sloppy: a simple game dev language

A small, statically typed language that feels like Python and runs like C. One command compiles and runs your program in milliseconds, as a native Linux executable or as a single web page.

curl -fsSL https://sloppy-lang.org/install | bash

Try it in your browser Get started The language

pos = vec2(400, 300)

update = (dt: f64):
    pos += input_axis() * f32(300 * dt)

draw = ():
    clear(rgb(0.08, 0.08, 0.12))
    circle(pos, 24, rgb(1.0, 0.6, 0.2))
    text("arrow keys", vec2(20, 20), 24, WHITE)

Instant compiles

About 250,000 lines a second. Hello world compiles and runs in about 10 ms; there is no build system, options live in the source.

Fast programs

Release builds run within about 1.5× of gcc -O2, with bounds checks on. parallel_map uses every core; GPU arrays run on the GPU.

Easy

Type inference everywhere, indentation syntax, closures, partial application, generics without ceremony, unions, value semantics with no garbage collector.

Made for games

Windows, input, 2D drawing, a 3D renderer with shadows and bloom, shaders written in Sloppy, audio, pixel art and any screen shape, all built in.

Runs anywhere it lands

Native programs are static executables with no dependencies; web builds are one HTML file. Graphics drivers are optional: there is a software renderer.

Self-hosted

The compiler is written in Sloppy and compiles itself, even in this site's playground, where it runs as WebAssembly.

Numbers, arrays, and the rest

fib = (n: int) -> int:
    if n < 2: return n
    fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)

nums = [5 3 9 1]
nums.sort()
add = (a: int, b: int): a + b
print(nums.map((x): x * x), add(1, _)(41), fib(30))
print(nums .* 2.5 .+ 1, sqrt.([4.0 9.0]), [1 2; 3 4] * [1 0; 0 1])

Editors: sloppy lsp is a language server (and there is a VS Code / Cursor extension). An interactive prompt: run sloppy with no file.