90s.dev
Dev tools
game maker platform
SHOW HN2025
352points
113comments
#139of 3,837 in 2025
Top 4%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
22 positive, 14 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 14 critical, out of 51 comments about the project. Thread score +0.17.
Execution: 4 for, 9 againstDesign: 9 for, 2 againstIdea: 2 for, 1 againstDocs: 1 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Retro 90s aesthetic and nostalgia
From 3 comments
I can't say I fully understand what this is / the capabilities, but man I love the aesthetic. It's interesting how an aesthetic can make an emotional impact and draw a lot more…
duxup on HNI love what you did there! It's an awesome project. I directly traveled back to my childhood. While I love pico8, I think it's a decade too early for me. I grew up with desktop…
MrGilbert on HNI terminated the shell process and immediately got hit with Windows 95 nostalgia. This is great.
elxx on HN
Objections
Launched too early; few finished tools or games
From 2 comments
Hi, author here. Thank you everyone for the feedback. It's clear that I launched this far too soon. I'll work on the pain points you all noted, and come back in a few months.
90s_dev on HNI haven't made any games with it yet. I barely finished any of the game making tools. The platform itself is relatively stable, which is what I spent so much time on. And the…
90s_dev on HN
Getting started docs are hard to follow
From 3 comments
Looks very cool, just kinda hard getting started Maybe you could have a little walkthrough of how to build a mini game with it?
nico on HNI think it little bit hard to start getting started
Sayyidalijufri on HNI'm stuck on the first step of the "Getting Started" guide. 1. I've downloaded helloworld.zip to my local computer, I think. 2. I open the filer.app.js by clicking the link on…
gtoast on HN
Paint app did not work when first posted
From 1 comment
Does the paint app work for anyone? https://90s.dev/os/#sys/apps/paint.app.js I tried in both Firefox and Chrome on Linux and picking colors and clicking I can't draw anything.…
winslow on HN
Firefox cannot mount local drives
From 2 comments
I took great pains to make sure it does. The one thing that Firefox doesn't support is mounting a local drive so you can develop your app, library, or game more quickly, which…
90s_dev on HNI took great pains to support Firefox, mostly in my service worker. Unfortunately when it comes to mounting drives for faster local development, there's nothing I can do until FF…
90s_dev on HN
Requests
Walkthrough or tutorial for building a game
From 2 comments
Looks very cool, just kinda hard getting started Maybe you could have a little walkthrough of how to build a mini game with it?
nico on HNDo you have a video walkthrough of how this works?
rubabu on HN
Demo games built with the engine
From 1 comment
Love it, and congrats on shipping! I might be missing something but your pitch would be a 10x better launch if I could find some basic demo games developed with the engine,…
eranation on HN
Import modules from arbitrary URLs
From 1 comment
Why limit it to Microsoft services (github and npm)? Why not let it import things from a URL? Looking forward to your WC2 clone!
sneak on HN
Questions
Does it work on Firefox
From 1 comment
Nice, does it work on Firefox?
makapuf on HN
How to upload helloworld.zip into the instance
From 1 comment
I'm stuck on the first step of the "Getting Started" guide. 1. I've downloaded helloworld.zip to my local computer, I think. 2. I open the filer.app.js by clicking the link on…
gtoast on HN
Alternatives named
PICO-8
From 2 comments
I love what you did there! It's an awesome project. I directly traveled back to my childhood. While I love pico8, I think it's a decade too early for me. I grew up with desktop…
MrGilbert on HNCongrats on shipping! Based on https://90s.dev/getting-started/hello-world.html, it seems like JSX meets pico8. Is that a decent description?
wonger_ on HN
TIC-80
From 1 comment
It just occurred to me: Pico8 is to Picotron, as Tic80 is to 90s.dev or Pico8 is to Tic80, as Picotron is to 90s.dev
90s_dev on HN
Picotron
From 1 comment
You might also be interested in Picotron[1], made by the same guy who made Pico8. It's basically a desktop OS with the same basic design as Pico8 but with slightly looser…
90s_dev on HN