Hello World to IPO
Every programmer's dream: from your first line of code to ringing the bell.
- Type
- Web
- Requires
- Any modern browser
- Price
- Free
- Time
- 00:00
- Level
- 1
- Title
- Defeated
- 0
From intern to tech titan: every programmer's dream. You move; your tools fire on their own.
Move: WASD or arrows · Touch: drag anywhere · Pause: P or Esc · Pick upgrades: 1 2 3
Paused
Move: WASD or arrows · Touch: drag anywhere · Pause: P or Esc · Pick upgrades: 1 2 3
Level up. Pick one
- Time
- Level
- Title
- Defeated
- Bosses beaten
- Best
It starts with Hello, World. It ends, if you make it, with a bell on a stock exchange. In between is everything that comes for you: bugs, bosses, AI models, meetings, the market.
You only move. Your tools fire on their own. Fixed bugs drop XP; each level up pauses on up to three cards, and each pick is a new tool or a level for one you have. Act 1 has five weapon slots and four passive ones, so choose; act 2 opens more, and starts with a free pick of a founder's tool. Now and then a magnet turns up on the map: grab it and every gem left lying around flies to you. Levels cost more as you climb, and once everything you hold is maxed, level-ups just heal you.
Act 1: intern to legendary programmer
Intern, junior, mid-level, senior, staff, architect, legend.
What comes for you: plain bugs, tanky null pointers, race conditions that weave as they fly, memory leaks, and 0-days you can't see half the time. Elites: the Repeater, which splits when it dies, and Context Overflow, slow and heavy. Bosses are AI models: the Hallucinator, half of whose spawn isn't real; the Token Eater, which heals while you hesitate; and the Frontier Model. Beat it and you ship: everything on screen turns into XP.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Code shot | Fires at the nearest bug. Levels add speed, damage, more shots and pierce. |
| Linter | Blocks orbit you and hit whatever they touch. |
| Refactor | Sweeps the space in front of you; from level 3, behind you too. |
| Compilers | A shot that branches like a syntax tree when it hits. |
| Regex | A beam that matches everything on its line. |
| Garbage collector | A pulse that hurts and pushes back everything near you. |
| Rubber duck | Ducks bounce around the screen and debug whatever they hit. |
| Docker | Drops containers that blow up when something steps on them. |
| Caffeine, unit tests, monitoring, multithreading | Passives: speed, a recharging shield, a wider XP pull, faster weapons. |
Act 2: first-time founder to tech titan
Founder, angel round, Series A, Series B, unicorn, public company, tech titan.
What comes for you: meeting invites that slow you down, copycats, burn rate, scope creep that doubles if you leave it alone, clients from hell, and regulators who keep their distance and throw paperwork. Elites: the Black Swan, which dashes, and the Ratchet Term Sheet, which fires a ring of clauses. Bosses: the Valuation Bubble, which pops into smaller ones; the Incumbent; and the Capital Winter, which chills you when you get close. Beat it and you ring the bell.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Funding round | Coins rain down on whatever is on screen. |
| The big vision | Pies in the sky orbit you and knock everything back. |
| Hiring | Your first hires follow you and shoot on their own. |
| Moat | A ring around you that slows and wears down whatever is inside. |
| Growth hacking, stock options, crisis PR | Passives: more XP, harder hits, health over time. |
All the art is original pixel art. The titles are generic; no real people, products or logos.
A one-lane version of the same world runs at the foot of the home page.
Questions
Do I need to install anything or sign up?
No. It runs on this page, in any modern browser, on a computer or a phone. Your best run is kept in your browser only.
How long is a run?
A full run, both acts, takes about 15 minutes. Each act's bosses arrive at about 2, 4½ and 7 minutes into it; beating the third one ends the act.
How do I play on a phone?
Press anywhere on the game and drag: it works like a joystick. Tap a card to pick an upgrade. Fullscreen gives you the biggest field.
Is there sound?
Yes, small synthesized blips with no audio files. It starts muted; press ♪ to turn it on, and the choice is remembered.
I share builds, experiments, and lessons as I go.
New videos on YouTube, shorter notes on X. Every post here links back to both.