monument for beginner programmers as it covers essential concepts such as state management, input handling and dynamic updates which are all very important in programming today. This exact simple yet intriguing nature of the game is exactly what has made it the symbol of how simplicity can translate into immersive entertainment.

Snake’s core mechanics of growth and movement are the perfect teaching tools to learn about object manipulation and updates about the game’s states.Each part of the snake is attached to the one in front of it (just like in real-life) and by doing this, it creates a dynamic chain. For beginner programmers who are still learning, understanding how to update these objects in real-time offers crucial foundational insights into programming, animation and managing multiple entities when operating.

Minesweeper: Logic-Based Gameplay

Minesweeper is a puzzle game that made its debut on early versions of Microsoft Windows that included it internally. In the game, players uncover tiles on a grid while trying to avoid the cleverly disguised mines that blow up with colourful confetti and end the player’s run when clicked on. The game’s code uses randomisation to place the mines and then uses algorithms and checks to calculate the numbers indicating how many mines are adjacent to that specific tile. With just about 1,200 lines of code, Minesweeper is an overarching example of how combining logic, randomisation, and user interaction can be used to challenge players and encourages them to think critically and also trains them to make decisions based on the limited information that the game provides to them. This showcases the power of strategic gameplay built on straightforward programming techniques.

Minesweeper is a masterclass-like teaching lesson between what seems like luck and logic. The lucrative, grid-based gameplay provides a clear conceptual visual representation of how algorithms can be used to calculate adjacent numbers, placing it at the top of the list of excellent examples and learning tools for learning recursion and matrix manipulation. Minesweeper is a great example of the practical application of logic and problem solving in coding  for beginner programmers.

Flappy Bird: Timing and Precision

Flappy Bird, another major Early 2000’s Classic Game, was made by Dong Nyugen in 2013. It became a viral sensation for its simple yet addictive and gripping gameplay. All that the players had to do was tap the screen to stop the small yellow bird from touching anything, may that be the floor, roof or the seemingly endless maze of Mario pipes that spawned at regular intervals. The game’s mechanics relied solely on the basic physics to simulate gravity pulling the bird down and like most of the other games of its time, collision detection to determine when the bird hits an obstacle to know when to end the game. And even though Flappy Bird had less than 500 lines of code, Flappy Bird is a major testament to how even if a game is simple, challenging gameplay that can intrigue players can lead to a global phenomenon which resides in the hearts of people all around the world even to this day.

The main attractor for Flappy Bird was its minimalistic design partnered with its insanely high difficulty level. This ingenious combination turns the frustration of struggling to get past even the first 100 pipes into determination for players to strive to do better and try their best to get to the end of the game, which by the way is also shrouded in mystery, drives the player to do attempt after attempt trying to improve their best score and progress through the game. Programmers should learn from Flappy Bird about the use of procedural generation to create an ever-changing challenge that keeps gameplay fresh even if it is extremely simplistic.

2048: Grid-Based Logic

In 2014, Gabriele Cirulli developed the sliding puzzle game 2048. The game’s objective was to combine tiles with matching numbers in order to reach 2048. The game’s code, which is based on a grid layout, uses loops to manage tile movement and merging. 2048 demonstrates how fewer than 600 lines of code can be used to create a professional and engaging product using easy and uncomplicated programming. Its viral success demonstrates the popularity of games that are easy to learn but challenging to master, making it a favourite among casual gamers and aspiring developers.

2048 is a great project for learning grid-based movement and tile merging logic because of its straightforward design. On top of that, the game highlights how responsive controls and user-friendly interfaces are essential for player happiness.

Tic-Tac-Toe: Simplicity in Strategy

Since it’s one of the simplest games to create, Tic-Tac-Toe is a great project for novice programmers to attempt to replicate. Two players take turns to mark Xs and Os on a 3×3 grid while trying to align three symbols diagonally, vertically, and horizontally. With an emphasis on basic ideas like game board arrays, loops to verify win conditions, and user input for player moves, tic tac toe code is typically comprised of less than 200 lines.

Basic programming concepts including managing user input, verifying moves, and establishing a transparent game loop are introduced in this game. Additionally, it teaches novice programmers how to monitor game states, such as who has a turn, whether the game is over, and its outcomes. Tic-Tac-Toe is a great place for novices to start since it shows how even a basic project can teach fundamental coding skills while still being entertaining and engaging.

Lessons for Aspiring Developers

These ten games show that developing a game doesn’t always need code or cutting edge technologies but rather focuses more intensely upon core mechanics and engaging players with creative designs at its core essence. Here are some key takeaways inspired by these examples; 

Let’s start with the basics by working on projects, in game development that focus on learning programming concepts first before tackling more complex tasks, in iconic games.

Keep improving your projects by adjusting the mechanics, as shown in games like Space Invaders and Breakout, where these changes can significantly enhance the gameplay.The timeless appeal of games like Tetris and Snake, which enthralled players for years with their captivating mechanics and replay value encouraging repeated plays and fostering a sense of enjoyment that brings players back for more fun and excitement, illustrates how crucial it is to prioritise keeping players engaged when designing a game by providing challenges and addictive gameplay experiences. 

Engage with AI in your experiments! Simple AI features such as the ghost movements in Pac Man can bring complexity. Surprise your game design endeavors; master the art of incorporating algorithms and gradually enhance them as you build your skills and confidence.

Leverage Social Dynamics: Games such as Among Us demonstrate how promoting player involvement can elevate a game to a new level. Consider how adding collaborative or multiplayer features could improve your project.Recognise Your users’ Preferences: Flappy Bird’s popularity stems from its simplicity and the challenge it poses to users looking for entertainment. Adapt your game to your target audience’s preferences.

Final Thoughts

The journey to becoming a skilled game developer starts with understanding the fundamentals of programming and design. These iconic games illustrate that even the simplest ideas can transform into global phenomena with the right execution and creativity. Whether you’re coding your first game or refining your skills, remember that every great game starts as a small idea brought to life through determination and innovation.

By studying the successes and challenges of these classics, aspiring developers can draw inspiration to create their own masterpieces. Begin with a basic concept, build on it, and let your imagination guide you toward crafting games that captivate and inspire players worldwide. After all, every coding journey starts with a single line of code—so take that first step and start building your dream game today!