Case Study: My second game

A mini donut-collecting adventure made with Pico-8 + Lua

Role: Game designer, pixel artist, and Lua newbie
Year: 2025
Stack: Pico-8, Lua, sheer curiosity

Why I made this

I wanted to challenge myself creatively and technically by building a small game from scratch. Pico-8 caught my eye because of its limitations (and charm): 128×128 resolution, 16-color palette, and code written in Lua. It felt like the perfect playground to learn.

What’s the Game?

It’s a lighthearted little game where you play as a donut-loving character navigating a sugary maze. Your goal? Collect all the donuts while avoiding getting stuck in tight corners.  It’s not perfect. That’s kind of the point.
But it taught me:

• How to use tilemaps and collisions
• Write basic game loops and state transitions
• Design simple pixel art
• Scope small projects and finish them